<p>I wonder if anyone else has come across this situation. I have now seen it twice with friends/relatives and wonder how often this happens. What happens if you have less than 4 required classes (12 credits) remaining in your final semester? Since you are then less than full time do you lose financial aid? As I said I have seen it happen to 2 students I know that the final semester they lost ALL financial aid because they only needed 1-3 classes (required classes) for graduation. In fact one needed 4 classes and was advised by the college to take a class over the summer to make the last semester easier which resulted in him losing ALL his financial aid and he was forced to take a semester off. The FA office is trying to help due to the fact he acted in good faith on the advice of his college advisor. Beware - academic advisors don't often know how FA works! But has anyone seen this? Could you just sign up for a full load regardless of the requirements and get FA or would they eliminate FA based on what classes are REQUIRED for graduation?</p>
<p>Yes, it is very common. Grants prorate with enrollment, so less than full time will result in reduced grants. Some schools will not give any institutional grant money at all if the student is less than full time. Loans will not pay at less than half time. In fact, in the student’s last term, undergraduate loans must be prorated if the student is graduating at the end of the first term of the award year. If the student is less than full time, he will actually be eligible for less than half the annual award. It’s a bummer, but it’s federal regulations.</p>
<p>As for your last question, that will vary according to institutional policy. Where I work, students can take a full load their last semester even if they don’t need all the credits; I work at a public U. My daughter attends a private that meets need. She could actually graduate this December but wanted a class that is only offered in the spring - she will take a full course load & receive aid.</p>
<p>Thanks Kelsmom! My daughter is at a full need met school so I bet they would do the same. Good to know - and much relieved.</p>
<p>It’s always best to check with your school to make sure.</p>
<p>Why not just take 12 credits to be sure? The extra class can be easy…like something at the rec center or some other easy class.</p>
<p>It probably depends on the school. My daughter dropped to half time (6 units) her final semester. Her grant money, including Pell grant, was reduced - though no change in loans. But the reduction was because her tuition went down – so the net cost to us was the same. </p>
<p>I think if she had taken less then 6 units she would have lost all aid – I did insist that she talk to the financial aid dept. before dropping down to less than full time.</p>
<p>I would point out that just because a student has completed the requisite courses and units needed for graduation, doesn’t mean that the student can’t take additional courses.</p>
<p>M DD only needed 1 class her last qt but she took a full load of electives in her major. Kept her FA and built her portfolio with all that work (BFA in Graphic Design). She often took an extra class here and there since it didn’t cost extra. Wound up graduating with tons of extra credits in her major, a minor in Communications and basically a concentration/minor in business/marketing.</p>
<p>When she studied abroad in the summer after sophomore year, she didn’t qualify for FA because the summer program wasnt considered full time (only 2 classes/6 weeks long compared to 10 weeks at her home U). At her FA dept’s suggestion, she took an independent study class through her home U bringing her up to full time status. She received 2 grants that paid for her pgm in Italy and she completed the independent study when she returned to the states.</p>
<p>Calmom, it does depend on the school’s policies. Federal grants will prorate based on enrollment, and loans will pay as long as the student is at least half time. Institutional aid policies vary though. Some school grants/scholarships don’t pay at all if the student is less than full time … so at a school like this, not knowing the rules can be a very expensive thing.</p>
<p>I do know that my daughter’s school policies applied for the final semester only. It makes sense if you think about it – as I noted above, my net cost was the same, but when my daughter dropped to half time, the tuition went down considerably - and her college grant was reduced to match. So it was a net savings for the financial aid department – they had less money flowing out of their budget to pay for my daughter to attend school, and more money available potentially to meet unanticipated needs of some other student.</p>
<p>I’d also note that even though the cost to me was the same, given the grant reduction – my daughter was able to take on more part time paying work with her schedule reduced – which helped lay a good foundation for graduation – which for her meant the loss of university housing. So she then had money saved up when she graduated to meet her first month’s expenses post college.</p>