I’ve started my second semester in a new major. I took business before and I was so focused on that class that I didn’t pay much mind to others. Long story short, I failed that class along with 2 others. I got a letter in the mail stating I’m on academic probation. I’m a week into my second semester and I got an email about my finances. I don’t understand it. Could I talk to someone at the school? Could I lose my financial aid/get it reduced to one bad semester? If so, how do I fix it?
Talk to FA. Yes, you need to make satisfactory academic progress to continue receiving FA. This is probably a warning that you are in danger of losing it. If you failed 3 classes, you need to get high grades in 3 classes this semester to bring your average to over a 2.0. Don’t DROP a class without figuring out what you need because you might end up with not enough credits to bring up your gpa. Go to FA and talk to someone who knows what’s going on. Follow the advice.
Actually, for SAP purposes…dropped classes are viewed the same as failed classes t some schools.
To meet SAP…you have to COMPLETE a certain %age of your courses with satisfactory grades…dropping a course is not completing it.
I never did drop anything.
No, but many students who are trying to rebuild a gpa get into trouble and drop a class in the next semester. They then discover that even if they get two B’s and a C, they don’t have enough credits to offset the 1.8 gpa. Go to FA and to your adviser and figure out what you need to take and what grades you need to get. Getting five C’s isn’t going to move that gpa enough. Now is the time to take some courses you know you’ll do well and get a B or even an A.
I just changed my major from business to engineering. Engineering is way easier for me. That’s all I did. That and advance in the other classes I was taking and passed.
I am an academic advisor where I teach. As mentioned above SAP for financial aid is based upon % of courses attempted completed. Earning an F in a high % of courses attempted will impact BOTH GPA and SAP. Dropping courses may not impact GPA, but will impact SAP.
Some students who have GPAs in the Academic Good Standing range (above a 2.0), have not met the SAP % because they have withdrawn from too high a % of classes.
Some students who have GPAs below the Good Academic Standing range may still qualify for financial aid if they have passed a high enough % of attempted of classes to meet the SAP % guidelines.
For the purposes of GPA a W may salvage the GPA, where an F will not. For the purposes of SAP a W and an F are the same.
Do you have an academic advisor you can meet with? They may be able to help you see where the problem could be before you meet with financial aid.
I know at my kids’s school they have to have a certain GPA to keep their scholarships. They won’t lose them if their GPA only drops 1st semester. As long as they get them back up to the required grade point by end of 2nd semester all is well.
On a side note, business is hard but engineering is easy?? That’s different 
Find out if you can retake any courses you failed at a community college this summer, and have your school accept the credits.
Remember at most colleges outside of your home school, you only transfer credits. You do not transfer gpa. This will not help him to raise his gpa.
But wouldn’t it help for SAP, and completion rate, if he paid for classes with his own money and passed the credits?
I will defer this to @kelsmom. Him taking courses outside of his school really does nothing for his school (he picks up credits), but it does nothing for how he performs at his school.
OP, you “got an email about your finances.” What did it say?
I ask because, for some merit-based financial aid, dropping below the required GPA triggers immediate withdrawal of the aid – there’s no grace period of one additional semester to bring the GPA back up. This is true of my D1’s school, and it was spelled out clearly in her aid package.
Is any of your aid merit-based?
Every school has its own SAP requirements, so none of us will be able to say what will happen. Only OP’s school can tell OP what will happen based on their SAP requirements & his/her particular circumstances. Visit your financial aid office & have a chat.