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Top 12 Scholarships for Transfer Students in March 2023
According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, more than one third of college students will transfer to another college. While students will transfer for many reasons, some students are transferring to save money. Regardless of why you are transferring, there are some great scholarships for transfer students that are available!
Jump ahead to:
- Top scholarships for transfer students in 2022
- How to win scholarships for transfer students
- Resources for transfer students
- Transfer scholarships from honor societies
- How does transferring affect financial aid?
- Frequently asked questions about transfer scholarships
- Explore these related scholarship categories
These scholarships for transfer students are generally applicable for students who intend to transfer to four year colleges or universities. Also note that some states will have special scholarships for community college students who are transferring to an in-state university. You can check with the financial aid office at your in-state university!
You can also keep on reading to learn everything you need to know about scholarships and financial aid as a transfer student.
The Scholarships360 Research Team reviews all scholarships individually and strives to exclude any scholarship where any of the below applies: If you believe a scholarship has been published in error, please reach out to [email protected] and we’ll take a look!
* There are certain exceptions to this, for example if the sponsoring organization is a major corporation or nonprofit with its own scholarship application system.
Scholarships360 Exclusive The Scholarships360 $10,000 “No Essay” Scholarship is open to all students who want some extra help paying for their education. Whether you are a high school student who hopes to… Sponsored Easy scholarship from Nitro College open to all high school, college, community and graduate students. Sponsored Open to high school students, college students, community college students, and graduate students. Offered by American Association of Geographers Are you a community college student planning to transfer to a four-year institution as a geography major? If so, you might be interested in the Darrel Hess Community College Geography… Offered by Fisher House Foundation, Inc. Are you a current or prospective college student whose parents are serving or retired from the military? If so, consider applying for the Scholarships for Military Children Program! The program… This scholarship might not currently be accepting applications. Most scholarship programs only accept applications a few months ahead of their annual deadline. We’ve estimated this deadline based on last year’s deadline in order to help you plan out your scholarship applications. Offered by Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Are you a community college student looking to transfer to a four-year college or university? You might consider applying for the Jack Kent Cooke Transfer Scholarship! This scholarship is open… This scholarship might not currently be accepting applications. Most scholarship programs only accept applications a few months ahead of their annual deadline. We’ve estimated this deadline based on last year’s deadline in order to help you plan out your scholarship applications. Offered by Collins + Co. Are you a Black or African American college student in the Washington metropolitan area? If so, you may be eligible for the Richard B. Watkins Scholarship! The scholarship is open… This scholarship might not currently be accepting applications. Most scholarship programs only accept applications a few months ahead of their annual deadline. We’ve estimated this deadline based on last year’s deadline in order to help you plan out your scholarship applications. Offered by Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising The GUESS Scholars Program is funded by the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, a private, fashion and design university located in Los Angeles, California. Each year, their GUESS Scholars… This scholarship might not currently be accepting applications. Most scholarship programs only accept applications a few months ahead of their annual deadline. We’ve estimated this deadline based on last year’s deadline in order to help you plan out your scholarship applications. Sponsored Annual $10k scholarship from CollegeXpress open to high school students in the class of 2024, 2026, and 2026. Sponsored Easy scholarship from Niche open to all high school, college, and graduate students. Sponsored Easy scholarship program open to all students who watch a student-led virtual college tourTop 12 Scholarships for Transfer Students in March 2023
** Lead generation scholarships will require students to sign up for an app or website and require minimal (if any) application requirements.
***Idea harvesting scholarships will require students to submit blog posts or other materials that companies may use for marketing purposes.
$10,000 “No Essay” Scholarship
$2,000 Nitro College Scholarship – No Essay
$25k “Be Bold” No-Essay Scholarship
Darrel Hess Community College Geography Scholarship
Scholarships for Military Children Program
Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship
Richard B. Watkins Scholarship
GUESS Scholars Program
$10,000 CollegeXpress Scholarship
Niche $2,000 “No Essay” College Scholarship
$2,000 CampusReel Virtual Tour Scholarship
How to win scholarships for transfer students
Like any type of scholarship, transfer student scholarships are highly competitive and the vast majority of opportunities receive way more applications than they can give awards to. For this reason, it’s important to put together compelling applications in order to maximize your chances of winning. One of the best ways to do this is doing some research into the organization offering the scholarship, and giving the scholarship listing a close read. Try to find what values and principles they are looking for in a candidate, and emphasize these in your application.
It’s also important to fine-tune your essays in order to maximize your chances. We can help you through this process with a collection of guides on assembling scholarship applications. These include guides on how to write a winning scholarship essay, how to write about yourself, and how to tailor your writing to 250 or 500 word limits. We can also walk you through the steps of making a scholarship resume, and give you tutorials on answering some of the most common scholarship prompts.
You should also be sure to contact the financial aid and admissions offices at schools you are considering transferring to, in order to see if they offer any scholarships for incoming transfers. Finally, don’t forget about local scholarships! Local scholarships have a much lower number of applicants, so you have a higher chance of winning. Try looking at some local community organizations to see if they offer any opportunities.
Resources for transfer students & students considering transferring
The process of transferring schools can be complicated and involves a lot of choices. Luckily, we have some guides to help you through. Check out our guides on how to transfer colleges, how to transfer from a community college to a four-year university, and how to write a transfer essay. It’s important to use a different focus in your transfer essays than you did in your initial admissions essay, and this guide will help you with those differences. Finally, don’t forget to fill out the FAFSA and/or CSS Profile for your prospective school!
Transfer scholarships from honor societies
There are several academic honor societies out there that offer transfer scholarships to students. If you are a member in any of the organizations or are considering membership, these scholarships can be a great opportunity.
Phi Theta Kappa
Phi Theta Kappa is a national honor society with over 3.8 million members. They offer a whole host of transfer scholarships for members, which you can access through their PTK Connect portal. Some are based on GPA whereas others may depend more on financial need and other extracurricular achievement.
Tau Sigma
Tau Sigma is a national honor society exclusively for transfer students. They run several scholarship programs, including ones for international students who are transferring schools. If you are looking to pursue your bachelor’s degree at a different college, don’t forget to check out Tau Sigma!
How does transferring affect financial aid?
When considering whether to transfer schools, it’s important to investigate how the decision would affect your financial aid. You will have to go through the financial aid process with your new school and see how much money they can offer you. Remember, institutional need-based and merit-based financial aid will not transfer with you.
Transferring does not affect your Pell Grant or federal loans, but all other forms of institutional aid will change, and some renewable private scholarships may not transfer. So, if you already are on a private scholarship, make sure to be in touch with the servicers to ensure that the scholarship awards would transfer to your new school.
