Dropped out, bad GPA, how can I go back and pay for school? (bachelors, PhD)
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I went to a four year university in Fall 2011 fresh out of high school. The time I spent there ended up being some of the worst years of my life. I was too young and irresponsible, didn't have any motivation for being there, and was in a bad personal situation. I dropped out of school nearly two years ago due to these personal circumstances and bad grades. The last semester I attended was Spring 2015 and I ended with a poor GPA of 1.67. When I left I was on academic probation and Financial aid suspension.
Since then I've moved to a different state, become more responsible and mature, and I'm in a much better position than I was before. I made the decision to go back to school and I finally figured out what I want to do and found the motivation to be successful the second time around. I plan on attending a local community college in Fall 2017 to fix my grades and then eventually transfer to a university. I am determined to get back and start over although I'm worried that may not be possible. The only thing holding me back is financial aid.
I submitted the FAFSA tonight and they're in the process of reviewing it. At the end it said I might be eligible for some aid, but I'm concerned because I know you can't receive aid if your GPA falls below a 2.0
My question is, because this happened almost two years ago, and I moved out of state and all of that, will this financial aid suspension still follow me? Or will I be able to start over? I know I could just wait until FAFSA gets back to me and processes my information, but I'm nervous and looking for some answers.
Also, if they do place me in a position where I can't receive any aid, what can I do? I can't afford to pay out of pocket or anything like that... Are there any last resort loans I can take from other places that will allow me to go to school in Fall and fix my GPA so that I can get FAFSA next time?
I want to go back and prove myself more than anything. I know what I want to do now, and I am confident I have fixed all of the issues I had before so that I will be successful this time around. But I'm worried I won't be able to go back at all now because of this.
Any answers, help, or advice would be appreciated.
I went to a four year university in Fall 2011 fresh out of high school. The time I spent there ended up being some of the worst years of my life. I was too young and irresponsible, didn't have any motivation for being there, and was in a bad personal situation. I dropped out of school nearly two years ago due to these personal circumstances and bad grades. The last semester I attended was Spring 2015 and I ended with a poor GPA of 1.67. When I left I was on academic probation and Financial aid suspension.
Since then I've moved to a different state, become more responsible and mature, and I'm in a much better position than I was before. I made the decision to go back to school and I finally figured out what I want to do and found the motivation to be successful the second time around. I plan on attending a local community college in Fall 2017 to fix my grades and then eventually transfer to a university. I am determined to get back and start over although I'm worried that may not be possible. The only thing holding me back is financial aid.
I submitted the FAFSA tonight and they're in the process of reviewing it. At the end it said I might be eligible for some aid, but I'm concerned because I know you can't receive aid if your GPA falls below a 2.0
My question is, because this happened almost two years ago, and I moved out of state and all of that, will this financial aid suspension still follow me? Or will I be able to start over? I know I could just wait until FAFSA gets back to me and processes my information, but I'm nervous and looking for some answers.
Also, if they do place me in a position where I can't receive any aid, what can I do? I can't afford to pay out of pocket or anything like that... Are there any last resort loans I can take from other places that will allow me to go to school in Fall and fix my GPA so that I can get FAFSA next time?
I want to go back and prove myself more than anything. I know what I want to do now, and I am confident I have fixed all of the issues I had before so that I will be successful this time around. But I'm worried I won't be able to go back at all now because of this.
Any answers, help, or advice would be appreciated.
Thank you
Time to start working, then work some more, and some more. Then save that money for college. Any "last resort loan," is going to be a terrible product that places a noose around your neck for years to come. You should just write your future post now, "I did something stupid to pay for college and now broke."
It's great you are turning your life around and want to prove yourself, don't do it at the expense of financially shooting yourself in the foot. Sometimes the most mature thing to do is to postpone until you are in a better standing, stay with community college, and save money.
Save enough money to take some classes part time in order to get your GPA up.
This. In your situation, it will be the best way to go about changing your position. It may not seem ideal, but as long as you eventually finish, with the least debt possible, you will still have the same degree as someone who finished in the "traditional" four years.
I had a similar experience with university. I only had one bad semester, so my overall never dropped below a 3.0, but I ended up dropping out also. You can change your life for the better when you decide it is time. I started back in the Fall of 2015 as an Accounting major. I currently have a 3.95 overall at my new school (after 64 credits) and started graduate level classes this semester.
Maybe I missed it but what major did you decide to return to study?
More information is needed in regard to your FAFSA eligibility.
There is a FAFSA clock that is intended to prevent lifetime students.
