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A hard lesson for OP. Mine was listening to one of the counselors that had me take 3 extra classes I didn't need for my major. Take verbal advice with a grain of salt.
Think of it this way: if you were in the class for 6 weeks and the prof gets paid by the student (which some do), the prof deserves reimbursement for the period of time he/she taught you even if you didn't complete the class. You used university resources for some period of time. Withdrawal within the first week of the course is usually a "freebie." After that, there will be financial consequences to the student.
Agreed - when I was in college the registrar had miscoded one of my classes to indicate it met a degree requirement that it was not technically supposed to.
When they tried to correct it midway through my final term I had the paper record proving they'd told me I'd met the requirement and got it waived.
Reduced, yes. Cancelled, no. It would only be cancelled in full at the student's request or in a case where the student never attended the term.
Otherwise it goes through a process called 'Return to Title IV' which, very roughly speaking, results in an amount being returned proportional to the % of the term completed. It may or may not sync with the institution's tuition refund policy, and a student may get money back, or owe money, or it may net to zero.
That's a change from when I attended school (which was a decade ago).
I withdrew and had to pay back my student loans for the quarter (not previous quarters) in full before I could receive financial aid when reenrolling.
I think I might have been able to keep a portion of my grants, but the loans were definitely cancelled then.
That's a change from when I attended school (which was a decade ago).
I withdrew and had to pay back my student loans for the quarter (not previous quarters) in full before I could receive financial aid when reenrolling.
I think I might have been able to keep a portion of my grants, but the loans were definitely cancelled then.
This is true of every university I've ever worked at or attended.
This confusion is why the institution I am currently employed at puts absolutely everything in writing. It sounds to me that the OP did not close the loop by filing the appropriate paperwork to withdraw. No university would do that over the phone - even when students have to leave due to immediate emergencies, my university still requires those materials to be faxed in. Unfortunately, it's as if the phone call didn't even exist.
That's a change from when I attended school (which was a decade ago).
I withdrew and had to pay back my student loans for the quarter (not previous quarters) in full before I could receive financial aid when reenrolling.
I think I might have been able to keep a portion of my grants, but the loans were definitely cancelled then.
You likely withdrew very early in the term, so the percent of your loans that were "earned" ended up being zero in the formula.
If your school was 'automatically' cancelling loans for students who withdrew, well, then they weren't following the rules, which is also possible.
The government requires a certain number of completed credits. If you don't complete at least 6 credits in a semester, then you are not at least half-time and don't qualify for federal financial aid.
The government requires a certain number of completed credits. If you don't complete at least 6 credits in a semester, then you are not at least half-time and don't qualify for federal financial aid.
That's conflating multiple policies into one, and in a manner that's not quite correct.
You have to enroll and commence participation in at least "half-time" credits to be eligible for a disbursement of federal student loans. One may historically and currently (though Congress may change this) receive Pell and certain of the 'campus-based' programs while enrolled less than half-time.
Note that none of that speaks to "completion" only enrollment and initial participation.
If a student completely withdraws from a term they are subject to 'Return To Title IV' (R2T4) which calculates the portion of disbursed aid that was earned/unearned.
Regardless, students are subject to something called 'Satisfactory Academic Progress' (SAP) and that's where the issue of 'completion' comes in.
So, 3 scenarios:
1) Student registers for only 3 undergrad semester credits. Not eligible for any disbursement of Direct Loans. May be eligible for Pell.
2) Student registers for 6 credits, receives Pell/Stafford. (Assume 'census date' has passed or that school doesn't use one) Drops 3 credits. Disbursed aid is unchanged, no R2T4, and yet student will be subject to SAP and may become ineligible for future aid.
3) Student registers for 6 credits, receives Pell/Stafford. Drops all 6 credits. Subject to R2T4 and SAP.
Presumably one can see it's quite complicated. But enrollment for eligibility is determined either at date of disbursement and/or census date. Subsequent changes in enrollment (or failure to pass) are addressed through a combination of R2T4 and SAP depending on the exact details of each case.
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