Dropping a class, will it affect my loans?

[Nutdotnet]

Hey all, got a question for anyone who has ever been in this situation.

I may have to drop a class and a lab, bringing my total credit hours from 13 down to 9. Will this mess up my student loan(s) in the present or in the future? Reason I ask this is because it will drop me from a full-time student down to a half-time.

Just curious if they may request some money back, and/or if it will be difficult for me to get a loan in the future.

Thanks!

 

[vi edit]

Most places consider 12 credit a requirement to be "full time" student. Below that, and financial aid will most certainly be changed, as well as health insurance if you are under your parents policy.

 

[tontod]

It didnt affect my loan, I had mine through Citibank, it may be different for yours, though.

 

[Nutdotnet]

Yeah, if I drop the class.....I would go from 12 to 9, changing my status from full-time to half-time, I am just curious as to HOW my loans for this semester would change. I plan on being a full time student again next semester, I am just afraid that if I don't drop this class I will fail it.

And no, no health insurance.

 

[vi edit]

I believe that federal loans are more affected than private/bank loans.

 

[vi edit]

browse through here

 

[vi edit]

Well, I may be wrong. All sites that I've reviewed state that you just have to be half time or higher to receive federal aid. That's just to receive aid though. I've haven't seen anything that states whether or not the the actual awards are higher or lower for full time vs. part time.

 

[Codewiz]

Ok here is the deal since I have been through all of this:

The loans have already been paid to the univerity so if you drop to 9 hours right now you are fine. It won't matter. You need to make sure that when you register for next semester to register for 12 or more hours. The loans are paid once they see that you are enrolled for 12 hours or more. It doesn't matter what you do during the semester because the school already has the money. You just have to make sure that before any semester starts that you are registered as a full time student.

This all has to do with government loans. For private loans like my gf had, she had to complete 30 hours a year to keep her loans for the following year. The government doesn't care.

I did this a few times during my college career when I was working too many hours. I would drop to 6 hours and it wouldn't matter. Of course my last two years in college my university changed it drop policy and we only had one month from class start to drop so I rarely knew how I was doing in classes by the drop date.

 

[Nutdotnet]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
Well, I may be wrong. All sites that I've reviewed state that you just have to be half time or higher to receive federal aid. That's just to receive aid though. I've haven't seen anything that states whether or not the the actual awards are higher or lower for full time vs. part time.

Yeah, the loan corp I go through does have a different amount of max money a person can take out if they are half-time or full-time, but it says that the person needs to be half-time or full-time at the time the money is requested. I am thinking that that means that since I was a full time student when the money was requested I should be fine.

This really sux though, I have never dropped a class, and this class SHOULD have been easy. I am never going to take another distant education course again.

 

[minendo]

My understanding (at least in my situation) is if I am not full time, I do not get loans. If I accept a loan, then drop a class bringing me out of full time status, I must begin to pay my loans back immediately. Also, vi_edit brings up a great point about health insurance.

 

[Nutdotnet]

I take some money from federal funds, and some from private funds. I also receive a scholarship too, and am afraid that I may not receive that next semester. We'll see though.

Yeah, from what I gather, is that as long as I complete 9 credits with a minimum GPA of 2.00 (no problem), that I will be put on Academic Probation for next semester but still be eligible for financial aid.

 

[minendo]

Originally posted by: Nutdotnet
I take some money from federal funds, and some from private funds. I also receive a scholarship too, and am afraid that I may not receive that next semester. We'll see though.

Yeah, from what I gather, is that as long as I complete 9 credits with a minimum GPA of 2.00 (no problem), that I will be put on Academic Probation for next semester but still be eligible for financial aid.

When you are placed on Academic probation, you are also placed on Financial aid probation. You still receive the funds, but don't screw up again. Have you looked into the Health Insurance situation at all?

 

[vi edit]

Question - do you have a community college nearby? Many times they will have half term long night classes available. If so, you could possibly take one of those nightclasses halfway through the semester to keep your credit hours up. Most of those places don't care how you get your hours, just as long as you do get them in.

It's an option at least.

 

[Codewiz]

Originally posted by: minendo
My understanding (at least in my situation) is if I am not full time, I do not get loans. If I accept a loan, then drop a class bringing me out of full time status, I must begin to pay my loans back immediately. Also, vi_edit brings up a great point about health insurance.

I know for a fact that Stafford loans are not like this. As long as you are registered as a full time student the when the semesters begin then you are fine. It doesn't matter what you do during the semester.


EDIT: ALSO as for financial aid probation that is different at EVERY school. My school still let me have financial aid every semester I was on probation, I just had to write a letter each time saying I was going to try harder. The federal stafford loans don't care about academic standards. They expect the university to enforce those so they are different for each school

 

[Nutdotnet]

Minendo- I don't have health insurance, so that isn't a concern for me.

vi_edit- The University that I go to is what I like to call a "four-year" community college. There are no actual community colleges around here.

This is what I got from the University Catalog-

"a. A) Full-time undergraduate students (students enrolling in 12 or more credits) must successfully complete at least 12 credits each term with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00.

3. Probation: Students in section A who complete at least 9 credits in a term with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00 will be placed on probation for their next term and will be eligible to receive financial aid during their term of probation. These students will receive a letter notifying them of their probationary status. Failure to regain good standing status within the one semester of probation will result in the suspension of financial aid."

Thanks for all the help everyone! This has been a pretty stressful time for me.

 

[vi edit]

Minendo- I don't have health insurance, so that isn't a concern for me.

I don't think you're understanding what we mean. Assuming your parents have health insurance, so long as you are a dependent, you are covered under their policy. To be considered a dependent, you need to maintain full time student status. If you loose that status, they can no longer claim you as a dependent, and you are no longer covered under their plan.

 

[ThisIsMatt]

A quick call to your school fin. aid office will give you the correct answer.

Man, and I thought I was anti-social

 

[Nutdotnet]

Originally posted by: vi_edit

Minendo- I don't have health insurance, so that isn't a concern for me.

I don't think you're understanding what we mean. Assuming your parents have health insurance, so long as you are a dependent, you are covered under their policy. To be considered a dependent, you need to maintain full time student status. If you loose that status, they can no longer claim you as a dependent, and you are no longer covered under their plan.

No, I understand what you mean. I don't have health insurance, yes, my parents do, but I am not covered under their policy. Trust me, I would know if was. I wish I was, I hate payin to go see a doc! haha.

 

[Nutdotnet]

Originally posted by: ThisIsMatt
A quick call to your school fin. aid office will give you the correct answer.

Man, and I thought I was anti-social

Yeah, I will call them tommorow, I was going to call them anways, BUT was just seeing if anyone here ever had any experience with this type of stuff.