<p>Although school starts in only a few weeks, I'm not really happy about the attending the school I originally planned on. As it is, it would be costing me about 15k in loans for just the first year. I also don't have any of the other things I want or need to move in, like a television, a laptop, or money for books. Recently, the school also said that work-study jobs are quite limited since the freshman class is very large. I might also add that no one is helping me pay for this, and the school offered me only work-study and the Stafford.</p>
<p>Anyway, I was wondering if there were any schools that offered aid to those attending in the spring? Or, if I managed to attend this fall, aid for students that transfer in the spring? I'm really hating my school choice since orientation and the debt it's putting me in.</p>
<p>It usually is very hard to transfer after just half a year of college.
I think it would be even harder to find need-based scholarships for such a student. Some schools don't even give transfers need-based money.
If you are so sure that you dislike your college, it would be better to take a year off and apply to places where you really want to go.
$15 k in loans for one year for a college you don't like isn't worth it. The average student takes out close to $20 k to pay for a total of 4 years of college. Also, the loan part of students' financial aid at most colleges increases every year while the grant part decreases.</p>
<p>We are right now experiencing attempting to transfer after freshman year. We found that the need based (and merit aid) is not as good for transfers. That being said, we may make a similar decision as you are contemplating, deferring the transfer until Spring or the following fall to save a little more money (by taking out less money from private loans to cover the greater 'gap'). The accepting transfer college was willing to defer admission (with a paid deposit of course) for up to a year.</p>
<p>Unlike you,she's already experienced the college she doesn't like (but has made good friends at !) So in case you decide to go to your college in a few weeks you might use her strategy....it got her at least a small need-based grant for the transfer college. Don't take any hard courses, when she failed her first test miserably in one course 1st term, she dropped it. By second term she shopped around (ask other students or try ratemyprofessors.com ) for course selection with the best possibility of a good grade...She tried to make sure she made the best possible grades. You REALLY REALLY need good grades to transfer early. So, if you're not a strong student or not willing to be clever about your course choices and dropping courses - I really believe you would be better off not going to school than going through freshman year both unhappy and in debt and maybe not doing well enough to transfer out. </p>
<p>On the flip side, just going away to college is a great experience and a wonderful maturity happens and you make good friends. I don't think I could have told my daughter NOT to go to school at all. She certainly did the usual partying, but she has a decent sense of priorities - she had the strength to stay in and study at mid-terms and finals (but complained bitterly). Thus I might have let her borrow the money just to get the processes of college started.</p>