Realistic schools for transfer from community college?

I’m a non-traditional GED student and I’d like to apply to LACs and private universities that give strong financial aid.

college GPA: 4.0
EFC: 0, I’m independent but in any event I have one living parent with 3 kids and who lives at the poverty level.
hooks: URM Hispanic female and partially grew up in the third-world, formerly homeless youth, non-trad?
Major: English and philosophy
ECs:
-actually decent in high school, before I dropped out. I had a leadership position (secretary for envronmental initiative) and was super involved (MUN, non-elected minutes-taker for gov). I was also scouted by my creative writing and English teachers who were co-starting a school paper, so I was a “founding-member” by a stretch. still don’t even know whether the club came to fruition. thinking abt hs makes me wistful…
-I entered the workforce at a young age and have held interesting jobs. I’ve also taken some interesting and personal volunteer opportunities. For example, I helped fellow homeless kids pass their GEDs.
-philosophy club and book club at my first community college, some political canvassing, submitted a few articles to a fun peer-blog sponsored by a sociology professor (don’t even remember the URL but it was silly), participated in poetry activities (don’t know if either of the latter is worth mentioning)
-caregiver for terminally ill parent, which significantly shaped my passion for the study of ethics and humanities at-large
essays: I kind of write for a living (do work here and there in-house for a small international business) and could craft something decently compelling. I’ve gotten to travel and write - within very specific parameters - which is,amazing. My writing is likely far-removed from that of a typical applicant due to life experience. Definitely going to run it by professors and ~forum peers~.
-I have never taken a standardized test lol
???

By “independent”, do you mean independent for FAFSA purposes (see https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa/filling-out/dependency )? Note: some private colleges define independent / dependent differently for financial aid grants that they give.

Another post of yours suggests that you are a Florida resident. Would the various Florida public universities be affordable, according to their net price calculators? (Florida has a public LAC, New College of Florida.)

My community college defines me as independent, whereas many schools would not. I do not have a claim to FAFSA independence that is honored universally. My EFC, although at-times not 0, very low in any event.

Public school affordability would assume merit-aid. I qualify for 80-100% of the Pell (Florida tuition is ~6k) and books, room and board, and fees would be out-of-pocket. This is 6k-10k a year. Private LACs with strong aid cost the same to significantly lower.

I am applying to Florida state universities and 4-years (New College of Florida and the FAU-Wilkes Honors College), but I’m interested in where I may have a shot at private OOS schools. NCF is an extremely unorthodox education (no grades) and the drop-out rate is unreasonably high. FAU-Wilkes is highly selective as it’s basically free for admits. The Palm Beach County housing situation is unaffordable.

^ edited to include in first post

Unfortunate, transfer admission, particularly at private schools, usually has much lower transparency (compared to frosh admission) that can allow you to estimate reach/match/likely/safety.

However, a college GPA of 4.0 in the courses needed to prepare for your major and cover typical expected general requirements is the best possible academic credentials that a transfer applicant can present.

I think you have an interesting story and, if your classes have consisted of core curriculum type classes, you might consider a school like Brown, which is known for giving CC transfers a chance. I doubt any colleges will be interested in any high school grades or test scores. They care about grades in college.

Those other selective schools will also care about your college grades, but be aware that some are need aware, such as Tufts. Typically, transfer students are not eligible for merit scholarships, so you need to contact the FA offices at these schools and talk to them about what type of aid they award.

You have a good shot at some of these schools, provided you had core classes and maintained outside activities despite your hardships.

Chance me asa transfer for: Barnard, Scripps, Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr, Occidental, WashU St Louis, MacAlester, Smith, MHC, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest Amherst, Vassar, Tufts?!? I want to go to a school with a rigorous curriculum and without a toxic competitive culture. I need good financial aid. Let me know if I’m missing any.

