Student eligibility for financial aid does not carry over from year to year. If your financial situation changes — or your academic progress and course load take a dip — you could receive less financial aid or even lose financial aid entirely.
If your aid package is less than the year before, you might be wondering, can I get financial aid back after losing it? Students do have some options to get financial aid back, but it’s important to understand why you lost it in the first place.
Here’s a look at some possible reasons for losing financial aid, tips on how to get financial aid back, and alternative options to help pay for college.
Table of Contents
Key Points
• Financial aid eligibility is reassessed annually and may be influenced by factors such as a change in income.
• Maintaining satisfactory academic progress, including a minimum GPA and credit completion, is crucial to keep financial aid.
• Students can contact their school’s financial aid office to find out why their financial aid was lost and possible steps to get it back.
• It’s possible to appeal a financial aid suspension if poor academic performance was due to extenuating circumstances.
• Those who lose financial aid can consider alternative funding sources like scholarships and grants, getting a job to help pay for school, and taking out student loans.
What Does It Mean to Lose Financial Aid?
Losing financial aid means that you no longer receive the federal financial assistance you previously qualified for. This can include federal student loans, scholarships, grants, and work-study programs.
It’s also possible to lose financial aid if you don’t submit the Free Application for Federal Student Assistance (FAFSA) by the deadline, or fail to file the FAFSA annually as required.
In the case of financial aid suspension, your school’s financial aid office will typically notify you by mail or email that your aid has been suspended. You can also log in to your account on your financial aid office’s portal to check the status of your aid.
Why You Might Lose Your Financial Aid
Why can you lose financial aid? There are several factors that could impact how much you get.
• Increase in income: Financial aid eligibility is calculated for students each year based on information provided on the FAFSA. An increase in your parents’ earnings — or your own earnings if you have a job — could bump up the amount you or your family are expected to contribute toward your education. That, in turn, reduces the financial aid or FAFSA grants you qualify for.
• Falling grades: Your grades can affect your financial aid as well. While it may vary from school to school, students typically need to have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 and pass enough classes to complete a four-year bachelor’s degree program in six years.
Students who fail to maintain satisfactory academic progress are placed on financial aid suspension, meaning they are not eligible for federal financial aid.
• Number of credits taken: The number of credits you take can also impact the amount of financial aid you receive. Students usually need to be enrolled in school at least half-time — taking at least six credits — to be considered eligible for federal financial aid. However, part-time students may have their financial aid prorated based on the number of course credits they are taking. In other cases, full-time enrollment (12 credits or more) may be required by schools for certain forms of financial aid.
• Misconduct: Disciplinary action from violating a school’s code of conduct or academic misconduct such as cheating may result in losing financial aid, especially institutional scholarships and grants.
• Student loan default: Finally, if you’re returning to school to pursue another degree, you could lose financial aid eligibility if you’ve defaulted on student loans. A federal student loan goes into default when you’ve failed to make payments on it for 270 days.
Can You Get Your Financial Aid Back?
It’s possible to get financial aid back in some instances, although there is no guarantee. Whether you can get your aid reinstated depends on the reason you lost it in the first place. For example, you may be able to recover your financial aid if you can improve your academic performance (if that was the issue), or resolve a student loan that’s in default.
The best place to start is with your school’s financial aid office. They can help pinpoint the reason you lost your aid so that you can formulate a plan to try to regain your eligibility.
How to Get Your Financial Aid Back
As noted, getting your financial aid reinstated isn’t a given, but it is possible in some cases. Here are some tips on how to get financial aid back.
Reach Out to the Financial Aid Office
If you’re not sure why your financial aid has been lost or reduced, contact your school’s financial aid office to find out what happened and what you can do.
Improve Your Academic Performance
If you lost financial aid for not making satisfactory academic progress, improving your grades in the coming semester may help you regain your eligibility. However, this will likely require paying for school with other means for the time being.
Appeal Your Financial Aid Suspension
Appealing a financial aid suspension with your school could be an option if your academic performance was impacted by extenuating circumstances, such as illness or a death in the family. The appeals process typically requires filling out a form and writing an appeal letter to the college explaining the situation that led to financial aid suspension. Be sure to gather any evidence to support your appeal, such as medical bills.
Resolve Defaulted Student Loans
Students who are in default on their federal student loans have a couple options to get out of default. You could apply to consolidate your defaulted federal student loan into a new Direct Consolidation Loan. Because the balance on student loans is due in full when you enter default, consolidation can pay off the balance quickly.
Just be aware that a Direct Consolidation Loan adds accrued interest to the new loan principal and typically carries a higher interest rate than student loan refinancing.
Loan rehabilitation is another option to consider if you’re in default. You’ll need to contact your lender to request a loan rehabilitation plan, which typically involves making nine monthly payments on time. The monthly payments are usually lower than your original payment rate, but keep in mind that rehabilitation is a one-time opportunity.
How to Pay for College Without Financial Aid
Losing financial aid can make it challenging to attend college, but there are several alternatives to help get funding to pay for your education. Consider these options:
Scholarships and Grants
Scholarships and grants are gift aid that students typically don’t need to repay.
There are many scholarship opportunities available to students, and they each have their own eligibility requirements and application process. Scholarship eligibility can involve academic merit or financial need, or they may focus on your chosen major or participation in extracurricular activities.
