So I’m a new graduate of high school and I committed to lets call it “college A.” I accepted the FAFSA to college A and everything and now am on the next step of student orientation/figuring out what my class schedule would look like.
The thing is, I’m having doubts on whether I actually want to go to A. I started an application to “college B” in December 2016 but never submitted it. College B is looking more appealing to me. If I completed the application to B, submitted it and got accepted, how would that work if I wanted to go to B instead of A. Could I do that? Or is it too late…like for the FAFSA and everything would I still be able to get FAFSA for college B? Because I know the deadline for college A was May 1 to accept the FAFSA but is that for all colleges??
***Info on both colleges–
Private liberal arts schools
Instate for me
I’m in their score range
Both have about 2,500-3,000 student population
You would need to contact College B, find out if acceptance for Fall 2017 is still a possibility. If it is, the next step is Financial Aid.
FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It allows you to receive Pell Grants (if eligible - typically very low income) and take out Stafford Loans. However, College B may have a deadline for applying for Financial Aid, so you need to find that out.
Were you expecting to receive any institutional grant or merit aid from College A? Scholarships are usually the highest as an entering freshman. You might be too late to receive any scholarships from College B.
If it’s too late this year for College B, you could take a gap year, and then apply for the following year. Or start at College A, and consider transferring later if you still feel College B is a better option.
You may also just be having “buyer’s remorse” - a fairly common phenomenon where you start second-guessing your decision after you’ve committed to something.
Deadlines exist for a reason and the deadline for application and selection have both passed. Presumably you chose College A for a reason. I can’t imagine what would make College B all of a sudden more appealing if you didn’t even bother to apply in the first place.
The possibility of being able to switch to College B this late in the game would be unlikely. You would need to 1) see if College B would even have space for you in the fall and consider an application and 2) get financial aid settled satisfactory manner. And note if you applied and were accepted to College A ED then you can’t even try this unlikely route.
I would put your doubts aside and attend College A as planned. Go off and have a great 4 years there.