<p>Are you an incoming frosh or a rising soph? </p>
<p>If you’re an incoming frosh, did you apply ED to this school? Is that why you first had a generous offer, and then later, after the bonus, your aid changed?</p>
<p>Your plan of getting a high GPA and then getting merit as a transfer is a plan for FAILURE. Continuing students get very small merit scholarships…we’re talking like $1k…and even those are competitive. You have to understand, today, colleges have 25% or more of their students with high GPAs. Your high GPA won’t impress them nor warrant any decent merit scholarship. </p>
<p>You need to take a gap year, let the bonus disappear, and apply to schools that will give you large merit or great aid. And, maybe then your parents will come to their senses about how they’re directing their money!! How do they expect you to pay for college? with loans? </p>
<p>You can also ask this school if you can delay your admittance by one year. That, too, will allow for the bonus to disappear for next year.</p>
<p>What are your stats?</p>