Incoming Transfer Students (2024)

UMBC offers competitive merit scholarships for incoming community college transfer students, including undocumented and DACA students. Transfer scholarships are awarded based on academic accomplishment, timely and complete admissions application submission. Students may collect either the AAT or the PTK award, but not both. Degrees to Succeed award cannot be combined with the TSA award.

Information for Transfer Merit Scholarships

Transfer merit scholarships do not require a separate application! Prospective transfers will be automatically reviewed for a transfer merit scholarship provided timely application for admission.

Priority Deadlines

          • Incoming Fall Transfers: March 1st
          • Incoming Spring Transfers: October 15th

Admissions Application (Common App) and college transcripts must be received by the deadline above in order to be guaranteed consideration for merit-based scholarships.

Minimum Scholarship Eligibility Requirements:

          • Must be transferring from a community college. Based on entire post-secondary education.
          • Consideration is based upon a numerical standard and competition of the applicant pool.
          • Completion of 30 or more credits at the time of admission application submission; priority consideration is given to students completing an associate’s degree prior to transfer.

Incoming Transfer Students (1)

Transfer Scholarships

Academic Achievement Award for Transfers (AAT)

  • Meet the Minimum Scholarship Eligibility Requirements above

Award Amount: $2,500 ($1,250 per semester)

Degrees to Succeed (DTS)

  • Meet the Minimum Scholarship Eligibility Requirements above
  • A member of the Degrees to Succeed program with CCBC and UMBC.
  • Consideration begins at a minimum 3.25 composite GPA (calculated from all colleges/universities) at the time of Transfer Admission application and is based on the competitiveness of the applicant pool.
  • Completion of an Associate’s degree at CCBC within four years of Degrees to Succeed acceptance (Official transcript must be submitted to UMBC Admissions showing an earned Associate’s degree prior to first semester at UMBC).
    • Enrollment at UMBC within one year of completion of the Associate’s degree.
    • Not matriculated at any other institution of higher education after Degrees to Succeed program acceptance.

Award Amount: $1,000 ($500 per semester)

Phi Theta Kappa Award* (PTK)

  • Meet the Minimum Scholarship Eligibility Requirements above
  • Proof of PTK membership must be included with Admission application submission.
    • *Phi Theta Kappa scholarships are institutionally funded and awarding is administered by the UMBC Merit Scholarship Unit based on the above criteria. Therefore, community college membership in PTK does not automatically guarantee receipt of this scholarship.

Award Amount: $2,500($1,250 per semester)

Transfer Student Alliance Award (TSA)

  • Meet the Minimum Scholarship Eligibility Requirements above
  • A member of the TSA program with UMBC.
    • For additional information, please visit the Transfer Student Alliance Program website.
  • Consideration begins at a minimum cumulative 3.5 composite GPA (calculated from all colleges/universities) at the time of Transfer Admission application.
  • Completion of an earned Associate’s Degree at a Maryland community college within four years of initial Pre-TSA Program acceptance (Official transcript must be submitted to UMBC Admissions showing an earned Associate’s degree prior to first semester at UMBC).
    • Enrollment at UMBC within one year of completion of the Associate’s degree.
    • Not matriculated at any other institution of higher education after pre-TSA program acceptance.

Award Amount: $1,500 ($750 per semester)

*Note that this award can “stack” or be combined with AAT or PTK if awarded.

Transfer Scholarship Maintenance

  • May be used for full or part-time award (award amount is pro-rated for part-time enrollment 6- 11.5 credits).
  • Must maintain a 3.00 cumulative GPA.
  • Awards are available for each of two academic years of study

*All recipients undergo academic reviews each semester to ensure they maintain the cumulative GPA and enrollment requirements.

No combination of UMBC awards/scholarships can exceed the cost of attendance for an academic year. However, if a student qualifies for additional awards/scholarships, the Transfer Student Alliance (TSA) Award can be combined/stacked with the Academic Achievement Award for Transfers (AAAT) OR the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) scholarship.

Incoming Transfer Students (2)

Additional Transfer Resources

Scholar Programs

Cyber Scholars Program

Sherman Teacher Scholars Program

T-SITE Scholars

Scholarship Retriever

Once you have a campus ID, submit your general application on Scholarship Retriever and begin to apply to additional scholarship opportunities, some specifically for transfer students!

TheScholarship Retrieveris available to all UMBC students and allows students to submit a general scholarship application to be considered for additional opportunities available at UMBC.

Scholarship Retriever houses both internal and external scholarship opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, and international students! You can complete the general application and apply to any other opportunities that may be of interest, and new opportunities are posted regularly, so check back frequently!

Search for Scholarships – Scholarship Retriever

Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC)

2+2 Transfer Scholarship – Designed to assist and encourage transfer students from Maryland community colleges to attend a 4-year institution within the State.

