Students! Financial Aid Question, Please Help!

[Zanz L. Barre The 3rd]

Hey there folks, I've been receiving financial aid for 2 years now, going on third, and have had no problems until recently. This semester, I had to drop two of my classes for personal reasons and I'm worried I won't receive financial aid. My GPA will be 3.0+ I'm pretty sure so grades aren't an issue, but I'm lacking the required credits needed. Will I still receive financial aid even though I dropped two of my classes?

I talked to two financial aid representatives and numerous students and got different answers. One financial aid rep. told me they will honor my financial aid reward if I've retained 70% of my overall credits, while the other said my grades only matters.

I'm going back today or Monday for further clarification, but in case there are further inconsistencies, answers in this thread would be just dandy.

[Valisk]

I think varies for different colleges/states but in Texas, you do need a minimum amount of credits to retain financial aid. Otherwise people would just pack on a full load then drop all but 1 simple class to collect the check.

[Senoska]

You need to not have dropped a certain percentage of your attempted credits in order to get fin. aid.

[Eliseos]

At my school, if you're under 12 (full time status here), and above 6 or 7, they'll still give you aid. Just make sure you notify them, like it seems you have, that you'll be dropping a class or two.

[Valisk]

Oh, I'll also add that depending on how many classes you dropped, they could offer you partial add. So if you got from 12 to 6 then they'll basically cut your award in half.

[Caiyuo]

For myself as well it was retain 70% of your original credits for the required full schedule. That doesn't mean you're completely screwed, though, it just means you're likely going to have to write a letter to plead exemption. It worked for a friend in FL during the Hurricanes, so ..I guess those fires in CA might prove convenient? D8

[kuronosan]

Hey there folks, I've been receiving financial aid for 2 years now, going on third, and have had no problems until recently. This semester, I had to drop two of my classes for personal reasons and I'm worried I won't receive financial aid. My GPA will be 3.0+ I'm pretty sure so grades aren't an issue, but I'm lacking the required credits needed. Will I still receive financial aid even though I dropped two of my classes?

I talked to two financial aid representatives and numerous students and got different answers. One financial aid rep. told me they will honor my financial aid reward if I've retained 70% of my overall credits, while the other said my grades only matters.

I'm going back today or Monday for further clarification, but in case there are further inconsistencies, answers in this thread would be just dandy.

If you have a grant, your aid depends on the total credit hours you are enrolled in. If you have a loan, they can't give you less or ask for some back unless you drop to half-time status.

It's not uncommon for schools to drop aid to a lesser amount that will still cover your financial expenses. If you only need $10,000 for school, why should they give you $20,000?

[aduidarnenye]

Student loans are a deep, dark pit of financial doom.

[Woozie]

Like others have said, there's a 70% completion rate requirement on top of the GPA requirement.

So you're going to have to file an appeal. Do it ASAP. It takes a few weeks for them to respond. When you go back Monday, they'll tell you how the appeal process works if one is necessary. If you had a good reason to drop your classes, and you've never had to file an appeal before, chances are you'll get your financial AIDS back.

[Bwelch]

Unless you've dropped a lot more than two classes in the past two years, I'd say you're fine.

[Elites]

I'm actually on my last year and i had to drop 2 classes as well, It put me at 11 credits...one away from full time but nothing has been taken away from my financial aid package and i'm already registered for next semester and paid my dues which was a small amount. I usually take enough loans out for the entire year i just hope they don't decide to take shit out half way in next semester. I believe they do the aid at the end every term year however, like review if you were 70% above your overall credits.

[aduidarnenye]

If you are dropping classes is there any way you can work to pay your tutition instead of getting another student loan?

You seriously have no idea what it's like to graduate from university with a massive student loan and the salary of the only job you can find doesn't even cover your monthly payments.

When my uncle graduated and got a job as a barrista he had the banks take all of his wages out of his bank account to pay for his loan and he didn't even have enough money left over for bus fare to get to his job.

[Taera]

Does anyone know how it affects your Pell Grant when you start filing by yourself instead of with your parents taxes? My tuition is almost 4000 next semester and my grant is only 2700 but this coming fall, I file solo. Should I expect more or expect to become a part time student cause I wont be able to afford tuition? I think I remember someone posting a pic of thier check one time at it was like 5000 bucks. That would be swell lol.

[Woozie]

Usually when you file independently you get more money. I don't know if that means higher grants or more loans though.