<p>I called the financial aid offices of Cornell University and Columbia University earlier this week, and representatives from both schools pretty much told me that in my situation, they would be willing to pay for the full ride simply based on my needs. Naturally I am a bit skeptical which is why I am requesting second opinions from those who have first-hand experience in this type of case.</p>
<p>Q. what school are to trying to transfer from?</p>
<p>I went to University of Chicago out of high school, and the total bill was around $60k. The school gave me about half for free, but the rest was out of loans that I think was offered directly by the school (maybe through a third-party bank?). In any case, I didn’t want to burden my parents so I dropped out to pay off the loans and decided that college wasn’t worth it. I’m 24 years old now, so I’ve been out of school for about 7 years. I considered community college but the local ones here don’t possess the resources I need to perform the research that pertains to my field of studies.</p>