<p>Hello,</p>
<p>If i transfer into a college as a junior but take 2 years + an extra year to finish a double major, what happens with financial aid for that extra year? do they not give any at all? or just less?</p>
<p>the school in question is carolina and i qualify for the carolina covenant</p>
<p>Call them and ask - this is too important to trust to random posters</p>
<p>i am i am but what generally happens in this case?</p>
<p>There is no “generally”. Institutions have a great deal of flexibility with their own money. They may be ok with awarding a 5th year (or in your case, a third year) of aid for majors that generally take more than 4 years. They may be ok with awarding an extra year to certain students, say an athlete with a year of elgibility remaining because he red-shirted freshmen year. </p>
<p>What is available in terms of state aid varies by state.</p>
<p>Most school-based merit aid is only good for 4 years (or 2 years in case of a junior transfer).</p>
<p>Most state based grant aid also has limits-- which will vary by state. (In our state, a student gets 8 semesters and no more.)</p>
<p>Individual college need-based grants usually aren’t available to cover extra semesters beyond the basic 4 years.</p>
<p>You will still be eligible for federal loans (providing you haven’t exceeded the credit limits). </p>
<p>You may or may not be eligible for federal work study, depending on your school’s policies. (Schools often prioritize who gets work-study since there’s not always enough to go around. Some schools exclude ‘super seniors’–5th years-- from eligibility or place them at the end of the award line. Some put them first since they’re closest to graduating.)</p>
<p>But, the best course of action is to ask since policies vary widely from school to school. Some schools have special programs for 5th years.</p>
<p>i havnt gotten my FA package or evaluation of credit yet… ugh this is making me so anxious :(</p>
<p>for NEED based aid ONLY, do most schools cover only 4? what if you want to change your major and have to take an extra year? is it loans or drop out? hardly seems fair to those who want to change major or double major…</p>
<p>There is an acute shortage of money. Most transfer students do not even get need met, so if you even get that far, you are doing well. And that is for 2 years. What you want is over the top for many schools. I believe federal aid continues, but unless there are special circumstances, most schools will support only 4 years for undergrads and 2 for transfers. You need to talk specifically to the school’s financial aid office, however, because there are notable exceptions and you may fall into one. But more importantly, you need to get your FA package to see if this is even doable for you.</p>
<p>If a school garuntees to meet full need why woudnt they? they meet it for transfers too</p>
<p>How it worked for me was that Wellesley (which meets full need) told me that I transfered in x credits, thus I was eligible for y semesters of financial aid. It was up to me to figure out a plan how to graduate in that amount of time.</p>
<p>so if you want to change major u gotta drop out right? ugh</p>
<p>Seriously, what do you expect? That they’re just going to pay for you to go as long as you want? No, that’s not how it works. Most colleges will pay for how long it takes to get a typical degree- 4 years- if they provide you aid at all. After that, you’re on your own because they have freshmen that need that money. Why should they continue to pay after you could have completed your degree?</p>
<p>to keep their grad rate up? schools like usc go for 5 years right?</p>
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<p>I don’t know what you mean by this. Even those who go to USC can graduate in 4 years. </p>
<p>Some schools award aid up to 150% of credits. So, if it’s 120 credits to graduate, some will award up to 180 credits worth of aid. </p>
<p>You NEED to contact the school. We cannot really help you for your specific school.</p>
<p>yeah but the thing is i get a lot of need based aid so i wouldnt mind attending a 5th year a all…i understand those who have to pay want to get out in 4</p>
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You obviously don’t understand. EVERYONE would want that deal - take 5 years, whatever time, we’ll pay for you. The school does NOT want that to happen. There is limited funding and they want to use it for more students, so they limit how long you can sit at the trough.</p>
<p>yeah but not EVERYONE qualifies for need based financial aid. </p>
<p>anyways, called and they said UNC only allows max 8 semesters, 9 on rare occasion. thanks for the input all!</p>