Westminster College Transfer Scholar Incentive Award

A Private Education at Public Price

Westminster College is pleased to introduce a program for transfer students: the Transfer Scholar Incentive Award. Through this program, we will match the 2009-2010 highest in-state public school cost of attendance (currently the University of Utah).

Eligibility Requirements

• Student must apply for admission to Westminster College by June 1, 2009.

 • Student’s cumulative transfer GPA* must be at least a 3.5. (Cumulative transfer GPA will be calculated by the Westminster College Admissions Office and will include GPAs from all institutions attended) 

• Student must submit a 2009-2010 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA form) by June 1, 2009.

Apply Now!

Award Information

• The amount of gift aid in the award package is calculated as the difference between the Cost of Attendance at the University of Utah for a full-time (15 credit hours), residential student and the average cost of attendance for a full-time (12-16 credit hours), residential student at Westminster College.

• The financial aid package is renewable for subsequent years at Westminster College provided the student maintains a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA, meets satisfactory academic progress requirements, and other terms and conditions as outlined on the back of institutional scholarship letters.

• The Transfer Scholar Incentive Award package will offer $17,000 in gift aid from all sources of funding which may include, but are not limited to: Westminster Transfer Presidential Scholarship, Westminster institutional grant funds, federal Pell Grant, federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG), National SMART Grant, LEAP Grant, UCOPE Grant, and UHEAA Grant.

• The institutional grant portion of the award package may be limited or reduced for students whose total financial resources exceed the Westminster College cost of attendance.

• Students who received financial aid packages before April 3, 2009 and qualify for the Transfer Scholar Incentive Award will receive updated Financial Aid Award Notices. Revised financial aid awards will include up to, but will not exceed, $17,000 in gift aid.

Calculating the Transfer Scholar Incentive Award
• The 2008-2009 University of Utah cost of attendance per U.S. News & World Report is calculated at $18,500 (this includes a 9.5% tuition increase for 2009-2010). The 2009-2010 average cost of attendance at Westminster College is $35,500.

• The difference between the two costs of attendance is $17,000 resulting in a $17,000 gift aid package to students qualifying for the Transfer Scholar Incentive Award.

Award Calculation Examples:

Sample Student 1: Peter Smith
Peter is admitted to Westminster College and has his FAFSA on file by June 1, 2009. He’s transferring from a local community college with 61 credit hours and is an independent student. Peter’s FAFSA shows zero Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and based on his 3.85 GPA, Peter has qualified for a $10,000 Westminster Transfer Presidential Scholarship. Peter’s financial aid package under the Transfer Scholar Incentive Award program would look like:

 *above are for the fall 2009 and spring 2010 semesters and require full-time enrollment in each semester

Sample Student 2: Marcia Brown
Marcia is admitted to Westminster College and has his FAFSA on file by June 1, 2009. She’s transferring from a local community college with 35 credit hours and is an independent student. Marcia’s FAFSA shows a $9,000 Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and based on her 3.99 GPA, she has qualified for a $10,000 Westminster Transfer Presidential Scholarship. Marcia’s financial aid package under the Transfer Scholar Incentive Award program would look like: 

Frequently Asked Questions
Q - How is the highest in-state public school cost of attendance determined?
A – The highest in-state public school cost of attendance is currently the University of Utah. This amount is as published or as reported in U.S. News & World Report.

Q – Do I have to notify the school that I’m interested in this program?
A – Westminster College will automatically consider all students who meet the eligibility requirements for the Transfer Scholar Incentive Award. Financial aid will be packaged accordingly once the student has been admitted to the college and has a valid FAFSA on file with the Financial Aid Office.

Q – Are re-admitted students eligible for the Transfer Scholar Incentive Program?
A – Students who are applying for re-admission to Westminster are not eligible for consideration unless they have earned additional credits from another institution since leaving Westminster and meet the other eligibility requirements.

Q – Can the scholarship increase as costs increase each year?
A – Yes! As the costs at in-state colleges and Westminster rise, so will the total award amount. Therefore, the 2010-2011 award amount could be more than the 2009-2010 amount, depending on the cost increases at the institutions.

Q – I am a current Westminster College Student. Am I eligible?
A – All current students were evaluated for scholarships and financial aid awards based on the opportunities available to them during their application process to Westminster College. Continuing Westminster College students can apply for continuing student scholarships each year to potentially increase their awards.

Q – What if I qualify for outside scholarships?
A – Generally, outside scholarships are added on top of any other financial aid received from institutional, state, and federal resources. In the case that a student’s total aid exceeds the Westminster College cost of attendance, institutional resources may be reduced or forfeited.

Q – If I don’t want to live on campus at Westminster can I still receive the Transfer Scholar Incentive Award?
A – Yes! If you are going to be commuting to Westminster College you can still receive the award package.

Q – If wasn’t planning to live on campus at any school, can you increase the scholarship to reflect that?
A – To make this award program fair and consistent for all students, the Transfer Scholar Incentive Award package will always be calculated using costs of attendance inclusive of room and board charges.

Q – I was offered a scholarship by a state school. Will my Transfer Scholar Incentive Award be increased to match that?
A – No. The Transfer Scholar Incentive Award is designed to make the cost of attending Westminster approximately the same as the cost of attending a state school such as the University of Utah, not including any scholarship funding offered by those institutions.

Q – Why is Westminster offering the Transfer Scholar Incentive Award?
A – The current economic climate has challenged many this year. We don’t want transfer students to settle for less than they deserve because a high quality education isn’t affordable. Students who transfer to Westminster can take advantage of our smaller class sizes and the prestige that comes along with a Westminster degree. We’re committed to making an education of this caliber accessible for all students.