<p>Right now as a college freshman, I come to the forums of CC for aid in my current dilemma of the transfer application process. I hope the kind people here will aid me in my search for answers.</p>
<p>First a little background...I am a white male from Pennslvania. I currently go to one of the United States Service Academies. I earned my way into this instituion through merit. Not recruited for athletics, no miltary family members, not prior service. I had a two part SAT score of 1540 and very strong extracurriculars. I currently have a 3.97 academic GPA and am ranked in the top 2% of my class overall, across academic, military, and physical standards. In my time here, I have learned what this institution really is, experienced personal growth, and my current goals and ideals are no longer in line with a future career in the armed forces and therefore I am in the process of applying elsewhere.</p>
<p>Besides being behind the 8 ball on many of the university transfer application deadlines for Fall 2014, I am struggling with the lack of merit based scholarships available for transfer applicants. For many of the schools I am considering, state schools and private schools alike, merit based money is only available for first years. </p>
<p>With my family's financial situation, I do not qualify for need based aid. However, coming from an institution where tuition, room and board, book money, and even a monthly stipend is supplied the transition will be steep. Again, although my family is capable of providing many of the costs of a civilian institution, after speaking with them of my intentions they are not thrilled of the idea of me leaving this institution and therefore are expecting me to pay for my civilian education. Initially, I was not worried with my strong credentials that I could find a quality school with my intended major that would offer me a substantial merit based scholarship. But as I said earlier, I have found an extrememly small amount of schools that offer merit aid for transfers on my own. </p>
<p>I found a thread from 2010 on this site with a listing of schools that do offer transfer aid but I am hoping there could be a more up to date list of schools. Simultaneously, any and all constructive advice will be appreciated. Thank you in advance. </p>
<p>Yep. That’s the reality of the situation. There are not as many options for transfer students. Many schools that guarantee to meet full need do not include transfer students in that guarantee. Many schools that do offer to meet full need to transfer students don’t take very many of them. Merit awards do not tend to be for transfers. There is the Cooke scholarship that is on the board, but really, merit awards are to attract students, and most schools do not get the volume of transfer that they need to attract them. They’ve adjusted that by accepting more freshman and so the number of transfers is usually not a big deal. </p>
<p>My brother decided that USMA was not for him also. Like right after he got there. But when he tried to get out and go to State U to which he had a ROTC scholarship, he found that option gone–automatically gone when you accept USMA. Then he looked into transfer options and I believe he did apply to a number of schools but got no aid. That was some years ago, but I don’t think the situation has changed much. </p>
<p>If you had financial need, that 's a whole other issue since there are some schools like Cornell that do meet need most of the time at least for transfers and your gpa and test scores would make you a good candidate for acceptance at a number of them. But in terms of merit, nope. Not much out there. YOu gotta search. Make your lists and start calling admissions if nothing is on the web site, check out FastWeb, but the pickings are very lean. </p>
<p>My brother did his 20 years and retired as colonel. </p>
<p>If you’re referring to the thread linked to in the Resources sticky thread on the Transfer Students forum, you’re not going to find anything more up-to-date or comprehensive. There are other schools out there that have merit for transfers, but you’ll have to find them one-by-one, either by using a Search too like the one given in the OP of the thread, or by looking at college websites.</p>
<p>In order to buy some time, you could continue at the academy and enter college in the winter or fall of 2015. You would still leave without a military obligation. Unless you really hate being at the academy, it might not be a bad idea to take a little more time.</p>
<p>It sounds like you are doing well. Perhaps you will change your mind again before summer or fall. Taking a little more time can be very beneficial.</p>
<p>Also, take more time to talk with your parents. They might fear that your are quitting for the wrong reasons (I have no idea what your reasons are). But, when push comes to shove, the free education provided at the academies is absolutely NOT a good reason to stay. The only good reason is to have a military career. Ultimately you might need to make this clear to your parents.</p>