<p>Hello</p>
<p>I'm a graduating senior (CO 2010) that has currently been accepted to 2 instate schools (UT-Austin and Texas Tech). Both schools are around 20k total/yr. UT offered me 13000 in aid but it's only Stafford and Parent Plus. Tech only offered me Stafford. Neither school even offered work-study). Family's EFC is around 25k, but they don't have nearly that much to spend. It's either in retirement accounts or being used to pay other bills (I don't mind that. They gave me a car, pay for gas and insurance, and give me extra money for certain things). I figured I would go to a CC for a year to qualify as a transfer student but was wondering if more financial options open up by doing that. Are there any scholarships available that pay a lot of money for high scoring transfers or any schools that offer transfer students generous aid? Also, could I qualify as an independent for the next years FAFSA?</p>
<p>Hopefully, I don't come off as conceited. I'm thankful for everything my parents have done, it just seems that now we get the middle-class short end of the stick.</p>
<ol>
<li>You won’t qualify as independent. The rules are very strict, and you can read some recent threads that go through the gory details.<br></li>
<li>Check with your local CC and find out if they have some specific articulation agreements with any of the Texas public colleges, and whether there is special funding available for student who transfer after meeting requirements. Arizona has that, but I don’t know about Texas.</li>
<li>Lots of middle class families are facing the same issues, and you’d be far from the only student going to community college for two years to decrease costs.</li>
<li>It will probably still be important for you to sit down with your family and learn what they CAN contribute each year for the next four years for your school. CC does have some costs, but above that it would be very, very helpful if they banked the funds, perhaps in a Texas 529 account with you as the beneficiary. Similarly, you should set aside some earnings from summer or part-time jobs. UT Austin or Texas Tech are not going to get cheaper, and unless circumstances change, your family is still going to have an EFC similar to the one you have now, so there will still be a gap. If you and your folks can save money this next two years, that gap won’t be so hard to fill the following two years.</li>
</ol>
<p>Are there any scholarships available that pay a lot of money for high scoring transfers or any schools that offer transfer students generous aid? Also, could I qualify as an independent for the next years FAFSA?</p>
<p>Transfer students usually get the smallest scholarships (if any are even offered). There is little incentive for schools to offer transfer scholarships, which is why such small ones are offered.</p>
<p>You won’t be able to qualify as an “independent.”</p>
<p>Did you apply to any financial safety schools? Did you apply to any schools that would give you scholarships for your stats? What are your stats?</p>