Dropping below half time for one semester and financial aid

Paying for College
1

So this semester I enrolled in 9 credits - one 5 credit class and one 4 credit class. But the 5 credit class was cancelled due to low enrollment, and I could not find another that would fit with my work schedule. So I just figured “Fine, I’ll just take this one class this semester and then take 12 credits in the spring”. My financial aid award was cancelled (I’m only taking stafford loans), which I was okay with, because I could cover the cost myself for just that one class.

But then I found out that if you drop below half time, your grace period automatically starts for repayment on the loans. I looked online today, and it said that my grace period started at the end of last spring’s semester, and I have apparently been “in repayment” for a month now. But the thing is, I can’t afford to start repaying them, not while I’m enrolled. I’m going to take 12 credits this coming semester, I’ve already enrolled and paid the tuition out of my own pocket. Will the loans stop being in repayment once this coming semester starts, or are they going to expect me to start paying back even while I’m enrolled? I’m kind of freaking out right now.

2

Once you are back in school, you won’t need to pay.

But don’t just stop paying…contact your loan servicer to find out how to get your enrollment and payment schedule back to student status.

3

Contact the loan servicer to see if you can change your repayment plan to income based so the payments will be very low or even $0 while you are in repayment.

Never ignore your student loans, there are different repayment options. If you don’t choose a particular one they just put it on standard repayment I think and that payment would be much higher.

So call the loan servicer about your options.

4

You also need to check if you had need based aid last term…when you dropped to 4 credits. If you did, you may find that you owe your school money…somcheck that too!

5

Also remember that you only get one 6 (9 for Perkins) month grace period per loan. What that means is that the next time you drop below half time or graduate that the loan repayment on these loans will start immediately.