<prompt> Human: I recently subscribed to this subreddit, and Ive found some great advice. Thought I would give it another go.A little bit of background:So in a little less than a month I will be starting college. I got into a really good school for what I want to study, with great job opportunities all around, and a campus that I know Ill be happy living at for the next 4 years. They also gave me a really nice financial aid package, with roughly 33k in grant out of the 44k tuition for the first year. Grants at this school have traditionally been awarded for approximately the same amount each year for all 4 years, so I decided that this was one of my most financially sound choices, despite it being nearly 56,000year after room and board. In addition to that, I got a nice 3,500 scholarship. My parents were happy with me for getting such a nice package, and told me they would pay the remaining amount for my first year, and possibly help chip in for another year or two.With the first payment due tomorrow, my family and I thought we were in the clear. Then I got a phone call from the financial aid office yesterday morning. They had misread my FAFSA, didnt account for my dads income on the higher end of the payscale, but parents are divorced and he wasnt the custodial and our financial aid guy said that he likely wouldnt have had too much of an impact on it. Now, the college was telling me because of a clerical error they made, they were adjusting the grant down to 4,800. We couldnt afford that. Mom was crying, dad was pissed, we argued for hours, and now they are honoring that original package but only for the first year. The grant wont be carried on for the other years, and I would likely end up paying for the rest of it. If I ballparked it at 50,000 a year thats 150,000 when I get my BA interested in pursuing a masters later. That means that if I want to keep attending this school I really do, Im looking at a lot of debt. Im in army ROTC and got a scholarship, but not to this school. Im still doing it non-contracted no scholarship but there is a possibility I could win a scholarship again, but its better not to prepare for it that way. I dont know much about loans, and my parents usually arent very insightful or helpful with things like this. If we cant get this figured out, what types of loan options do I havewhat would be the best? Ill be serving for at least 8 years right after college, if that offers any clarity.Thank you so much for any help you could give.Assistant: Thank you all for your feedback so far. Just to answer some recurring questions, I will be attending American University in DC, and studying International Studies. My career plan would be Army after college at least 3 active, 5 reserve or active reserve if I stay non-contracted that is. While not active duty, I was hoping to try to find a career in the State Department. American is one of the top schools in the country for International Studies, and it would be tough to find opportunities like the ones I could find in DC. I certainly will be exploring other optionsschools during my first year, and Ill do my best to make friends down at the financial aid office. I really dont know what else to say other than Im just shocked how this great opportunity turned itself around on me at literally the last moment.  <response>: If your plan is Army anyway, why not do that first? Youll likely get better aid afterward, plus youll be able to consider yourself independent on the FAFSA and not need to include your parents income if youre a former military person. 