College aid for transfer students

Scholarships set aside for transfers

Many four-year colleges hold scholarships only for transfer students, often aimed at those coming from community colleges. These awards usually look at your college grade average and the number of credits you have completed rather than high school records. Some are automatic with admission, and others need a separate application.

Some colleges keep awards for members of Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society at two-year colleges. The college decides the amount, the grade average and whether proof of membership is needed. Ask the chapter advisor at your community college which colleges offer them, and confirm the terms with each college.

Dates and paperwork

Transfer deadlines often differ from first-year deadlines, and scholarship deadlines can come earlier than the admission deadline for transfers. Check both on the transfer admissions page. Colleges that admit transfers for spring may have a separate, smaller pool of money for that term.

Add the new college to your FAFSA by its school code so it can build an offer, and send official transcripts from every college you have attended. If the college uses the CSS Profile for its own grants, that requirement applies to transfers too. Aid from your current college generally stays there, so expect a new offer built from scratch.

How credits shape the award

The number of credits that transfer affects the scholarship. A college may limit a transfer award to a set number of terms, such as four or six, based on the time a student with your credits would need to finish. If some credits do not transfer, the award may run out before you finish.

Ask for a credit evaluation early and compare it with your degree plan. Some states and colleges have transfer agreements that set how community college credits count toward a degree, and some scholarships are tied to those agreements. Your community college's transfer advisor can explain which agreements apply to your program.