you can have a 1 yr contract and you can have a $75 discount on the price of a new phone .

An AreaWide plan will allow a 1 year, others are 2 years.
If you want to keep your own number, and port it over to your parent's plan, you'll get the rebates as Brad729 has mentioned.
If you don't care about keeping your phone number, cancel your service, and join your parent's plan, get a free phone, but it requires a 2 year AA.

That is correct, Sprint is currently only offering 2-year contracts on service. As far as getting your phone upgraded, I'm not sure how that will work if you are terminating your own contract to get on contract with your parents. Normally, the discount of $75 applies after one year of service and $150 normally applies after 2 years of service, but if you're cancelling your own contract and adding a phone to your parents' plan, Sprint will probably give you a discount on a new phone on their contract. I think...

I have been a sprint customer for almost 4 years (it will be in Sept). I signed up originally for a 1 year contract.
I will be entering law school and because the budget is tight, I want to get on the family plan with my parents since they have enough leftover minutes each month. To switch, however, it would require me to sign a new contract which is fine, except I cannot sign a 2 year contract. I will leave the country in 1 year so I need a 1 year contract. Also, I was hoping that if I signed a new contract, I would get some credit towards a new phone since my phone is almost 4 years old. When I went to the store, they told me I would have to sign a 2 year contract, it was all they offer.
Is this true for every sprint plan? Do they offer only 2 year contracts now?
And, if they do somehow offer 1 year contracts, I get no credit towards a new cell phone?
any help with this sprint chaos is greatly appreciated.