<p>Started college on August 27th and dropped a class on the 28th because it was conflicting with my schedule. Now i have 12 units and am still enrolled as a full-time student. Just out of curiosity, does the aid that was used to pay for the now dropped class get refunded to me?</p>
<p>Did you drop it during the full refund period at your school (if they have one)? If so, then I would expect you to get the money refunded (as long as it was not some sort of tuition waiver).</p>
<p>Our school has a short 100% drop refund period, followed by a shorter 50% drop/refund period. After that the class has to be paid for even if you drop it. You would need to check with your school about their drop/refund periods.</p>
<p>Many private colleges bill tuition at a flat full time rate for 12-18 credits, in which case there is no refund. If your school bills by the credit, they may consider the dropped credits as a reduction in your grant if you got one.</p>
<p>If the OP is still full time and the school charges by the credit, I would not expect a grant to be reduced as they are generally based on enrollment status (full time, 3/4 time etc). But, if there is some aspect of aid directly related to tuition, then that aid would be reduced accordingly. For instance my daughter had a full tuition waiver which waived however credit hours of tuition she had. If she had dropped from 15 to 12 hours, the tuition waiver would have dropped also. But other grants such as the Pell would not have changes as long as she remained full time.</p>
<p>I’m attending a Cal State. The last day to drop a class without restrictions there would be on the 14th. I was awarded Cal Grant B, the Federal Pell Grant, and the State University Grant. Anyways, the day I went in to drop my class I was told that I would not have to pay anything back and there would be no change in my aid since I’m still enrolled as a full-time student. It didn’t occur to me to ask them whether I would get some of my aid back for dropping my class since that wasn’t a reason why I was dropping the class. It only occurred to me once my mom told me that I probably would be getting a refund just for that class. To me it doesn’t make sense since nothing came out of my pocket but the government.</p>
<p>It sounds like the school already answered your question. You were a full time student before you dropped the class and still are a full time student. The cost is the same regardless of the reduced number of credits. You will not receive a refund…</p>
<p>Thumper - I don’t see where it says that the cost is the same regardless of the number of credits at this school? The schools my kids went to charged by credit hour. 12 hours or more were full time. The aid stayed the same whether you did 12 hours or 15 hours, but the actual cost did not. We paid by the number of credit hours - so credit hour rate x 15 for 15 hours, credit hour rate x 12 for 12 hours. In our case, doing 12 hours rather than 15 would have led to a higher FA refund.</p>
<p>My response is based on what the OP wrote in Post #5. School told the OP there would be no change in aid because the student was still full time.</p>
<p>Yes, no change in aid. But if the school charges by the credit hour, the cost will be less for 12 hours than 15. With the same aid and a lower tuition charge, the refund should be higher. </p>
<p>Of course if the tuition is a set amount whatever the # of credit hours, that would be a different stories.</p>
<p>It depends on the school… where I teach full time tuition pays for 12 - 21 credits with no additional per credit fee. 1 - 11 credits is charged per credit or 3 credit “package” and over 21 credits is charged per credit or 3 credit “package.” Everything between 12 and 21 is covered under full time tuition and fees (and aid) as I understand it.</p>
<p>Thumper: I believe swimcatsmom is trying to clarify your response. The “aid” stays the same not the “cost”. Each class you enroll at my school is an additional grand so the cost of the school differs per student.
