Help me find schools to transfer to

aquapt
Sat, 14 Aug 2021 20:55:16 +0000

Not sure if I’m interpreting this correctly, but my read is that you are not eligible for need-based aid (is that correct?) and have some sort of outside scholarship for books, but otherwise will be full-pay (minus merit) and have a budget of 40K max.

What do you mean by communications/fine art? You want a communications major supplemented by some studio art classes and perhaps a minor?

So, the first category of schools to look at would be public institutions with a reasonable sticker price and either guaranteed or likely merit.

Agree with the Minnesota Morris suggestion. Small, high quality public LAC with high achieving students - has both communication and studio art majors. It’s more midwest/rural than you want but it could be worth compromising on that parameter for, especially if it comes in significantly cheaper than other options.

UNC Asheville: Nice public LAC (3600 undergrads) in a beautiful, artsy small city. Total direct costs for OOS come in under $35K; total estimated costs (including books, etc.) still under $40K. Merit is possible. Offers a major in Mass Communication. Offers BFA, BA, and minor programs in Art. Great arts scene in Asheville, which is teeming with galleries.

Truman State is Missouri’s honors LAC. (4900 undergrads) Even more affordable than MN-Morris because it has auto-merit even for transfers, bringing the cost even lower than the under-$30K OOS sticker price. Has Communication major and multiple programs in Art & Design (Art BFA, Design BFA, Art BA, Art minor, Design minor). Downside is that as with MN-Morris, it’s a bit middle of nowhere. But high quality + low sticker price may balance this.

SUNY Purchase (4100 undergrads) comes in just under your $40K limit, and additional merit would be possible. It’s fantastic for fine arts, and it’s only about 30 miles outside of NYC. Has a Communications program as well as a BS in Visual Arts that is designed for cross-disciplinary majors (so you could combine Communications+Art in that major). The BFA programs accept transfers only if you start over and complete all four years, but the non-BFA options seem like potentially a good fit. The other small SUNY campuses would be similar financially; Purchase is the “artsiest” but there may be other good possibilities. (Check out SUNY Oswego, which has particularly strong co-op programs and notable media opportunities including an on-campus NPR affiliate… also robust visual arts programs with multiple specializations.)

Find a couple of financial safeties you could be happy with, from this category. This gives you a baseline, as you approach the more complicated task of looking for private LAC’s that may or may not offer you enough merit to attend. You can at least cull the list by eliminating anything you don’t like better than your guaranteed-affordable public choices.

Also, of course, check out your in-state public options and others with tuition reciprocity. If you’re willing to share which state you’re in (or at least whether you’re in a particular consortium like WUE or MSEP), we’ll be able to make more specific suggestions. U of Maine offers its “flagship match” program to transfers, so that’s another possibility, and not too large (9400 undergrads).