Many states have aid, too. Sometimes the state aid is limited and is first come first serve, so not filing FAFSA right away can mean losing out on limited funds. Work study award is need based, so the student qualified for something.
In Ohio, our flagship’s regional campuses offer steep discounts on tuition compared to Columbus and have their own pools of merit money to distribute. Often students can pay room, board, tuition, etc for less than just the tuition on main campus. Knowing your home state would really help - since there might be such good deals happening in your state that you aren’t aware of.
Some states also have tuition exchange programs (like WUE) and neighboring states can have better deals than in state options because of the neighbor state discounts.
Your home state and if you are near another state’s border (like western PA gets discounts at some OH schools) might help others figure out a more affordable solution.
Not all deadlines for applications or scholarships have passed yet. But if a workable solution for this Fall doesn’t work out, a gap year can also be used to re-apply and get an affordable college option.
People are asking for stats (ACT/SAT score and gpa) because there are automatic merit aid schools. They don’t all require top of the class students - many are for college bound students with average test scores. For example, University of Toledo offers $10,000 for students with a 20 ACT and a 2.75 gpa to out of state students. https://www.utoledo.edu/admission/freshman/scholarships/2018/out-of-state.html A lot of these types of automatic merit scholarships are still available.
Depending on state community colleges can be great deals - if credits transfer and the student isn’t stuck in a loop of remedial coursework.
What is home state?
What is gpa?
What is ACT or SAT score?
What is major? Or is student undecided?