Withdrawing from current university due to illness- implications for future schools, Financial Aid?

Parents Forum
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<p>My DD started her Freshman year last August at an 'out of state' university. She did really well the first semester, finishing it with a 3.9 GPA.
Unfortunately she had to take a leave of absence in February due to needing treatment for an eating disorder. She had been seeing a Nutrionist, Doctor and Therapist on campus, all of whom had considerable experience in ED's and it was on their advice that she agreed to take a leave of absence to get treatment. We absolutely supported this decision. </p>

<p>She entered a residential treatment program in late February. Before she made her definite descision, she and her dad and I met with Student Support to discuss what was involved in her withdrawing from classes and taking this break. DD stressed that her intention was to hopefully return this Fall, having completed treatment and being in good health.</p>

<p>About 6 weeks ago, the university contacted her via email to ask what her intentions were for the Fall. DD set up an appointment over the phone and discussed the situation with an Advisor. He asked what her intention was ( she saud to return) and what they could do to make the return process go smoothly. DD said that her return would dependent on her being in good health, on her getting enough Financial Aid again, and on her getting housing since she is out of state. </p>

<p>However, DD is still in a treatment program and it is clear that she will not be well enough to now return in August. She has made the decision to take the Fall off and, depending on what level of treatment she is at, to possibly get a part-time job whilst she completes treatment as an Out Patient. Another possibility she is considering is to register at CUNY and take one or a few classes there. </p>

<p>She has decided though, that she does not want to return to her current university at all. It is a huge school, and she feels that even if she is doing well when she goes back, she will find the campus and student life triggering. It is 3 hours away from home and although these were 2 factors that she liked about the university initially, she feels she would do better closer to home and to her 'support team'. She is considering applying to a university with a much smaller campus and one that is in a city so that she has easier access to treatment and can make a life off campus. </p>

<p>All these possibilities are, of course, dependent on her health at the time. The only thing she knows for sure right now is that she will not return to the current school. Will her withdrawal from her current school impact her being accepted at another school in the future? </p>

<p>Does anyone have any experience of this kind of situation, and of what happens now regarding Financial Aid when a student withdraws from the school completely? She will be notifying the university in the next day or so, but we are wondering if we should contact the school first to explain the situation. We are not 100% clear on what happens now regarding the Financial Aid package that she received for the Freshman year. Does it become repayable immediately? Or are we given time to make payments considering she is still unwell and still in treatment? Can any of it eventually be ''transferred' to another school in the future?
She had received a lot of Financial Aid for this last year, including Stafford loan, Pell grant and Parent Plus loan and more. </p>

<p>Any thoughts or advice would greatly be appreciated! </p>

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<p>My D also had to leave school this past year on a Medical leave of absence. The school will report to the gov that your D is no longer enrolled, and what her last date of attendance was. For the Stafford, you have a 6 mos grace period from last date of attendance before starting repayment; however, there are ways to change repayment, or put it off, but interest will accrue of course. You should get notification through the mail. We started paying on our Parent Plus loan about 3 mos after it was disbursed to the school, so I am a bit surprised you haven’t had to start paying that back yet; although I know you can arrange to pay it back upon graduation, over a longer term, etc. Ours is serviced by Great Lakes, and they sent a letter and email notification with links on how to go online to set up repayment, etc.
We are going through similar with our D, and are unsure whether she will go back to her U or not. She definitely wants to, and I want her to learn that even through adversity we can grow and succeed, but it’s nerve wracking! My D won’t consider transferring because all her friends are back at school, and none of her old friends are around home, so life is incredibly boring for a 20 year old…I also have read numerous times on CC that transfer students do not usually receive great financial aid compared to what they may get as incoming freshman. That may affect your D’s choice or option for schools to transfer to…Good luck to you and your D.</p>

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<p>Your daughter sounds wise and appropriately careful of herself.</p>

<p>One of mine left, different problem but also a medical leave, and we paid the loan off within weeks to clean the slate, so to speak. I don’t know if you are able to do that. Ours were not for a large amount. It helped us psychologically toward a fresh start. My child went from a quality LAC to community college and has thrived there, taking one or two classes at a time.</p>

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<p>I believe that you’d ask to do an “exit interview” with her current school’s fin aid dept. If repayment starts while she’s still in treatment, can your family manage that? Ask about arrangements for extenuating circumstances and any implications for future “grace periods.” Do you have access to a financial planner who understands college financing? </p>

<p>Could she attend a community college part-time (6 credits) while in community-based treatment? If so, that could delay repayment, I believe. </p>

<p>Academically, the new school would likely simply want to see her official transcript from the first college. It shows fabulous grades in fall and a withdrawal in spring. That tells the story. Excellent student with a disability/disorder that interrupted her. The fall semester credits would most likely transfer into the new school when she is accepted and decides to attend. Check the transfer policy of the new school.</p>

<p>Her plan to switch schools sounds very sound, if she can afford the new school. </p>

