<p>Okay, here's the quick rundown. Ten years ago out of high school I signed up for classes 2 semesters and was ignorant on never dropping those classes and took 7 F's. 5 years later I took some more classes got good grades and 4 W's over a couple of years. Now 10 years later Ive been focused on college, been getting good grades and I have got my GPA to a 2.6 from 0.70.</p>
<p>I just transferred to a new Community College, because I moved and I'm wondering what my chances might be in receiving some FA. </p>
<p>Here's where I see my problem. Their rules state:</p>
<p>"Receive credit for at least 67% of the total cumulative units attempted.</p>
<p>INCOMING TRANSFER STUDENTS</p>
<p>All college work, regardless of transferable equivalencies, will be reviewed for units attempted but will not be included in the cumulative GPA calculation.</p>
<p>PROBATION</p>
<p>You will be placed on Financial Aid Probation if you do not meet the academic requirements as outlined above during your first semester at ******. You can still receive Financial Aid while you are on probation status.</p>
<p>DISQUALIFICATION</p>
<p>A student will be placed on Financial Aid Disqualification if he does not meet the academic requirements outlined for two or more semesters at ******. The student is not eligible to receive Financial Aid when on disqualification status except for a Board of Governors Enrollment Fee Waiver, if eligible."</p>
<p>From all the W's and F's I'm at about 67 units attempted with a 30% completion rate. According to my math it would take me 6 semesters to hit that 67% completion rate and I would be done with college by that time, so I was wondering if my chances of Financial Aid are pretty much shot forever.</p>
<p>I'm mad at myself for messing up my GPA years ago and I'm prepared to deal with not getting any FA and continue on striving to reach my goal with or without the Aid.</p>
<p>Talk to the college and find out their process for dealing with this. I believe each college makes a determination about SAP issues in the end. I’m sure there are some guidelines from the federal government about this that they have to follow to some degree. </p>
<p>Bottom line is the government isn’t much inclined to continue to pay for college credits for students who don’t end up completing courses. It is a reasonable thing for them to do this.</p>
<p>However, you are not the first student who had a “false start” and wants a second chance to get through college…and might need federally funded aid as well. SO…contact your school…they will tell you how to proceed.</p>
<p>So, it sounds like altogether you’ve signed up for around 22 classes (67/3) and have only completed 20 credits with passing grades, is that right? How many credits are you taking per semester and how many more do you actually require in order to complete your degree? Will you be transferring to a 4 year school after that? </p>
<p>I think it would be difficult to achieve a 67% completion rate otherwise…your calculation of roughly 6 more semesters appears to be correct. I’m pretty sure you would need to earn 92 credits, or 72 more than you currently have, in order to meet the 67% completion rate (137 attemped - 45 F/W = 92 earned credits. 92/137 = 67%) So, basically, you would have senior standing at a 4 year school before you become eligible for federal aid again (after your first semester at the new CC, when you would be on probation). Do you meet the BOG waiver requirements and what other “academic requirements” are they referring to in the Disqualification section? It’s possible that you might be able to appeal for aid when you get closer to meeting SAP so make sure you stay on top of your grades and don’t withdraw from any more classes. Good luck!</p>
<p>If you are denied aid because you do not meet SAP, most schools will have an appeals process. You would have to ask the school what theirs is. Generally it is along the lines of writing an appeals letter in which you explain why your academic record is the way it is and what you are going to do differently this time round. If the appeal is granted, which is completely at the discretion of the school, then you will be given aid on a probationary basis. You must make very sure to meet the conditions given in the probationary period or you will lose aid again and it will be hard to get it back.</p>
<p>Each school has its own policy, and it is important to learn the policy at your school. It will be on the website. Believe me, policies do differ.</p>
<p>The reason they write that way is, actually, to avoid confusing people. You can see same type of writing (“copy”) in technical manuals and legal briefs too. The snappy, colloquial way that normal people use to speak and communicate runs the risk of being too ambiguous and easily misinterpreted (sometimes on purpose). By being as specific and redundant as possible “We are only making one change to Policy X this year. That one change that is being made to Policy X is Y. The Y being changed in Policy X will have the effect of Z…” the hope is that there’s no way for it to be misinterpreted. Of course, it’s still awful writing!</p>