I’m a non-traditional GED student and I’d like to apply to LACs and private universities that give strong financial aid.

college GPA: 4.0

state: FL

EFC: very low, I will make 20> this year but in any event (like not being considered independent) I have one living parent with 3 kids and who lives at the poverty level.

hooks: URM Hispanic female and partially grew up in the third-world, formerly homeless youth, non-trad?

Major: English and philosophy

ECs:-actually decent in high school, before I dropped out. I had a leadership position (secretary for envronmental initiative) and was super involved (MUN, non-elected minutes-taker for gov). I was also scouted by my creative writing and English teachers who were co-starting a school paper, so I was a “founding-member” by a stretch. still don’t even know whether the club came to fruition. thinking abt hs makes me wistful… This is all complicated because I went to like 4 high schools for fragmented moments and ultimately fizzled out of every one. I do not want to send my hs transcript lol

-I entered the workforce at a young age and have held interesting jobs. I’ve also taken some interesting and personal volunteer opportunities. For example, I helped fellow homeless kids pass their GEDs

.-philosophy club and book club at my first community college, some political canvassing, submitted a few articles to a fun peer-blog sponsored by a sociology professor (don’t even remember the URL but it was silly), participated in poetry activities (don’t know if either of the latter is worth mentioning)

-caregiver for terminally ill parent, which significantly shaped my passion for the study of ethics and humanities at-large

essays: I kind of write for a living (do work here and there in-house for a small international business where I do menial office work) and could craft something decently compelling. I’ve gotten to travel and write - within very specific parameters - which is,amazing. My writing is likely far-removed from that of a typical applicant due to life experience. Definitely going to run it by professors and ~forum peers~.

-I have never taken a standardized test lol???

I agree that you should defintely apply to Bryn Mawr, Barnard, Smith, and Scripps. Take a chance on your list of co-ed LACs too. Admission at all of those is unpredictable, but you are an interesting candidate, and have every reason to think that admission is possible.

Meanwhile, work with the Transfer Advisor at your CC to identify at least one good safety where your admission is guaranteed and affordable. Ask the person about the Jack Kent Cooke scholarship. With a GPA of 4.0, that one is worth investigating.

Wishing you all the best!

Is admission more likely for women’s LACs? I’ve emailed some of them with questions and they have been extremely responsive, welcoming, and well-wishing. I know a lot of them have initiatives in place to welcome non-traditional students, like Ada Comstock and Bryn Mawr’s analog (name eludes me at the moment), but these seem to be aimed at part-time students well beyond traditional college-age. It has also come to my attention that Barnard is pretty need-sensitive for transfers :confused:

Anyway, I am still within traditional college-age, but I have taken a road less traveled! Thanks! I know I’d be super happy at any of the schools you mentioned. Didn’t even know Tufts was need-sensitive.

Transfer student average college GPAs and admit rates:

Barnard: 3.64, 24% https://admissions.barnard.edu/sites/default/files/class_of_2021_profile_1.pdf
Mount Holyoke: NA, 36.3% https://www.mtholyoke.edu/admission/class_profile

Unfortunately, it looks like other colleges on your list are not forthcoming about transfer admission stats.

Bryn Mawr is interested in CC transfers, so do stay in touch with the admissions office there. The McBride Scholars are 24 or older, and have more flexibility for attending part-time if they need to do that. However, there isn’t any requirement that they must be part-time.

*Mount Holyoke
*Smith
*Bryn Mawr
*Scripps
*Wake Forest
*Wesleyan
*University of Iowa (I have been told they give great aid for URMs)

GED recipient
4.0 College GPA
English and/or philosophy major
decent ECs and work experience
hooks: URM Hispanic, formerly homeless youth, have lived in another country
Haven’t taken any standardized tests
Florida

thanks!

I can’t find specific information about scholarships for out-of-state students at U of IA. You need to verify that money could be available for you. Start here: https://www.admissions.uiowa.edu/finances/scholarships

Information about the Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship is here: https://www.jkcf.org/our-scholarships/

Hollins University might be worth checking out for the writing program: https://www.hollins.edu/ I don’t know how robust their financial aid is.