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<p>Diyu…um…I’m not sure the student would do an exit interview with her financial aid department. She will need to do an online exit thing if she stops school. That is for her loans.</p>

<p>The student is eligible for income based repayment. The payments on the student loans would be based on her income…and they would be pretty low. The Plus Loans…I don’t think those have this option as they are parent loans. </p>

<p>The Pell Grant for the first term does not have to be repaid. She completed that term. For the second term, how long was she enrolled, and were her grants disbursed to her account? You may have to repay some of that if,she did not complete a sufficient number of weeks…but maybe with a medical withdrawal there is some leniency. I don’t know.</p>

<p>Regarding the future. Financial aid does not transfer from school to school. If she applies to a new school you will have to complete financial aid applications to that school. If she continues to be eligible for a Pell Grant, she will get the same amount regardless of the school she attends. She will also get a Direct Loan of $5500 as a freshman. The amount subsidized will vary by school.</p>

<p>In all events, your bills with the current school will need to be paid as they will not release a transcript for transfer purposes until they are. So…contact the bursar’s office at her current school to see if you have any outstanding bills.</p>

<p>At this point her well being is the priority. The rest of this will sort out as time goes on.</p>

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<p>Thanks to everyone for the helpful info, really appreciate it!</p>

<p>Thumper1, Re: the Pell Grant…she completed about 6 or 7 weeks of the Spring semester, I believe. It was disbursed to her account. If part of it needs repaying, does that hold her back from getting another Pell Grant until it has been satisfied? I would assume so. There are no outstanding bills at the previous school, but they have not yet been informed that she is not returning, so the PG may change that. </p>

<p>Dyiu13:
It is pretty much now decided that my D will apply to a state school (which has community colleges within it), within the city that we live in and be a day student, at least for the next year. She plans to apply for this fall semester, either as a full-time or part-time student; she is hoping to attend full-time and if so would do 4 classes which would be 12 credits. Alternatively, if she can only do 2 classes part-time, she would 6 credits. We will find out if 3 classes/9 credits is a possibility and if so, would it defer loan repayments. </p>

<p>She realizes that as a Freshman, she cannot transfer in the Spring, that transfers get less financial aid, so is really ruling out other options. She is in agreement with us that taking on another lot of loans when this is an illness that can relapse at any time is not a good option and would only create an unfair burden on her down the road. </p>

<p>It is very possible that we can cover the cost of the city/ community college ourselves. I assume the payments are split in to 2 semesters anyway. </p>

<p>But if not, would this plan of action change anything with her financial aid situation? Loans taken out at her first university will reach the 6 mark grace period in late July, I believe. So they would become due, and we will negotiate either an extension of time or a payment plan, but would this have any effect on her getting grants (other than the Pell) in August for the city state school or community college?</p>

<p>Also, since she only completed one full semester as a Freshman, I assume she will apply as a Freshman; would she then become a Sophmore in the spring semester, or does it depend on how many credits she has in December?</p>

<p>Teachandmom:
it is nerve-wracking, isn’t it, but I so agree with your comment about growing and succeeding through adversity. Not that I would wish this on anyone, but both my S and D have done that through various difficult circumstances; I would say both are wise beyond their years and are coming out stronger for it. </p>

<p>Another question, but
along similar lines - my S is a Senior and is taking this fall semester off
to get work experience in his field of study. He has had internships throughout college, some paying, but all really good ones with regards to experience. He was offered a really good full-time job over the summer, which he started in late May right after finals, and having just been given a promotion, he intends to stay in the job until late November.</p>

<p>He cannot get credits for it, and although he will be back in school in for the spring semester to graduate, he is not registered for classes this fall, so will his loans become repayable too? He only needs 6 more
Credits to graduate.</p>

<p>The 6 month grace period, is that including the summer months, so mid-May through mid-November would his 6 months? He can register for Spring classes in October, so I’m wondering if, as long as he is registered, he would be considered ‘in school’ at the time of registration? Would that keep him within the 6 month period and mean that his loans would not be due?</p>

<p>Compmom: it’s good to hear of a happy outcome, I know this is definitely possible for my D too! Good luck to you and your D too. </p>

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<p>@Birdsey81‌ - My heart goes out to you and your D. I hope she recovers soon! Did you have tuition insurance? My D starts college this fall and has medical issues so I am looking into tuition insurance. I’m not sure what is covered (ie whether there are any pre-existing condition exclusions). If you didn’t have it before, it may be worth exploring for when your D returns to school.</p>

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<p>Birdsey81, I’ve worked with a lot of students in your daughter’s situation. It sounds like you’ve worked out an excellent plan. Three semesters from now she may feel ready to try being away from home again. If so, bear in mind that while financial aid is harder for transfers, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing. Most schools will have a limited discretionary financial aid budget that they can use for any student they want to attract. It doesn’t hurt to apply and see what they offer. Plus, if your daughter keeps her GPA in the 3.9 range, she could turn out to be competitive as a transfer for Ivy League schools and other elites that can afford to meet full need for all transfers. Good luck!</p>