Federal grants for college may no longer be an option if you’re on financial aid suspension. However, you could still be eligible for grants from your college, state government, nonprofit organizations, and private entities. Grants are often awarded based on financial need.
To help narrow your search, you can use a scholarship search tool to find grant and scholarship opportunities that align with your background and field of study.
Student Loans
If you lost financial aid due to a change in income, you might still qualify for federal student loans. Federal Direct Unsubsidized Student Loans, for instance, do not require borrowers to demonstrate financial need, and they’re available for undergraduate and graduate students. Bear in mind that these loans accrue interest while students are in school and there are limits on how much you can borrow.
If your financial aid was suspended for other reasons, you might consider taking out private student loans to pay for education expenses not covered by scholarships and grants. The amount you can borrow varies by lender, but you can often get up to your school’s total cost of attendance.
Unlike federal student loans, private student loans require a credit check, meaning you may need someone to cosign the loan. It’s important to compare different lenders, interest rates, and terms before deciding to apply for a private student loan.
Keep in mind that you have the option to refinance student loans to save money in the future. When you refinance, you replace your old loans with a new loan, ideally one with a lower interest rate and more favorable terms. Note that refinancing federal student loans makes them ineligible for federal benefits like income-driven repayment plans.
A student loan refinance calculator can help you see what you might save with refinancing.
Part- or Full-time Work
Many students work while going to college to help pay for school and living expenses. Consider how much time you can dedicate to a job while managing your course load to choose the best work situation.
If part-time employment makes the most sense for you, on-campus jobs are one option to consider to help pay for education expenses. If you can land a position in your field of study, a job at your school could help build skills and enhance your resume.
Tips to Avoid Losing Financial Aid in the Future
Being proactive now could help prevent financial aid suspension down the road. These are some steps students can take to help maintain their financial aid moving forward.
• Meet academic standards. Students typically need to have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 (though this can vary by school) and maintain satisfactory academic progress. Work to keep your grades up to keep your financial aid eligibility.
• File the FAFSA on time. The FAFSA must be filled out and submitted each year. Find out when it’s due (your state’s and school’s deadlines may be much earlier than the federal deadline) and be sure to work on the FAFSA and file it well before it’s first due.
• Try not to drop classes. Make sure you’re completing enough credit hours to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in six years or less.
• Consider a mix of funding sources. In addition to federal financial aid, apply for state scholarships and grants and also look for private scholarships and grants, which are offered by various companies and organizations. You may also want to consider private student loans to help cover any gap in your other education funding.
• Avoid student loan default. If you’re planning on going back to school and you already have student loans to pay off, keep up with your monthly payments to prevent your loans from going into default.
The Takeaway
If you lose financial aid, you may be able to get it back, though there is no guarantee.
Contact your school’s financial aid office to find out why you lost your aid and what you can do to get back on track. Students can try appealing a financial aid suspension with the school if there were extenuating circumstances for not maintaining satisfactory academic progress. You can also work to improve your grades in the coming semester to regain financial aid eligibility.
And remember, there are other options to pay for college without financial aid, including scholarships, grants, student loans, and working while going to school. If you do take out student loans, you might want to consider student loan refinancing once you graduate to help reduce your payments.
Looking to lower your monthly student loan payment? Refinancing may be one way to do it — by extending your loan term, getting a lower interest rate than what you currently have, or both. (Please note that refinancing federal loans makes them ineligible for federal forgiveness and protections. Also, lengthening your loan term may mean paying more in interest over the life of the loan.) SoFi student loan refinancing offers flexible terms that fit your budget.
FAQ
Can you get financial aid back after losing it?
It may be possible to get financial aid back after losing it, but there is no guarantee. Steps that might help you regain financial aid include reaching out to your school’s financial aid office to learn the reason for the financial aid suspension, improving your academic performance, filing an appeal with your school if there were extenuating circumstances that affected your grades, and resolving any student loans that are in default.
Why would financial aid be taken away?
Reasons that financial aid may be taken away include an increase in your parents’ income (or your own, if you work), poor academic performance (many schools require at least a 2.0 GPA), not taking enough credit hours to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in six years, or having student loans that are in default.
What GPA do you need to keep financial aid?
As an undergrad, you generally need a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 to keep your financial aid. Graduate students typically need a GPA of 3.0.
Can you appeal a financial aid suspension?
It is possible to appeal a financial aid suspension, especially if your academic performance was impacted by extenuating circumstances. For example, perhaps a medical emergency resulted in you missing classes or not being able to keep up with your coursework. Contact the financial aid office at your college to find out any specifics about how the appeals process works. Generally, you’ll need to fill out a form and write a letter detailing the extenuating circumstances and the effect they had. Be sure to include any documentation, such as hospital bills, to back up your appeal.
What happens if you lose financial aid?
If you lose financial aid, you may be able to get it back in some cases. Start by contacting your school’s financial aid office to find out the reason you lost your aid, then work on remedying the situation. That might include improving your grades, resolving defaulted student loans, or filing an appeal with the school’s financial aid office. If you are unable to regain your aid, consider other types of education funding, such as scholarships, grants, working full- or part-time, or taking out private student loans.
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