How to Pay for College as a Transfer Student

Updated on May 31st, 2024

Figuring out how to pay for college as a transfer student might initially seem like a challenge. However, plenty of options are available, allowing students to handle their expenses easily. Plus, your student may be eligible for transfer student scholarships, too.

If your student plans on transferring to a different school, transfer student scholarships make paying for college easier. If you and your student are concerned about how to pay for college as a transfer student and want to learn about scholarships for transfer students, sign up for our free college scholarship webinar! Take a quick trip over to http://thescholarshipsystem.com/freewebinar to reserve a spot today.

Here’s what you need to know if you’d like to learn more about paying for your college tuition as a transfer student.

What Is a Transfer Student?

If you’re trying to figure out the answer to “What’s a transfer student?” it isn’t overly complicated. In the simplest sense, a transfer student is any student who has prior college experience at a specific collegiate level with one school and plans on attending another to finish their degree.

The transfer student category includes community college students or two-year college graduates with an Associate’s degree who transition to a four-year university to complete a bachelor’s degree. Additionally, any student who gathered some credits at one school without completing a degree and is starting classes at a new college potentially qualifies.

However, students with a bachelor’s degree who are moving to a different school for a graduate degree are not transfer students. Usually, one of the defining characteristics of a transfer student is the need to get the credits they’ve already earned recognized at the college they’re preparing to attend. That way, they can be counted as progress toward the degree they’re trying to acquire.

When students begin a master’s or Doctoral program after a four-year college or earning a bachelor’s, their credit counts start over fresh. As a result, starting a new graduate degree after four-year college doesn’t mean the student is transferring.

But students who start a graduate degree in one school and change to a different university to complete a program are transfer students. In that case, they need the new school to recognize their merit based scholarships and past work, putting them in the transfer category.

It is important to note that college credits earned prior to attending college don’t qualify a student as a transfer student. For example, AP and CLEP credits are handled differently and won’t cause a student to be classified as a transfer student.

HOW TO PAY FOR COLLEGE AS A TRANSFER STUDENT

Paying for college as a transfer student isn’t unlike most college students handling the cost of their first college. The main thing incoming transfer students need to consider is whether existing financial assistance is in place and whether managing it in a particular way is necessary. Otherwise, college transfer students use primarily the same process as they would when initially securing funding for their higher education.

If you want to learn more about financial aid for transfer students and other ways to make your student’s college education affordable, here is a look at how to pay for college as a transfer student.

Related Video: Transfer Student Scholarships: Are they the best source of money for college?

Transfer Existing Financial Aid to the New School

In some cases, certain types of financial aid are transferrable, allowing your student to move those awards to their next school. However, this process is never automatic. Instead, your student has to coordinate with their new college to shift any financial aid over, suggesting that’s an option.

There are instances where financial aid might not transfer to the new school. Any funding related to the cost of attendance may not transition straight across, for example. Similarly, institutional awards for academic excellence won’t move to another school.

Whether a school is eligible to access a specific kind of financial aid can also be a factor. For instance, not all colleges have access to federal financial aid programs. If your student moves from an eligible school to one that isn’t, they won’t be able to apply federal financial aid to the new program.

If your student needs to figure out how to transfer financial aid to another school, their best bet is to speak with their new college’s financial aid department. It will be able to provide guidance, ensuring your student knows what will and won’t transition and what steps they’ll need to take during the process.

However, if your student is only dealing with federal financial aid, they can begin the process on their own. They must update their FAFSA to include the new school as a starting point. After that, the college they want to attend will put together a financial aid package, allowing your student to review what they’re able to offer. Then, they can determine whether they’ll have out-of-pocket costs that need addressing.

It is important to note that students with existing federal student loans may need to take an extra step after enrolling in a new school. Their existing direct loans may enter a repayment status when they withdraw from their first college. If they want to delay repayment while they finish up at another college, they’ll need to request an in-school deferment to ensure repayment isn’t triggered.

New Financial Aid for Transfer Students

If you’re trying to find an answer to the question, “Do transfer students get financial aid if they don’t have any awards currently?” the answer can be “yes.” Nothing about being a transfer student inherently disqualifies them from financial aid. As long as the student in financial need is eligible to receive it and the school can accept it, transfer students can access a variety of programs.

For transfer students without existing financial aid, their first step is to complete their FAFSA. That will not only determine their eligibility for a range of federal programs, but it may also help them qualify for specific institutional awards. Many colleges use student FAFSAs to assess their eligibility for need-based programs run by the institution, creating more opportunities for financial help for students transferring in.

Additionally, transfer students with or without previous financial aid or merit scholarship packages may qualify for new awards at the new school. For example, there are many scholarships that may be merit-based grants available at some institutions. Certain colleges even have financial awards designed to attract transfer students specifically.

Precisely how transfer students access these awards depends on the type. After their new school receives their FAFSA, your student will receive a financial aid package overview covering what other scholarship awards they’re eligible to receive. However, while they might be part of the initial packages, it’s also possible that they may have to apply for specific merit scholarships or institutional grants directly.

If your student has any questions, contacting the financial aid office at their new college is the best option. That way, they can speak with someone about their package and other opportunities that may be available.

