<p>Hello, I am posting because I am having a very very big financial aid issue.
I have been receiving the HOPE the past 2 years, and last year got the Aspire grant. With my intentions of taking full time classes this summer, that would have meant almost 10,000 in very much needed grant money for this 13-14 school year. My EFC is about 2000, if that gives you an idea of my financial situation. </p>
<p>Last November I was hospitalized with an extreme case of Pneumonia and Mono. The emergency room bill alone was 3000 dollars. I was out of work(i work almost full time to support myself) for several weeks. When Spring semester came about I could not afford to attend. After maxing out my student loans and with every bit of financial aid that I had, I still owed about 3000 to the school. I could not make ends meet to do that and simply could not afford to attend.</p>
<p>One of the stipulations of the HOPE scholarship in TN is that enrollment must be continuous. When I contacted my adviser to inform him that I could not attend due to finances resulting from medical expenses, asked what I needed to do for that, and inquired what consequences might result from that. He said there would not be any problems (did not inform me of the consequences from taking the semester off). He did not inform me of the possibility of filing a formal leave of absence </p>
<p>When I returned for Summer semester, I was told that my HOPE would no longer apply for the 12-13 year but that I'd receive it again for the next (13-14) school year.
When I began Fall semester, I received an email saying that my HOPE was permanently canceled and that I would not receive it again.
After researching it, I found out I could appeal the decision on the grounds that I was not informed of the formal leave of absence process (using the emails with my adviser as documentation) and that I was experiencing extreme financial hardship.</p>
<p>I sent in all the required documentation and my appeal was denied by the school. I emailed to ask why and was told that they could not establish "extreme financial hardship." I know that I can attempt to appeal again with the state this time. </p>
<p>Does anyone have advice about how to handle this? What can I do differently to insure I'll be able to get my scholarships back? Has anyone else gone through this?</p>