<p>I messed my grades up my second semester at a community college, and then quit going to school for a while. I was dropped by my financial aid, which I believe was a Stafford loan, but I've been paying them ever since. I want to start up school again this winter, and I have enough money to pay for this semester out of my pocket, so after I bring my grades up, will I be able to qualify for receiving student loans again?</p>
<p>Sorry if this is a common question or in the wrong forum, I tried searching on here for an answer for a while and haven't found one yet. Thanks!</p>
<p>You need to talk to the school you will be attending. Schools have a policy called a SAP (satisfactory academic procedure) that determines your eligibility for financial aid. It usually includes things like a minimum GPA, a requirement to have completed a certain % of all classes attempted (ever, anywhere). This may be something like 67% or 75%, depends on the school.</p>
<p>You probably will not meet SAP currently, but most schools have an appeals process. This may involve writing a letter explaining why you did so badly before and what you plan to do to do better this time. You may (or may not) find that they grant you an appeal now and award you aid on a probationary basis. If you do this it is essential that you meet all the terms of the granted appeal or you will lose aid for future semesters and it may be difficult to regain it. So chooses your classes wisely and plan to work hard. It is important that you talk to the school to find out their policies as only they can tell you that.</p>
<p>By the way, once you are back in school at least half time your loans should go back into deferment while you are in school.</p>
<p>Good luck! My son was in a similar position with quitting school, working awhile, and going back and having to appeal for aid. He graduated in May and, after a frustrating few months, just found out yesterday he has a job offer which will pay him so much better than the jobs he had with no qualification, so it is all worth the effort in the long run.</p>