<p>I am transferring out of state for Spring 2013, which also means I will be quitting my full-time job and searching for part-time employment once I move. Is the school able to adjust my income and financial aid eligibility beforehand or must I wait until I get there to file for a "change of income"?</p>
<p>A little background info: I currently only qualify for a fee waiver and subsidized loans at my community college because I work full-time to support myself. I have been at community college for about 6 years and would like to finish my Bachelor's sometime in this millennium. It is becoming difficult to juggle working full-time and recently going to school full-time, so I am looking for ways to minimize my school loans and understand how to go about this transfer process.</p>
<p>Any help would be appreciated!</p>
<p>Courtney, since you have been taking college courses for that period of time, you should check how much eligiblity you have left in terms of federal aid. There are time limits and new ones have been added recently which have taken some people by surprise. They abruptly get nothing. </p>
<p>Spring and SUmmer aid is based on the FAFSA filed the year before which for you would be the one filed in 2012 using 2011 income. So what you have used in the fall of 2012 will also come in play along with any life time limits. As for getting financial aid from college funds, it comes down to the college and the state. The state of NY, for example does have state financial aid tied in with the FAFSA, but I don’t know how independent students like you stand in terms of qualifying.</p>
<p>Spring can be a bad time to transfer if you would normally qualify for institutional aid … because it is usually first-come, first-served for aid, there is generally nothing left to award to spring transfers. You would be eligible for Pell, if you qualify. You would be eligible for the remainder of your annual loan amount, up to the maximum for year in school and lifetime limit.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info cptofthehouse & kelsmom. I have only been receiving financial aid for 2 years, previous to that I have paid out of my pocket for everything. So unless there were some major shifts in eligibility that I’m unaware of I’m hoping to qualify for something for my last 2 years.</p>
<p>As far as transferring for Spring, I have read that there is little aid left and that it would be kind of a toss-up depending on what school I go to. After this Fall, I will no longer qualify for aid at my community college because I have reached the maximum number of units, so this is why I have been pushing to transfer in the Spring. Plus, I don’t want to wait around for six months to start next Fall and lose my motivation to finish. I have also decided to go out of state since I live in California and there are only a handful of schools that are even accepting Spring transfers.</p>
<p>Getting an education should not be this difficult.</p>
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Can you afford to do that? It will likely be more expensive (possibly much more).</p>
<p>I’ve applied at a few schools through the WUE program which gives me in-state tuition in certain states as well as a couple schools that offer discounts if you work full-time in that state. Although it may take me longer, the total cost at that rate including an extra semester would still be significantly cheaper than going to the cheapest schools in California. (Not to mention the reduction in cost of living!)</p>
<p>Not a bad plan but you don’t get in-state rates, it’s 150% of in-state.
[Western</a> Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) | Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education](<a href=“http://www.wiche.edu/wue]Western”>Save On Tuition | Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE))</p>