How to Pay for College as a Transfer Student

Updated on April 11th, 2022

Figuring out how to pay for college as a transfer student might seem like a challenge at first. However, there are plenty of options available, allowing students to handle their expenses with ease. 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.

If you’d like to learn more about paying for college as a transfer student, here’s what you need to know.

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 is planning on attending another to finish their degree.

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

However, students with a bachelor’s 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 a student begins a master’s or Doctoral program after earning a bachelor’s, their credit counts start over fresh. As a result, starting a new graduate degree 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 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 handling the cost of their first college. The main thing students need to consider is whether there is existing financial aid in place and whether managing it in a particular way is necessary. Otherwise, students use primarily the same process as they would when initially securing funding for their education.

If you want to find out more about financial aid for transfer students and other ways to make your student’s 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 that’s related to the cost of attendance may not transition straight across, for example. Similarly, institutional awards 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 a school that’s eligible 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’ll need to 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 school. 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 is can be “yes.” There’s nothing about being a transfer student that inherently disqualifies them from financial aid. As long as the student is eligible to receive it and the school can accept it, transfer students can access a variety of programs.

For transfer students who don’t have any 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.

Additionally, transfer students with or without previous financial aid packages may qualify for new awards at the new school. For example, there 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 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 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 scholarships for transfer students?” the answer is, “Yes, transfer student scholarships 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 are need-based, while others are academic scholarships for transfer students that focus on merit. There are even full-ride scholarships for transfer students, specifically at some institutions.

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

Here are just some of the institutions and organizations offering college transfer scholarships, including a mix of need-based, merit-based, and full-ride transfer 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 Miami
• Wayne State University

Ultimately, the list of places offering transfer student 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, everyone isn’t practical.

If your student wants to head to a college that isn’t 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 for college transfer student scholarships specifically. Many programs aren’t concerned 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.