Does it matter where you transfer from?

entomom
Sun, 27 Apr 2008 13:54:41 +0000

A couple of things to think about since your two main choices are between going to a 4 year school or CC & transferring:

Transferring is more difficult for everybody (CC or not) since schools generally take a lower percentage of transfer applicants than they do for freshmen.

With very few exceptions, there is no merit aid for transfer students. So you should only count on FA to help pay for your last two years. You don’t say whether or not you will qualify and if you would be able to afford your EFC, so that may be a concern. Compare how much it will cost to attend the 4 year school with a merit scholarship vs. inexpensive CC for 2 years plus a potentially more expensive school for the last 2 years.

Be careful when people make generic statements about students transferring to colleges like Brown (from anywhere, not just CC). While this does happen, the devil is in the details, take Brown as an example:


Transfer acceptance rates are much lower than for freshman admissions.
Transfer admission is need aware (meaning you have a better chance of admission if you don’t apply for FA).
For transfers, if you don’t apply or qualify for FA the year you apply, you will not be considered for FA in subsequent years (except if there is a catastrophe, in which case they will review your case).