<p>Hi, </p>
<p>I've applied to some top liberal arts colleges, but they are not need blind for transfers. I need financial aid to attend. Will this affect my chance of being admitted? Do they sometimes offer good fin. aid. to transfers?</p>
<p>I really wanted to transfer, and I'm worried about this.</p>
<p>Need blind/aware is an admissions term, and yes, applying for FA at a need aware school may affect your chance of admissions. What they are saying is that financial need can be used in the admission decision along with all other factors.</p>
<p>How generous a school is in the FA they offer to transfers is a separate question and varies with the school. You need to read their website and if they don’t specifically state how they deal with FA for transfers, call them and see if the policies are different than for fr admits.</p>
<p>Alternatively, you could just do what I did, and only apply to schools on this list: [Universities</a> That Claim to Meet Full Financial Need - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2013/02/11/universities-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need]Universities”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2013/02/11/universities-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need)</p>
<p>These are schools that promise to meet 100% of financial need (ie cost of attendance minus EFC.)</p>
<p>^Note that:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Need is calculated by the school and varies from college to college. Need is NOT what you think you can/should pay NOR is it your FAFSA EFC. FAFSA is for Federal FA only, the colleges on this list determine Institutional FA using the Profile or their own FA forms (eg. Princeton). Since the Profile asks for additional information such as non-custodial parent, home equity, etc., in most cases the EFC is higher than with FAFSA.</p></li>
<li><p>When colleges meet need, it is with a combination of grants, WS and loans; relatively few colleges are loan free.</p></li>
<li><p>This list is for fr admits, FA policies for transfers are sometimes not as generous, eg. Brown.</p></li>
</ol>