<p>I had a quesiton concerning this. I was considering transferring to either Penn State or Villanova after next year so I could be closer to a friend of mine. The problem would be, however, the price, especially for 'Nova. At $37,000+ a year, even with normal financial aid it'd be impossible for me to afford it. So, my question is this. Can you qualify for merit-based aid as a transfer student? Say, if I were to pull a 3.5+ in my first year, could I get scholarships and the like because of that?</p>
<p>Most scholarships are for entering freshmen. There are a few schools with merit aid for transfers, but it is extremely rare. Since you are only interested in 2 schools, it would take very little time to check their websites and see if they have any merit for transfers. And that way, you will be 100% sure of the information you are getting.</p>
<p>Financial aid is often limited to transfers also. Make sure you check on what is available to transfers and what kind of packages a transfer can expect.</p>
<p>I checked out the websites for your two choices & it's hard to tell whether or not they offer any merit to transfers. I suggest you call the financial aid offices at both schools & ask.</p>
<p>Penn State may offer merit money to transfers, but I would bet it's only for in state, if they do. Make sure you let the aid office know if you are in state or OOS when you ask.</p>
<p>I know of a couple state schools in my area that offer great scholarships for in state transfer students. Good luck to you!</p>
<p>Well, the in-state thing won't be a problem because I live in PA (going to college in OH now). I know that the aid I get from PHEAA would likely go up (they're giving me $2,000 OOS), but to afford Villanova I'd need a ton more than that.</p>
<p>Ask Villanova what their policy is for transfer financial aid and merit scholarships.</p>
<p>I might as well ask this since I already made the thread...</p>
<p>Would I have to pull a 4.0 and nothing less for 'Nova to accept me as a transfer?</p>
<p>It sounds like you're an entering freshman, planning to transfer for sop year. If so, when you submit transfer applications, you will only have one sem/qt of grades for the AOs to evaluate. Because of this, your HS record and test scores are going to be much more important than your college record. As a jr transfer, your accomplishments in college are going to be more important than what you did in HS. If you haven't already, go to the Transfer Students forum and read the sticky thread Transfer Admissions 101.</p>
<p>More importantly, you need to read the specifics for transfer applicants that the colleges you want will provide. I have never heard of a school that requires a 4.0 for transfer applicant, but this is still something you need to specifically check since you may be applying to a special program or special scholarship. There is no way we know of your particular situation. </p>
<p>As a rule, college grades are important for transfers but as Entomom brings up, timing of transfer plays a role in this too.</p>
<p>No. Not even Harvard requires a 4.0 for transfer students. It'd be in your best interest to not slack off, however, and work as hard as you can in achieving the highest grades possible. </p>
<p>In regards to merit-based aid for transfer students, as others have said, chances are the school will have all but exhausted funds allocated for regularly-admitted students by the time they get to the transfer students pool, so that even if they offer you something, it probably won't be anything substantial. I am a transfer student as well, and only into my second year at my new college did I become eligible to receive ANY aid from the school.</p>
<p>Best,
T</p>
<p>The grades thing was a concern to me because my HS grades are pretty bad and if I applied to 'Nova last fall, I would've been rejected. That's why I was thinking I'd need to get a GPA at or near 4.0 next year.</p>
<p>I received substantial merit aid from a top 20 school, so it's definitely out there. I don't know if those two schools have merit aid, however.</p>
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The grades thing was a concern to me because my HS grades are pretty bad and if I applied to 'Nova last fall, I would've been rejected.
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<p>This does not bode well for a sop transfer for the reasons I gave earlier about the timing of transfer apps.</p>