Given my experience in a similar situation several years ago, I don't think you have explored all of your options. Your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and n

Given my experience in a similar situation several years ago, I don't think you have explored all of your options. Your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and need-based limit may have changed, but there other ways to pay for school. (All of the following assumes you haven't already hit the overall government loan limit; if that's the case, you're at a university you honestly cannot afford.) For example, the Stafford loan program offers unsubsidized loans (meaning interest accrues while you are in school) to all eligible students regardless of need. The eligibility requirements for these loans amount to being legally allowed to attend school in the US and not being in default on existing student loans. As an independent student, you should be able to borrow up to $12,500 in unsubsidized loans directly from the government, regardless of your EFC. It will be more expensive than your other loans in the long term, so you should weigh the cost of two years of additional interest against not finishing school. All of that said... Something really feels wrong about your financial situation. The automatic-zero Expected Family Contribution limit for an independent student is $24,000. Assuming you were living on student aid from January to May and made $25.85/hour, 40 hours a week from June to December, for a full 30 weeks (unlikely given holidays, etc), you should have made right around $31,000 pre-tax. If that's the case, your EFC should be a _maximum_ of $7,000, but probably closer to half that. My bet: your FAFSA EFC is incorrect. Find the worksheets and manually work it out for yourself.