<p>Flunked out after a year and a half at Illinois State. The first thing I'm looking at is paying back financial aid. Instead of dropping all of my classes this past semester (didn't know what that would do to my financial aid or if they would allow me to stay in the dorms - questions never asked) I dropped one and kept the other three, keeping me at the bare minimum of 12 hours for full-time. Failed all three and am considered an "unofficial" withdrawal. Here's a snippet from the first e-mail I received:</p>
<p>"[We're] required...to recalculate [FA] for students [who fail to complete] 60% of the semester. This...determines the portion of [FA] the student has earned by comparing the number of calendar days in the term to the number of days completed before [withdrawal].</p>
<p>For [you], regulations allow [ISU] to use the [semester midpoint] as your withdrawal date when calculating how much aid must be immediately repaid. We will, as a courtesy, contact your professors and ask [for a] last date of attendance if possible.</p>
<p>As a result of the review process, we'll revise your fall [FA], per regulations and last date of attendance as documented. Unearned aid will be returned to the government, causing a [FA] repay on your student account at ISU. Bills...mailed mid-January."</p>
<p>In a nutshell, from the second e-mail sent, "...what happens to your aid depends on how late in the semester you continued to attend classes." If I didn't attend class after October 22nd, my FA is "prorated" and returned to the feds (which reduces my debt to them) and I will owe a repay to ISU. Also, "Any bills due to the university are not subject to the same grace period and repayment plan since the debt is now to ISU."</p>
<p>I need clarification on this matter. Odds are I'm using the semester midpoint as my withdrawal date as I have no way of officially proving my attendance past October 22nd. My billing statement (as of 12/15) says that my total fall charges add up to $10,662 + $1250.50 (half of spring semester's room charge) + $2001 (spring semester meal plan - attempting to get this nullified). I'm just confused on what goes back to the government, the school (or do I pay the government back through the school?), and how (in terms of what gets paid back immediately or later, with interest). Sorry for the length, but I'm using all available resources on this one. Thank you in advance for ANY help.</p>
<p>On Wednesday, pick up the phone and call the financial aid office and as them how this works. If that office is closed all of next week (unlikely, but possible) call them on Jan 2.</p>
<p>If your instructors took roll in any of your classes, or if you spoke with them in person after Oct 22, or if you showed up for the finals, wrote your name on the exam sheet, and handed it in blank, you may be able to use that as evidence that you were “attending” classes. Think carefully. Were you attending classes or not?</p>
<p>Within the last few years, the fed has cracked down on students who collect aid and don’t go to class. Currently, when I have a student who fails, I must always indicate whether an F was “earned” or “unearned”. Unearned means the student stopped attending class, and I must indicate the date I last saw the student on the verification sheet. More bad news. A student who received federal aid will get none for attempts to retake a class for which there was an unearned F. </p>
<p>I’m going to guess that your whole bill will be owed to the school and they will handle repaying the fed. But, you need to call the FA office–or better yet, go in to see them. Print out a list of questions (who do I pay back? Will I need to pay back fed directly or only ISU?) and write down the answers as you’re given them. This is just so you can keep things straight for yourself.</p>
<p>As I’ve said, I’m using all possible resources on this one so yes, I will be calling the financial aid office. Just wanted to gather more thoughts on this from people on here (which I appreciate, thank you). Unfortunately, I’ll have to wait until next week to call, but in the meantime I can gather my thoughts and form better questions, I guess.</p>
<p>The biggest issue I’m concerned about is having to pay thousands of dollars directly to the university immediately. That will probably require taking another loan out altogether and then adding that on top of the 6 month grace period for last year/half of this year’s loans. Luckily, though, if it’s just FA that payed for tuition they’re after (not room and meal), then half of fall tuition equals $2407.50, which is (more) doable than $4000+.</p>
<p>Those are good questions to add to your list: how much do I need to repay? Do I need to repay amounts received that went towards room and board?</p>
Where did you get this idea? When federal FA is required to be repaid because of failure to attend, it is based on just that - your attendance - not on what it paid for. </p>
<p>My understanding is that the school has to repay the Govt, then you have to repay the school. Generally they will want repayment immediately. You would have to talk to them about whether there is a way they will work with you.</p>
<p>I prepare for the worst, mentally (lol). Not being able to get my answers directly from the financial aid office made me conjure up the possible idea that they were after FA in general and not tuition, specifically.</p>
<p>I believe the best I can hope for, in terms of paying back the school directly, is a very compact repayment plan. Split the bill in two, or even three, and that would lighten the load considerably.</p>
<p>Again, all questions to be asked. Thanks to all who have helped, thus far!</p>