When I say my aid is not going to change I mean that they are not going to charge me and require me to pay some of the aid that I initially got. My question though is whether the aid that paid for the class that i dropped is going to be given to me adding to what i initially got.</p>
<p>Using Cal State Fullerton as an example, there is no difference in tuition costs above a certain number of credit hours: [Financial</a> Aid - Cost of Attending CSUF](<a href=“404: File Not Found - Office of Financial Aid | CSUF”>404: File Not Found - Office of Financial Aid | CSUF)</p>
<p>Xposted with the OP/</p>
<p>OP - based on the fact that your aid is unchanged, but your tuition is now lower based on 12 hours, you should get a higher refund. The cost of that class should be refunded to you. (though I have no knowledge of calgrant and if it varies by credit hour).</p>
<p>Cal States don’t typically charge by the class or number of hours. It is one set fee for anything over 12 units to about 21 units. If a class is dropped and the student maintains 12 units, they don’t refund any money because the student is still at “full time” status. Once he hits part-time status, there may or may not be a refund depending on which CAL grant is paying the bill and what the stipulations are. </p>
<p>The private schools around here do charge by the hour and would refund.</p>
<p>The OP stated
</p>
<p>Swim: The Cal States have one set of fees for full time (over 6 units) and part time. It’s always been that way. I don’t know if the OP attends another university, but I’ve attached the list of fees for our Cal State universities.</p>
<p>[2011/12</a> Tuition Fees and Campus Mandatory Fees | 2012/13 Supplemental Documentation | Budget | CSU](<a href=“http://www.calstate.edu/budget/fybudget/2012-2013/documentation/14-mandatory-fees-table.shtml]2011/12”>http://www.calstate.edu/budget/fybudget/2012-2013/documentation/14-mandatory-fees-table.shtml)</p>
<p>I went to a Cal State, my family went to a Cal state, and my nephew is currently at a Cal State, and we have never been charged individual class fees according to adding or dropping one class. It was all based on full-time versus part-time enrollment. </p>
<p>I think the OP is mistaken on the cost at the Cal States. The Cal Grant funding is very strict now, so I don’t think he’ll get anything back since our state is very limited in funding.</p>
<p>"“does the aid that was used to pay for the now dropped class get refunded to me?”</p>
<p>Huh?</p>
<p>Why would YOU get anything back for dropping a class. If anything, the AID would go back to the SOURCE of the money…not to YOU. It’s not YOUR money. Oh my…what have we done in this country that people think that if they’re awarded aid to take classes, but then they drop a class, that some money should then be given to them. what the heck would the money be given to you for?</p>
<p>Mom2 - you are incorrect on this. Remember aid, including loans, is not just based on tuition and fees but on the total cost of the school. It is based on the school’s COA which is based on average, not actual, expenses. For a school that charges by the credit hour this includes average tuition and fees, average room and board, average book expenses etc. A student is awarded aid, which remember often includes loans in the student’s own name, based on that COA of the school.If the student’s actual expenses are more or less than the COA, the aid does not usually change (as long as the student does not drop below full time). </p>
<p>Suppose for instance if the COA for the semester is $10,000 and the student is awarded the full $10,000 (which may include loans) in aid. If the actual tuition is $6,000 (and the student does not have any direct expenses paid to the school because he lives off campus), then the student would be “refunded” $4,000 to pay for other expenses such as rent, books, food etc. If the student took a heavier credit load and tuition was $7,000, then the student would only be refunded $3,000. If he took a lighter load (but still full time) and tuition was $5,000 then he would be refunded $5,000. </p>
<p>So if the OP is attending a school that charges by the credit hour, then he would receive a higher FA refund if he takes less hours. If he took more hours, he would receive a lower refund. That is how it works.</p>
<p>If his school does not charge by the credit hour, then the number of hours would not affect his FA refund.</p>
<p>Cal Grants have stipulations. They don’t have to “refund” overages because any leftover monies the university acquires, based on the refund policy, is typically returned to the state commission.</p>
<p>From the Cal Grant site:
“Recipients who enroll and attend classes, but then withdraw or drop to less than half-time before receiving payment of Access or books and supplies may still receive this award based on the amount of educational expenses incurred up to the date of their withdrawal or ineligibility. However, if a schools refund policy requires the return of funds, the funds must be returned to the Commission.”</p>
<p>The OP says he is not below full time. Do all Ca publics charge a set tuition no matter how many credit hours? It is strange that the OP seems to be pretty sure that his charges by the credit hour. </p>
<p>I have no clue about Calgrant, but federal aid (including both grants and loans) that exceeds direct school expenses is certainly “refunded” to the student. My daughter lived off campus after her first year (not in CA) and never bought her books from the school. Her aid money (part of which was student loans) in excess of tuition and fees was “refunded” to her and she used it for off campus rent, food and books bought elsewhere.</p>
<p>I think the term “refund” is what makes it so confusing.</p>