Will FAFSA maintain full tuition coverage when transferring from community college to university?

This isn't really how FAFSA works. The full tuition offer is from the specific university, not FAFSA itself. FAFSA just processes your financial info and gives you an SAI (Student Aid Index). Each college uses that SAI to create their own financial aid package. So unfortunately, there's no way to know if she'd get the same deal at a different school after community college.

I work in financial aid and want to clarify something important: FAFSA doesn't actually give money - it's just the application form that calculates your SAI (Student Aid Index). Each individual college creates their own financial aid package based on that SAI, their available funds, and their own criteria. A full-tuition offer at one university doesn't transfer or guarantee similar aid elsewhere. That said, if your financial situation remains similar when she transfers in 2 years, her SAI would likely be similar too. But there's absolutely no guarantee another university would offer the same generous package. Merit scholarships and institutional grants vary dramatically between schools.

i did the community college then transfer route and TOTALLY REGRET IT!!!! most universities have way less scholarship $ for transfer students vs freshmen. all the good scholarships went to the 4-year students, transfers were fighting for scraps. ended up with waaaaay more loans than expected. tell your daughter to take the full ride now!!!!

Has she actually gotten her official SAI score from her FAFSA yet? And does the current scholarship include room and board too or just tuition? Those details matter a lot for comparing options.

one thing nobody mentioned is that you should call the university she got the full scholarsihp from and see if they'll do a gap year? maybe she could defer admission and the scholarship for a year while she takes some CC classes to figure out what she wants?

Something to consider: that full-tuition scholarship probably has GPA requirements to maintain it for all 4 years. Make sure to read the fine print. My son lost his full ride after freshman year when his GPA dropped below 3.5 - we were devastated and completely unprepared financially.

One approach you might consider is having your daughter accept the full-tuition scholarship but also apply for external housing scholarships to reduce those costs. FAFSA eligibility and her SAI would stay the same for annual renewals as long as your financial situation remains similar. If you're still trying to contact financial aid offices for more specific information, I've had success using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to FSA agents when regular phone lines were backed up for weeks. They have a good demo video at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how they can get you connected quickly. It really helped me get specific questions answered about how changes in school choice affect aid packages.

My daughter did EXACTLY what yours is considering - gave up a big scholarship to do community college first with plans to transfer. Biggest financial mistake we ever made. The transfer schools offered way less, and many credits didn't transfer properly. She ended up taking 3 years after transfer instead of 2, so 5 years total instead of 4. Cost us WAY more in the end.

I'd recommend sitting down with your daughter to thoroughly discuss what's behind her sudden change of heart. Is it financial concerns about housing costs? Anxiety about being away from home? Uncertainty about her major? Each of these has different solutions that might not require giving up the full-tuition scholarship. Also, see if the university offering the scholarship has any housing grants or work-study options. Many schools have emergency housing funds or reduced-cost housing options that aren't advertised prominently.

I'm a current college financial aid counselor and want to emphasize something crucial that others have touched on: transfer students typically receive significantly less institutional aid than incoming freshmen. Universities front-load their best scholarships for first-year students to attract them, then have much smaller pools of money for transfers. With an SAI of 1200, your daughter would likely qualify for substantial federal Pell Grant money (probably close to the maximum), but that alone won't replace a $38,000/year scholarship. The math is pretty stark - even if community college saves you $15,000/year in housing for 2 years ($30,000 total), you're potentially giving up $76,000 in guaranteed tuition coverage that may never be replaced. I've seen too many families make this exact decision and deeply regret it. Before walking away from this opportunity, have her reach out to the university's housing office about payment plans, work-study positions in residence halls (often include free/reduced housing), or even commuter student programs if she's within driving distance.

As someone who went through a similar situation with my own child, I want to add that it might be worth looking into whether the university has any bridge programs or partnerships with local community colleges. Some schools allow students to take general education credits at nearby community colleges during summers or even part-time during the academic year while maintaining their full-time status and scholarships at the university. Also, don't underestimate the non-financial benefits of that full-ride offer - it often comes with priority registration, honors program access, research opportunities, and networking that can be invaluable for graduate school or career prospects. These "soft" benefits are impossible to quantify but can be worth far more than the tuition savings in the long run. The housing costs are definitely a legitimate concern, but as others have mentioned, there may be creative solutions like becoming an RA after freshman year (often includes free housing), finding more affordable off-campus options, or even seeing if she can commute from home if the distance is manageable. I'd strongly encourage exploring every possible angle before walking away from such a generous offer.