Scholarships for Transfer Students

If you and your student are wondering, “Are there scholarship opportunities for transfer students?” the answer is, “Yes, transfer student scholarship opportunities are available.”

Transfer scholarships can come in all shapes and sizes, though most are offered by educational institutions, limiting applicants to enrolled students. Beyond that, some college scholarships are need-based, while others are academic scholarships for transfer students focusing on merit and academic achievement. There are even merit scholarships and full-tuition scholarships for transfer students, specifically at some institutions.

Like most scholarships, eligibility requirements vary. Along with transferring to a qualifying school, your student may need to come from a particular college system. Residency in a certain state could be part of the scholarship eligibility equation, as well as academic achievements such as a history of strong academic achievement. Membership in a particular organization – such as a sorority, fraternity, or honors society – could potentially be a must for several scholarships, too.

There are also transfer student scholarships that directly target incoming international students. Graduates from two-year schools may also find community college excellence scholarships designed to make transitioning from community college to a four-year university more affordable.

Here are just some of the institutions and organizations offering scholarships for transfer students, including a mix of financial need-based, merit-based, and full tuition scholarships:

• Augustana College
• Grand Valley State University
• Heidelberg University
• Hiram College
• Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
• Johnson & Wales University
• Loyola University Chicago
• Lycoming College
• Minnesota State University Moorhead
• Mississippi State University
• Niagara University
• Northwood University
• NYSTAA
• Phi Theta Kappa (Multiple Award Types)
• Tau Sigma National Honor Society
• University of Alabama
• University of Kentucky
• University of Maryland
• University of MiamiWayne State University

Ultimately, the list of places offering transfer scholarships just scratches the surface of what’s available. While the various included schools could be some of the best colleges for transfer students looking to keep their costs down, the list above isn’t all-encompassing. There are so many colleges that offer transfer scholarships that including them every one isn’t practical.

If your student wants to head to a college not on the list above, they should check with that school to determine if awards may be available. In many cases, they’ll discover that the institution is one of the colleges with good transfer scholarships that just didn’t fit on the list.

It’s also important to note that transfer students don’t have to look specifically for college transfer student scholarships. Many scholarship programs now aren’t concerned about whether a student is transferring to a new institution or not. Instead, they use other criteria to determine who receives the award. As a result, they may be able to find even more options, making it easier than ever to attend school without using student loans.

If your student plans on transferring to a different school, transfer student scholarships make paying for college easier. If you and your student are concerned about how to pay for college as a transfer student and want to learn about scholarships for transfer students, sign up for our free college scholarship webinar! Take a quick trip over to http://thescholarshipsystem.com/freewebinar to reserve a spot today.

Transfer Existing Scholarships

In some cases, existing scholarships awarded to a student may transfer to other colleges. While institutional awards usually won’t transfer, other scholarships or those offered by government entities or private organizations may apply to programs at various institutions. As a result, students with scholarships need to explore this angle to maintain this type of financial aid.

Working with the scholarship provider is essential for students with existing scholarships that they could potentially carry over to their new school (especially renewable ones). Contact the awarding organization to see if the funds could be shifted to a different institution and learn about scholarship eligibility and any potential restrictions or limitations. Additionally, gather details about the overall transfer process, particularly any required documentation, such as acceptance letters from the new school.

Ways to Reduce the Cost of College for Transfer Students

Financial aid and scholarships are a significant part of the equation for transferring undergraduate students and graduate students. But there are other steps they can take to reduce the cost of college when transitioning to a different community college, four-year university, or graduate school. Here are some options students transferring should explore.

Transfer for the Fall Semester

Typically, students who begin an academic year at a new school have access to more financial aid than transfer students who arrive after the academic year begins. This is because financial aid for accredited four year college is primarily divvied out near the start of the fall semester, so there may be fewer resources available for transfer students arriving in the winter or spring.

For most students, this means applying for a transfer during the winter or spring to secure entry as a student during the upcoming fall. That also allows them to use the summer to prepare for the transition, which could make things easier to manage if they’re ultimately moving to a new city or state.

Have Transfer Credits Assessed in Advance

When a student transfers to an accredited institution from a different college, the new school determines which of the student’s completed credits will count toward a degree based on how the courses compare to its offerings. Sometimes, what’s deemed worthy of transfer isn’t as straightforward as a student may expect. Each institution has unique academic standards, and differences in the quality of the education or the topics covered in a class may prevent some credits from transferring across.

Ultimately, the number of accepted transfer credits impacts a student’s college costs. Any credit that doesn’t transfer usually means a student needs to retake courses at the new institution that they completed previously at their current or last college. Repeating classes means paying for them again, and that pushes the total cost of their degree up.

Before a student transfers to another college, it’s best to have their transfer credits assessed by a transfer counselor at the new school. By doing so, they’ll know which courses will apply to the degree they want to pursue and which won’t.

This process is critical if students are considering multiple colleges for a potential transfer. They can determine if one school accepts more of their previous coursework than another and factor that in when estimating their potential costs. In turn, it’s easier to determine if one institution is more affordable than the other, which could simplify their college decision.