California Offering Good Aid

jacefromLA · 02-20-2012, 03:02 AM

*Sorry the Main title should be "California Schools Offering Good Aid"

Which California schools typically offer good financial aid to transfers specifically. I am interested in Chapman, Loyola Marymount, and Santa Clara. I was accepted at SCU as a freshman, but declined to attend because the aid certainly was not near enough. Please let me know of any schools in California that offer good aid to transfers, as well as the aid of the schools I had listed

tk21769 · 02-20-2012, 08:05 AM

The Common Data Set does not break out the amount of aid awarded to transfers, only the amounts awarded to entering freshmen and to all undergraduates. So I'd be interested to hear how anyone gathers and compares information about aid to transfers.

mom2collegekids · 02-20-2012, 10:25 AM

I don't think LMU gives great aid to tranfers. uSC supposedly does.

You need to contact the schools. Do their NPC calculators ask if your a transfer?

alamemom · 02-20-2012, 10:56 AM

USC offers the same need-based aid to admitted transfers as they offer to admitted freshman. Whether that equates to your definition of "good aid" or not is a personal perspective. Was your Santa Clara package insufficient because they did not meet calculated need, or was your calculated family contribution more than your family was comfortable paying?

USC uses the CSS/Profile (which considers assets the FAFSA does not, such as home equity) and the FAFSA to calculate USC-determined need, and many, if not most, applicants find that they are expected to contribute more than their FAFSA EFC.

USC provides a net-price calculator to assist you in estimating aid. This is the first year the net-price calculator has been available, so we do not yet have anecdotal reports about how accurate it is. USC Financial Aid - Planning for USC

bluebayou · 02-20-2012, 01:37 PM

Unfortunately, schools that meet 100% of need (which is good aid), are all highly selective, such as USC. There are few schools below the top ~35 in USNews that meet full need. None I don't think, in California.

SCU, for example, only meets 75% of need for entering Frosh. Assuming that they meet the same amount for transfers, your package may not be much different than it was two years ago.

jacefromLA · 02-21-2012, 02:39 AM

@mom2collegekids: I am not totally sure if their npc asks if you're a transfer, but I have heard that transferring to most colleges does not come with sufficient aid coverage.
@alamemom: BY "good aid" I mean that say at least more than half of the cost of attendance be under FAFSA best as possible. At Santa Clara they really did not meet my need calculated for my family.
@bluebayou: Are you able to list some of those few schools that typically meet full need that are below the top 35?

Anyways to further explain the extent of my situation, since the economy has soured money has gotten scarce for my family, and actually quite a bit. Stability in one of my parent's job has been very, very bad this year compared to when I applied as a freshman. So ultimately, with such a huge shift in my family's annual income would it change the aid offered to me as a transfer?
My other plan is to wait another year and apply to some Cal States once I have enough credits and then pay for it myself because I don't think my parents will honestly be able to help me pay for school anytime soon, and I don't really want to put my education on hold. So what solutions do you guys recommend given additional details?

santookie · 02-21-2012, 03:10 AM

It's fantastic that you understand your financial situation. I see nothing wrong with going to a state school. I personally went to SFSU it was mediocre. But I've heard much better about all the other schools.

mom2collegekids · 02-21-2012, 03:24 AM

BY "good aid" I mean that say at least more than half of the cost of attendance be under FAFSA best as possible.

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I'm not sure what you mean by the above.
What do you mean by: more than half of the COA be under FAFSA best as possible???

Anyway....what is your EFC?

Are you attending a CC now? Which CSU can you commute to? That can be your financial safety school.

jacefromLA · 02-21-2012, 03:38 AM

@mom2collegekids2: I meant that my family's EFC be somewhere say less than $10,000-$15,000. And right now I don't really know what would be the calculated EFC because a lot has changed a bit and my parents haven't completed taxes yet so nothing will really be accurate. Right now I am attending a CC, my financial safety would probably be something like SJSU, LBSU, or CPSLO. I really like SCU and Chapman's programs, but certainly not the price of attendance.

OCELITE · 02-21-2012, 04:08 AM

Here's a link to the Chapman's NCC for transfer students. I would suggest you to contact the Financial Aid Office to see if you would qualify for their grant. Hope this helps. Chapman University - Financial Aid - Net Cost Calculator - Transfer Students

mom2collegekids · 02-21-2012, 04:17 AM

. Right now I am attending a CC, my financial safety would probably be something like SJSU, LBSU, or CPSLO. I really like SCU and Chapman's programs, but certainly not the price of attendance

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If your parents won't be contributing, then I don't think a school can be a financial safety for you unless you can commute to it. Going away to a CSU or Cal Poly will cost more than what you, a student, can pay for....about $15k per year. how would you pay for that?

Is there a CSU that you can commute to?

jacefromLA · 02-21-2012, 11:12 AM

Right now I have about $6,000 saved up, and I could commute to SJSU its about an hour away, but if thats what I can afford then it'll have to do I guess.
Even if the school I really want to attend gave me a rather high EFC and I took out a private student loan from my bank to cover it. Would having that loan to cover the EFC truly be detrimental to myself even if I have 15 years to pay it off?
And essentially, what is too high of a student loan to pull it out?

WayOutWestMom · 02-21-2012, 11:28 AM

jace-- Students cannot take out private loans without a co-signer. Would your parents will be willing to co-sign a loan with you? It sounds like they're struggling and doing so would not be a good idea financially for them.

As a dependent student you are limited to federal loans limits ($6500 for sophomores, $7500 for juniors and seniors.)

mom2collegekids · 02-21-2012, 01:42 PM

Jace....

WOWMom is right....you'd need QUALIFIED co-signers...and your posts suggest that your family has financial issues so they probably won't co-sign (bad idea anyway).

Look at the New Mexico schools...they give merit scholarships to transfer students.

WayOutWestMom · 02-21-2012, 02:05 PM

^^True about UNM (University of New Mexico), but not true for NMSU (New Mexico State).

Amigo scholarship for transfers: Transfer Scholarships :: | The University of New Mexico

The Amigo will give in-state tuition at UNM. Tuition = $6,882/year. The scholarship is good for 4 semesters.