Question about college financial aide. More directly about "Financial Aide Probation".

[madmom]

My daughter goes to college in a different town. She is home for the summer and decided to take a couple courses over the summer to get them out of the way. She took on-line course from a nearby community college.She had enough credit hours to be classified as a full time summer student and passed all courses. Now she received a letter in the mail yesterday saying she is on "financial aide probation" because way back in 02 and 03 she took a couple classes and didn't do well at all. The letter says ""Students must meet a cumulative grade point average requirement according to the number of hours attempted. Two consecutive terms with a cumulative GPA of below the allowed rate will result in suspension"...."transfer credits do not count in the calculation of the cumulative GPA"

Now my question... from the first time she attempted classes and the ones she has taken this summer she went to a different college and has a GPA that works out to be a C average ( I forget the actual numbers) and the community college here does not know this. They said it is because it's a combination of all the classes she took THERE. Now if she took classes in between and passed does she still have a "financial aide probation" Should this be challenged? Does financial aide rules differ between schools? They are both in the same state.

Any input here would be greatly appreciated, THANKS!

[enlightenment]

1. They can only detemine what they know, madmom -

I admit I'm not quite sure what you're explaining, though. The college she attends full-time in the other town is the one that has her on probation? Or is it the CC, which is unaware of the college classes?

Either way, it sounds like your daughter needs to send/carry an official copy of her transcript to the school that has her on probation, so they can reevaluate her status.

If she hand carries, which might be faster, make sure she gets the copy sealed inside an envelope with the letterhead of the school on it - schools won't accept it as official otherwise (actually, she should check with them and make sure - some schools won't accept even that as official - it has to be mailed directly from the school).

edited for clarity.

[DeepBlueC]

2. transfer credits do not count

This seems to indicate that only credits from the institution granting the financial aid are relevant to financial aid calculations. Are these classes in 02 and 03 still part of a transcript for a degree she is pursuing six or seven years later? When was the financial aid granted? If she is on probation I'd just concentrate on making sure that my next term at the granting institution is a successful one, even if it takes tutoring. But you could call the financial aid office for clarification.

[leftyclimber]

3. If she's on probation she has two semesters to straighten out her GPA.

But as someone pointed out upthread, she needs to head into the financial aid office and explain the situation. They'll tell her what I just told you (get good grades for two quarters/semesters) but they'll be able to make a note in her file in case the computer spits her name out again. As she accumulates credit hours the bad marks from those old classes will dwindle away quickly in her GPA.

To clarify though, she goes to College A in a different town and got bad grades there several years ago? Is that right? She's back at College A now and ready to do school this time. She took some courses at College B this summer and did OK. If I've got my scenario right the courses at College B will have no effect on her financial aid standing and she's going to have to bust hump academically this year to bring her GPA up.

Regardless, she needs to go to the financial aid office (not email them -- physically go) and talk to them. They've dealt with enough people who've had one go at college, buggered it up, and come back to get it right a second time to be understanding of your daughter's situation. I wouldn't encourage her to challenge the probation as much as go in there seriously worried and armed with transcripts to show that her grades are improving and she means business with school. They'll rightly reassure her and everything will be fine, as long as she keeps pulling her GPA up, which it sounds like she's doing.

[madmom]

4. No actually she went to college A several years ago, got bad grades, now is at college B doing

fairly well, went back to college A to pick up summer classes and did well there also.Then college A (where she took summer classes) is saying she is on probation. She is doing her degree work at college B going back in the fall. She went to college A got bad grades, started college B got good grades, went back to college A for summer classes did well, going back to college B in fall. The summer classes where general classes that are required for all areas of study (English, math etc.)

edited to add...she had four consecutive semesters (all last year) in between the bad grades and now that were all good grades.

[leftyclimber]

5. Okay, got it.

She still needs to talk to College A's financial aid folks about what's going on, including that she's going to College B full time during the regular school year and doing well just like she is at College A during the summer. If she's gotten her GPA up to a 2.0 at College A she won't have to worry about probation there any more. I'm not entirely sure how financial aid probation works at a school where someone's going summers only, but she can check in on that and they'll explain the process. Regardless, it sounds like she got a letter she probably won't need to worry about in the long run as long as she keeps in communication with College A's financial aid office.

And taking general requirements at a CC is smart -- it will save her loads of money!

[Xithras]

6. "transfer credits do not count"

Translation: The CC calculates GPA based only on the credits earned at the community college. This is pretty standard fare for community colleges, who often receive transfer credits from trade schools and accelerated colleges with less rigorous grading standards.

It's unlikely that they'll waive the requirement for your daughter (setting precedents, yadda yadda), but it's also probably not that important. Financial Aid probation isn't the same thing as Academic Probation. If she's on financial aid probation, it simply means that the community college may not extend her any more financial aid if she fails additional classes at the community college itself. If she passes her current classes and any additional community college classes she may take in the future, she'll have nothing to worry about.

Financial Aid probation is also not recorded on her official transcript, and isn't registered as a disciplinary action. It's simply a flag to indicate that they might not be willing to give her money anymore.

And yes, financial aid is unique to the institution. If the CC withdraws its willingness to offer her financial aid, it shouldn't impact the financial aid she gets from her primary college (unless they're both CC's in the same state system, in which case the rules vary).