Many students attempt to get financial aid for college, but only few succeed in this. Education is expensive nowadays and reducing those student loans is the priority of most families nowadays. In fact, more and more students base their choice of a college on financial aid opportunities. The colleges with best financial aid have the most applications of them all.

Getting the aid is really tough. However, when you get it, your job is far from done. Financial aid can be lost much easily than it was gained. One of the financial literacy tips for newly independent college students is to understand exactly this – the goal isn’t just to get it, but to actually keep it. 

Financial Aid College Fails

The US Department of Education has set financial aid criteria that measures factors such as the number of credits and GPA of each student in order to determine their eligibility. But, even if you meet their criteria at first, failing to do so later will result in both personal and financial bad ramifications.

These criteria can vary from one financial aid to the next one. When students or families apply for financial aid, they hardly ever read the letters of acceptance. The success is grand when a student is chosen as eligible for a financial aid award. However, people need to pay more attention to the requirements to keep that financial aid. 

So, when the student enters college with the help of financial aid, they start to slack off thinking that their task is done. There’s a huge number of students who have lost aid because of their grades. 

Generally speaking, to remain eligible for college or federal aid, you have to maintain an average of C and make satisfactory academic progress. This progress, also referred to as SAP gives students a set timeframe to obtain their degree. In most cases, the timeframe is three years for an Associate’s, and six years for a Bachelor’s degree. 

The us news and world report best colleges increasing numbers in loss of financial aid. With more and more candidates applying for financial aid, the criteria you must meet to keep it is simply becoming more challenging. This makes it more important than ever for students to pay attention to the requirements in order not to lose their tuition money.

It is basically necessary to learn to become more financially independent. Keeping your financial aid is one example of this. Students who are financially aware and independent know how to manage their money. For example, they won’t go running to spend their money on parties but will Edubirdie to reduce the workload and have a good night’s sleep. 

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

SAP is different in different colleges and academic institutions. Nevertheless, it is a policy that outlines the requirements and standards a student must meet to get financial aid and keep it. The student who fails to meet these requirements won’t get financial aid or, if he does and fails afterward, will lose the aid. 

In the majority of cases, the SAP is maintaining a minimum of 2.0 GPA, as well as completing two thirds of the attempted credit hours. This amounts to around 150% of all credit hours that are required to graduation, depending on the degree you are pursuing. 

This can vary from one college to another, so your task is to remain informed about the standards. Your task isn’t just to meet the requirements to become eligible for financial aid. You need to be also acquainted with the reasons that may lead to you losing the aid. 

In most cases, colleges will notify the student if he is in danger of losing the financial aid. Once they are notified of this, students have to take immediate action to meet the requirements to keep the financial aid. Some colleges may even put the student on probationary period and ask him to speak with academic advisors. 

Regaining Financial Aid

Some students manage to regain financial aid based on the reasons why they failed in the first place. When they are faced with difficult health situations, they might be given a chance to improve their scores and regain the financial aid they received before. 

However, the process for this is exhausting. You have to go through various offices, send many appeals, and maybe even ask for legal help. If the reasons for your failure to meet the criteria are solid, your financial aid may be reinstated. 

You get the opportunity to appeal the loss of SAP with the use of documentation that proves you’ve experienced a medical issue or had a serious life-changing situation, such as death in the family.

If the reason why you lost the financial aid in the first place was your inability to keep your grades high due to poor attendance, laziness, and procrastination, your odds to regain it are slim to none. 

Author’s Bio:

Connie Elser is an academic advisor at three colleges located in the US. She works hard to guide students in the right direction and make their lives easier. Her main goal is to help students organize their time and find the right, reachable goals to work toward.