<p>It appears that the OP has “passed” the FAFSA test since Staffords are offered. The EFC is a bit too high for PELL level, and may miss TAP level too. I wish the OP can sit down with someone and go over the tax return and FAFSA with a fine toothed comb and see if something isn’t amiss, because it could mean some more money in grant form if that is the case.</p>
<p>I don’t see Albany coming up with any money from their own coffers and to live there is going to cost about $20K total. At most, with a rejected parental PLUS, OP can get $9500 in loans. With that EFC, I could not recommend parents borrowing and for the OP to borrow more is not at all a good idea, as s/he is really exceeding maximum recommended levels. So unless some money is squeezed out of PELL and TAP, and the OP works and has something that family can give him, this is not an affordable option for this year.</p>
<p>If that is the case, an option is for OP to go to a local state college, find a job and pay what s/he can and borrow as much Stafford as possible and stash it in a joint account with a parent as payment for commuting and then in two years there will be that stashed amount, to use towards a residential college experience.</p>