<p>I know of a student who failed most classes as a freshman and has around 12 credits. The student wants to start over at a community college and realizes the old transcripts will follow. But is this person eligible for a first year unsub. Stafford loan - no loans or grants were used before?</p>
<p>He may run into a problem with SAP (Satisfactory Academic Progress) requirements. Schools look at all a student’s college history and the SAP usually includes GPA requirements, % of attempted credits successfully completed, not attempting over the # credits required for a particular degree by more than a certain amount. For instance at my daughter’s school a student must successfully complete 75% of all attempted credit hours, have a GPA over 2.0 and not have attempted more than 150% of the required credits for the degree (so for a degree requiring 120 credits that would mean not more than 180 can be attempted). Failure to meet any of those requirements can mean aid is initially denied. It does not matter whether there has been any aid in the past. </p>
<p>Usually a school will let you appeal which requires writing a letter explaining why the bad history exists and what the student plans to do differently. If the appeal is granted then aid may be granted on a probationary basis and it is very important that the student ensure they meet all requirements during the probationary period.</p>
<p>My son ran into this when he returned to school. He had gone to school for 1 1/2 years, done ok but dropped out, and then returned for one disastrous semester where he ended up withdrawing from all the classes that semester. He returned to school a year later and, although he had never received aid before and actually met all the cumulative SAP requirements, he was initially denied aid (including loans) because of that semester. He appealed and the appeal was granted and he ended up with financial aid. </p>
<p>So the student you are talking about should be prepared for the possibility that he may initially be denies loans. If so hopefully he can write an appeal letter that will enable him to get them.</p>