If your kid wants to drop a course....

Paying for College
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<p>Just got a bad financial aid shock which I thought I'd share with you all so that it might help someone else in the future.</p>

<p>DS is a sophomore, and for his first semester this year he only enrolled for three courses, instead of the usual four that most students take at his school. He had entered with a ton of AP credit, so while I wasn't thrilled with the plan, I went along with it. (He entered with a full year's worth of credit.)</p>

<p>A month or so into the semester he said the wasn't doing well in one of the three courses, and wanted to drop it. I told him it make sure he wouldn't violate "satisfactory academic progress" and further reiterated that I didn't think this was a good idea. He did check, and found a document online outlining what constituted SAP at his school, which was no problem.</p>

<p>The day before Thanksgiving we got a notice about there being an overdue balance on his account, which I attributed to being a glitch with our monthly payment plan. So this morning I called up to straighten it out, and found that because he is now only enrolled in two classes his status was considered half time, and his institutional aid (grant and scholarship) were cancelled. The financial aid office agreed to give him back half of the amount, but we are on the hook for the rest. It turns out that SAP only refers to federal aid, not the school's own money.</p>

<p>I feel like an idiot for not seeing this coming, and I'm totally annoyed at DS for not checking more carefully. Let's just say it's lucky I didn't find out while he was still home for Thanksgiving..... </p>

<p>So, I hope this at least helps out someone else (and I appreciate having a place to vent!).</p>

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<p>An update: it turned out that the school offers a tuition break for students who are enrolled for half time status, but the student is supposed to get this approved in advance.</p>

<p>Fortunately for us, they allowed DS to petition for this, even though it was way past the deadline. He “threw himself on the mercy of the court” and got the tuition reduced retroactively. So that should about make up for the lost financial aid.</p>

<p>So - lessons learned: if your kid is dropping a class make sure they double check with the school that it won’t hurt their financial aid. Don’t assume that the kid’s adviser will know anything about this.
Also, neither the fin aid office or the bursar’s office mentioned that getting part time tuition was a possibility. I learned this by reading the school’s web site. Second lesson: be prepared to do a little research yourself if you get stuck in a difficult situation.</p>

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<p>What happened to your son had nothing to do with SAP. It falls under the “keeping your aid” rules. These rules were most likely sent with your son’s award letter, or were available to him as part of his online award package. Too many students don’t bother to read what is sent to them, but this illustrates the need to pay attention to financial aid office communications.</p>