Hi all,
I’m currently a freshman in my second semester at a 4 year university here in California, and I’m looking to transfer. Coming to this school wasn’t my top choice, and I feel like I don’t really fit in. I’d like to transfer as a second semester sophomore or as a junior.
My original top choice school was USF because they have a really good program in my major, but it was too expensive. When I first applied to USF I got a scholarship of 20k, would it be possible to get more than that from USF? Now, in addition to USF, I’m looking at U of Washington, Seattle U, U of Portland, U of Vermont, and a few more. I have faced one problem in my research - money…transfer students just don’t get as much aid (ugh).
I can barely afford the tuition at my current school, and I’m looking for a school that would be at or lower than that cost (~13k), either through transfer scholarships or some other form of aid. Ideally, I would like to go to a small, private liberal arts school in NorCal, Oregon, or Washington, though I am open to looking at larger public schools as well, including in other states (like Vermont) with good environmental science programs.
As a resident of CA, UC schools would probably be the best option, but I was rejected from UCLA and Berkeley when I applied back as a high school senior, and my dad won’t help me pay if I go to UCSB (he’s got something against it). I’m not sure if my stats would be good enough now for UCB, and even if I did get accepted it would still be too expensive. This is part of my reason for wanting to go to a private school - better aid! I also like the small classes and more personalized attention.
What are the chances of me getting a sizable scholarship as a transfer? My current GPA is 3.8 and I am a member of the University Honors Program, as well as 2 on campus clubs.
Worst case scenario I can stay at my current university for the remaining time, transfer to a Cal State, or transfer to a UC and take out some loans. I applied to Berkeley and was rejected, though I have a stronger GPA right now, so they may accept me if my essays are absolutely killer
The problem is that I love all my professors at my university, it’s just the general environment/other students that I’m not a huge fan of, in addition to the actual neighborhood the school is in
Transferring can be done now for Fall 2016 if your first semester grades are good.
Public universities outside of CA won’t give you FA. Bringing costs down as a transfer will be tough, because transfers get lousy aid. Your best bet would be CSU’s and UC’s, except they only accept students who will have 60 credits by the time they enroll, and these have to be specific credits.
Although UC Merced and Humboldt may well admit you if your grades are good enough.The bes college for your major may well be UCSC.
What were your SAT/ACT score and you UW/UC GPA?
To transfer for Fall 2016 and depending on your financial situation (need-based aid vs. merit):
Look at St Michael’s, SUNY ESF (a reference for environmental science), College of the Atlantic, Warren Wilson, Hobart&William Smith, St Lawrence, Hamilton, Macalester, St Olaf, Carleton, Northland, Beloit, Drake, Dickinson, Ithaca…?
I wonder if ASU Barrett might be possible financialy - check their page and look into the New American Scholarship.
But frankly 13K means getting a full-tuition scholarships and those are very rarely given to transfers. Are you lower-income? Or are your parents unable to pay their EFC despite upper middle class earnings due to cost of living in CA?
You can also try the need-met colleges like Pitzer or Occidental, depending on your GPA and high school record you ca try for higher schools like Pomona but this would require you to have close to a 4.0 both in HS and in College, plus tremendous test scores and activities.
USF is indeed way too expensive for most so forget about it, as a ransfer you likely wouldn’t get anything.
http://www.jkcf.org/scholarship-programs/undergraduate-transfer/
But please note that this scholarship goes to truly exceptional students. Your 3.8 puts you in range, but the competition is still very tough.
What do the net price calculators on the web sites of UCs, CSUs, and other schools tell you?
Is the $13,000 per year that you mention just parent contribution, or combined parent contribution plus what you contribute from work earnings and federal direct loans?
What major?
Another option is the transfer to a community college for sophomore year, and apply to transfer to UCs, CSUs, and other schools for junior level transfer.
@MYOS1634
Thank you for your help, I’ll definitely check out those schools as well!
My SAT was 2040, ACT 31, and my UW GPA was 3.75 (W was 4.04), I can’t remember what my UC GPA was. My parents can’t pay EFC because of the cost of living in CA, as well as having debt. I don’t think I would qualify for need-based scholarships because they make more than 100k a year, but all of it is just spent paying bills and debt.
@happymomof1 Thanks for that, I’ll definitely check it out!
@ucbalumnus All of the net calculators put me at paying full price because my parents make more than 100k. The 13k per year is a combination of my scholarship, my dad’s ~9k a year, and my ~4k a year. I haven’t taken out any loans because of the high interest rates, so I’m treating my dad’s contribution as a loan I fully intend to pay back once I get out of grad school. My major is environmental science with a minor in poli sci.
I was actually thinking about transferring to a cc, though I worry how it will look when I reapply as a junior transfer.
Lots of people transfer to CCs after one or two semesters at universities in order to save money. Since the CA public system has good pathways for CCC transfers, that might make good sense for you too.
@happymomof1 really? Ok good. I’ll have to see which plan is the best for me at this point. I’ll have to talk to my dad as well
out of state tuition is going to be way higher than in state. Unless you get a WUE, where you only pay for 150% of tuition, you should look it up. Some schools have limited WUE students, where as other shools offer it to everyone. I know Southern Oregon U. does that. That is a smaller school that you might enjoy. They also have lots of CA students.
@IheartENGR Oh that sounds interesting! So theoretically I would apply to a school that has this WUE program and will pay 150% of the tuition every year as a nonresident of the state? And would the WUE refer to both tuition and room/board or just tuition?
The WUE discount is just for tuition (room and board is typically not affected by state residency, though travel costs may be higher for more distant schools).
@ucbalumnus right sorry I don’t know what I was thinking thanks!