aid limits for a non traditional student? please help!

Paying for College
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<p>I am a student returning to school after almost a decade away. I will earn an AA in Behavioral Sciences in June, and I am transferring to a UC or CSU in Fall 2012 (depending on where I am accepted, of course).</p>

<p>When I first went to school at the age of 18, I went for three semesters. I took out a subsidized loan for one semester, and also got a Pell grant. The other two semesters I did not apply for or get any financial aid.</p>

<p>Now that I am in school again, I made it through my first three semesters at my community college without any financial aid. I applied to see if I would qualify, but my husband and I made too much money for any grants, and I didn't need loans. </p>

<p>Until now. My husband lost his job in September, and there is no way I can continue school now without some sort of financial aid. I am taking 17 credits for Spring, and I work 30 hours a week. I can't do much more. This is my last semester at a community college. I already spent several hundred dollars to apply for school next year. We thought my husband would have a new job by now, but it has been very hard, and we went through our small savings fairly quickly, even though we don't spend much.</p>

<p>So, in December I went to my CC and applied for aid, but I was denied just this week because I have exceeded federal limits on units attempted. I guess you aren't able to attempt over 90 units, which I have.</p>

<p>I now have to go through an appeals process to try to receive a student loan. I don't know how I will even pay for my books this semester. Luckily my classes are already paid for.</p>

<p>The worst part is, the financial adviser from my CC mentioned that even after transfer, I am going to have a hard time receiving any aid due to my "exceeding the limits." Does this mean I will not be able to use federal student loans for university over the next two years? </p>

<p>Has anyone ever heard of this happening, or have any advice? I am completely confused, and I am unable to meet with an adviser to appeal and ask questions until February 9th (this was their earliest appointment).</p>

<p>I am now panicked, thinking I have wasted the last two years working SO HARD to earn good grades and be able to transfer, and to now find out I might not be able to receive federal aid... so frustrating.</p>

<p>thanks for listening!</p>

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<p>Sit in the gc office anytime you have free and wait for a cancellation or get a walk in appt.</p>

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<p>@ikeike
I am somewhat familiar with financial aid policies from my work with students. You must complete a certain percentage of credits attempted to continue to qualify for federally supported financial aid. If you fail to complete units that the government has “paid for,” they stop paying. </p>

<p>However, I think yours may be a different issue. It may that the government puts a cap on how may credits they will finance for each degree. Since an AA would ideally be completed with 60 credits, they may have a rule against supporting more than 90 credits in an attempt at that degree. If this is true, you will have trouble at the CC level but should be able to access financial aid once you transfer to a 4 year institution, as you will be officially pursuing a BA.</p>

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<p>The worst part is, the financial adviser from my CC mentioned that even after transfer, I am going to have a hard time receiving any aid due to my “exceeding the limits.”</p>

<hr>

<p>You were given bad advice. You have exceeded limits for a 2 year degree, but not for a four year degree. You will start there with only the number of credits that transfer for your degree program. </p>

<p>Federal regulations regarding satisfactory academic progress have REALLY tightened up this year. It is a HUGE problem for many, many students. The school where I worked until recently has been just slammed by this change … SO MANY students lost aid in the fall, and ever more this term. </p>

<p>You need to do an appeal this semester, in hopes of getting help for your last semester there. You will be fine next year, though.</p>

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<p>thank you for all the quick replies.</p>

<p>@batllo i am working full time right now before spring semester starts, so I am unable to wait around for a canceled appointment. Our aid office does not take walk ins. Thank you for the advice though, I would do this if it were possible.</p>

<p>@thirdelement thanks, that makes sense. Although, the financial aid has only “paid for” one semester, which was 14 units, so I think you are right about the cap on CC units. I have attempted more than 90, although I have only completed 55 so far. I dropped out of several schools when I was right out of high school, wish I could go back and tell myself not to make that mistake!</p>

<p>@kelsmom I was just reading up about all of the changes. I read that thousands of students have lost Pell grants and more. </p>

<p>I will be submitting my appeal on the 9th. I have to write a letter explaining why I should be able to receive aid even though I have exceeded the limits, and also provide documentation to prove that my reasons are valid.</p>

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<p>I have attempted more than 90, although I have only completed 55 so far.</p>

<p>That changes things.
Were you ever told you were on probation? You have to complete most of your attempted credits before you can borrow money for more.
Have you paid back your previous loan?</p>

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<p>@emeraldkitty4 - yes, I was once on academic probation. It was in 2002, at a non-accredited art school. I also once had academic dismissal, also in 2002, after a semester at a CC.</p>

<p>Yes, I have paid back my old student loan.</p>

<p>Most of my attempted credits are Ws. I signed up for a lot of classes that I didn’t end up going to, so I have at least 20 Ws on old transcripts. </p>

<p>At my current school I have never been on probation, have completed all units attempted, and I have a good GPA.</p>

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<p>Your last post should provide you with a strong basis for appeal. As kelsmom said, federal regulations require school to cap the number of credits. It seems that most 4 year schools use the 150% standard, so 180 credits would be the limit for a program that normally requires 120 credits. If you continue to choose courses that will transfer/pertain to your major, and don’t change your major after you transfer, it seems that you should be able to avoid running into this problem again.</p>

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<p>Your appeal letter should focus on the fact that you were “young and dumb” in the past. Explain what has changed in your life, how you came to decide on a new career path, what you will do this time that you did not do last time (that is, you won’t withdraw!!), and why allowing you to receive aid is a good bet. That is the bottom line … why should taxpayers take a chance on you this time around?</p>