You Could Pay Thousands More If Your Child Drops That College Course
"This fall, tell your child to think twice before withdrawing from that class she hates. She could lose thousands of dollars in financial aid. That's because college students must meet a series of requirements, including maintaining a minimum C average and successfully completing a minimum number of credits, in order to qualify for the full amount of loans and grants they're expecting to receive," CNBC reports.
"In the worst case, students who drop from full-time to less than half-time — that is, generally fewer than six credits per semester for undergraduates — may no longer be able to take out federal loans and may have to start repaying what they've already borrowed.
... Here's what you need to know if your child is thinking of going below full-time status.
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Paying Up
If students fall below half-time status for more than one concurrent semester, their federal loans enter a six-month grace period and then repayment begins, said Megan Coval, vice president, public policy and federal relations at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
Further, depending on the school and the circumstances behind the drop to part-time status, a college could require that a student repay aid already received, she said. Students should check these details with their financial aid office.
Schools make a distinction between withdrawing from a class and dropping it, and this factors into whether a student is considered full time.
Publication Date: 8/10/2018