Note to Undergraduates: While 12 registered credits meets the minimum course load for full-time status for scholarship maintenance purposes, we encourage you to consider the many benefits of enrolling in at least 15 credits per semester (or, on average, 30 credits per year), including graduating in four years. To learn more about strategies for on-time degree completion and four year graduation, visit Finish 15.

Visit Transfer Central to plan your transfer. You’ll be able to review how your credits will transfer, learn more about transfer services, and explore the benefits of UMBC’s Transfer Student Alliance.

Incoming Transfer Students (2024)

FAQs

What is an incoming transfer student? ›

In general, a transfer student begins their college academic career at one institution, earns some credits through the completion of coursework, and then decides for whatever reason to transfer to a different school to finish their education.

What are the differences between incoming freshmen and transfer students? ›

Transfer students are typically not in their first-year of college—maybe their second semester at the earliest. Transfer students have already completed some level of college education at another institution.

What does it mean to be a transfer student? ›

What Is a Transfer Student? A transfer student is a student who started their academic career and earned credits at one university and then decides to transfer to a different school to complete their education. Most of the time–but not always–students choose to transfer during their sophom*ore or junior year.

Do transfer students always get accepted? ›

The acceptance rate for transfer students is generally lower than it is for freshman. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be a transfer student or that it's a bad choice—it means you need to plan ahead and follow through, just as you would if you were a high school student applying to a four-year school.

What are incoming transfers? ›

Incoming transfers are the transactions that increase the balance of the related account. There are two types of incoming transfers. scope field reflects these types: 1.

What are the cons of being a transfer student? ›

You Could Lose Financial Aid

While some colleges offer transfer scholarships, transfer students sometimes have fewer scholarship and grant opportunities available to them. In some cases, federal aid, like work-study support, may be lost in a transfer.

Do transfer students get into college easier? ›

According to NACAC, on average, transfer admission rates were slightly lower than that of first-year students. Why? First, students are applying for admission to classes that are already established and may have few seats available.

Is it better to apply as a freshman or transfer student? ›

Students who have taken college coursework that is counting towards their high school graduation should apply as first-year applicants. This includes students pursuing an associate's degree while finishing high school.

Is it better to transfer as a sophom*ore or a junior? ›

The best time to transfer is the end of sophom*ore year/start of junior year. Why? If you try transferring during freshman year, the only real grades you have will be from high school, and those senior-year grades will matter—a lot. If you finished high school on a high note, then, by all means, aim to transfer earlier.

Is being a transfer student hard? ›

Transfer students often have an abbreviated new student orientation experience that may not have the same level of engagement. A Repeat of First-Year Experience – Attending a new school could feel like starting all over again.

Are transfer students more successful? ›

Transfer Students' Performance

Four-year college administrators say that roughly a quarter of transfer students perform better than their native students, while about half perform as well.

How do transfers work in college? ›

Traditionally, college transfer is the assessment and acceptance of students with prior learning credentials demonstrated by coursework grades or exams. The movement of academic course credits from one college to another is usually a manual process requesting transcripts and the petition for credit.

What GPA should a transfer student have? ›

Academic Preparation

The average GPA of admitted transfer students is above 3.5 and admitted students have completed most or all major preparatory courses. We give highest priority to applicants from California community colleges and other UC campuses.

What colleges accept the most transfer students? ›

2021 – 2022 Transfer Admission Rates
RankSchoolTransfer Accept %
1Emory33.7
2Vanderbilt17.6
3UNC46.9
4Georgia Tech40.7
17 more rows

Can transfer students get rejected? ›

So, if you left a four-year college with a GPA of less than 2.0, you could be rejected from community college on those grounds. Most community colleges have a minimum course grade and overall GPA requirement for transfer students, so you want to make sure you find out what it is before you apply.

What is incoming external transfer? ›

Key Takeaways. An external transfer is a way to move money electronically between an account you have with one financial institution and an account in another bank. You can use external transfers to move money between accounts, to pay friends and family, or (with caution) to pay bills.

What is credit transfer student? ›

Transfer credit is the measurement of comparable prior learning (courses, experiential or examinations) versus the current offerings of a college or university by assessing the currency and applicability of the credit petition and claims.

What is the difference between transfer and visiting student? ›

A transfer credit form gives permission to transfer course credits from the visiting institution back to your home institution. In most cases the transferred grade does not count toward your GPA, but the credits will count toward graduation. A Visiting Student is a special arrangement between PASSHE schools.

What does it mean to be in a transfer program? ›

California community colleges and partnering institutions created the transfer program to make it easier for community college students to transfer to a guaranteed saved spot at a participating four-year university where you can earn a bachelor's degree.

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