If you started school in the fall of 2011 and your final semester was spring 2015 that is 4 years of college, 8 semesters so depending on when the FASFA money was cut you would likely be ineligible for federal money but could qualify for state money (depending on what state you're in).
Since you haven't saved any the last 18 months (end of Spring 2015 till now) you might want to start working (possibly a second or third income) in order to save enough for the fall semester.
If you were class of 2011, you're 24 years old and will not have to combine the money you make w/ your parents for your next FASFA in October.
Did you take out student loans during your 4 years (2011-2015)?
More information is needed in regard to your FAFSA eligibility.
There is a FAFSA clock that is intended to prevent lifetime students.
If you started school in the fall of 2011 and your final semester was spring 2015 that is 4 years of college, 8 semesters so depending on when the FASFA money was cut you would likely be ineligible for federal money but could qualify for state money (depending on what state you're in).
Since you haven't saved any the last 18 months (end of Spring 2015 till now) you might want to start working (possibly a second or third income) in order to save enough for the fall semester.
If you were class of 2011, you're 24 years old and will not have to combine the money you make w/ your parents for your next FASFA in October.
Did you take out student loans during your 4 years (2011-2015)?
No, I did not receive any financial aid during that time. I had a family member paying out of pocket. So I'm not sure if the FAFSA time clock applies to me since I've never had to use it before. I was very thankful they were paying for my education, but I was obviously struggling and it put me in a very bad personal situation with them. Without getting into personal territory, this is a big part of the reason why I moved out of state and made the decision to cut off any financial support with them. I had to become independent and figure things out for myself. I also wasn't allowed to major in something I enjoyed. I had to basically choose from a short list of things that they deemed worthy. So I had no motivation for finishing my degree. I was previously doing computer science.
When I go back to school this time around, I plan on pursuing a Bachelors of Science in Biology with a concentration in ecology and conservation. I will also probably minor in computer science.
Thank you to everyone here for all of the advice! I realize now I will most likely have to get a second job and save up some money to take as many classes as possible in Fall. Then I'm going to work my butt off to fix my GPA until I can get financial aid. Still waiting to hear back about the FAFSA but I'm pretty sure I'm not eligible at this point in time.
When I go back to school this time around, I plan on pursuing a Bachelors of Science in Biology with a concentration in ecology and conservation. I will also probably minor in computer science.
What do you plan to do with a BS in Biology? This is a degree that almost always requires further study to be marketable. I don't mean to denigrate your interest in the subject but I had several friends who studied Biology in school. None of them, with the exception of one who is currently in a PhD program, works in the Biology field.
From what I understand, there are plenty of things you can do with a biology degree. I did some research online and I could work in education, medicine, health care, I'd also be interested in working with animals. My dream job is to be a conservation scientist where I can work in the field and protect the environment. I'm also interested in doing research, so I am absolutely open to doing grad school. Again, my biggest issue is how I would pay for it. So it's kind of hard to imagine right now. I originally wanted to do environmental science but people were telling me there are no jobs in that, especially with the new administration in the USA they are likely going to cut the funding from these programs and there will be even less jobs available... So doing biology with a concentration in ecology was my happy medium. Now you're telling me there are no jobs in that either so I'm a bit confused. I've even looked up job openings in my area on indeed.com and there seem to be a decent amount of jobs that require just a bachelor's degree in biology.
I figured specializing in a certain area (ecology and conservation) and my minor in computer science would help set me apart from other candidates and make my degree more marketable.
Please explain what you mean by "requires further study to be marketable"? I don't want to spend another four years in school possibly going into debt for a degree I won't be able to use... I'm also open to doing computer science again if I have to. I don't want to study something I'm not interested in though, that seems more like a waste to me. Science is what I'm passionate about so I figured this would work best for me. I've put a lot of time and thought into this so any input is appreciated.
As other posters have said, a 4yr degree in Biology is stepping stone degree. If you are not prepared to attend more college following a BS, then you should look at technician type certifications instead of a Bio degree.
Regardless you will need jobs & plenty of savings & then meet your new college's "in state" tuition residency requirements. However, your post says you were on "academic probation and financial aid suspension". How can you be on financial aid suspension if you were not receving financial aid?
Your GPA will not improve much unless you re-take those bad grade classes. Either from the original college or classes your new college will accept as substitutes. Perhaps your old college offers those classes online. Because you could get years of straught As in new classes & your cumulative GPA would still suck.
Plenty of successful people have crashed & burned their first try at college. Good luck.
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