Can't get Finanical Aid!!!

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Dec 10, 2008

you need to talk to someone else. i have all kinds of mess on my transcript and get financial aid..my transcripts date back 15 years as well. at one point i had to pay for my own classes because of failing grades but then was eligible to get fa the next semester... you need to investigate this further...

i just found out i can't get financial aid , i have already registered for school ,and ready to start my dream of becoming a rn. the reason i did not get it is because i "w" from 2 classes 15 yrs ago, i don't think that is right being it was so long ago. students please remember not to "w" from a class if at all possible it will haunt you in years to come.

powers2004 · Dec 10, 2008

Do you remember how many classes you took that semester to bring it up also I have already wrote a letter of appeal and they turned it down.

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Dec 10, 2008

its taken me many years to bring up a rotten gpa but in order to re-qualify for fa i had to pay for 6 hours once then the next time i had to pay for a full semester. if i had failed again (or gpa dropped below a 2.0) i would have had to wait one year before enrolling again...however, you have w's and that still should not keep you from getting fa..what is your gpa?

do you remember how many classes you took that semester to bring it up also i have already wrote a letter of appeal and they turned it down.

powers2004 · Dec 10, 2008

I don't have a high gpa but the advisor said it was because I withdrew from classes ,we are on a Tn. lottery system. I don't know what to do ,guess I will have to get a loan.

pink85 · Dec 10, 2008

I had a horrible transcript when I decided to go back to college and get my RN. My GPA was like a 1.4 and I had WF's and W's , etc.. that were old and I still got financial aide. Granted I had to be on probation at first and had to make straight A's every sememster to bring up my GPA to get into a BS nursing program..... the things we do when we are young and dumb!

I would check into that some more. Usually after so many years they will dismiss W's.

mikeicurn, ASN, RN · Dec 10, 2008

Maybe I am confused a bit on things, but I didn't think W's counted against you. I took some college classes back in the 90's, and withdrew from Trig twice because work had me travelling so much I was missing some classes. Both of these attempts showed up on my transcripts as "W"'s and I have not had any problems at all with them and getting financial aid since I started back to school this year. I was told that if you have to drop a class, to properly withdrawl or you would be given an "I" or incomplete. Then after a year if you haven't completed the class the I would convert to a failing grade. I know a girl who transferred here, and had an I on her record from another school she had attended. They told her all she had to do was take that class again and get a passing grade and that would offset the I and the problem would go away. The situation you are descibing doesn't sound right to me.

powers2004 · Dec 10, 2008

I went to the financial aid office ,she was the one to help me fill out the appeal , and that is what she said. I had 2 W 's,that is way the system is now is what she told me.

powers2004 · Dec 10, 2008

Pink 85, I don't know who to talk to now I have written the appeal ,so now I don't know what to do. I am so disappointed how can they judge you 15yrs ago.

queenjean · Dec 10, 2008

I couldn't get grants or scholarships either, because of my previous degree (everything was for people who were working on their first degree, not for someone who already had a 4-year degree). For my LPN I took out 3K in loans. For my RN and now for my BSN, I am paying cash. Many places now allow for four payments of tuition over the course of the semester. If you go to a reasonably priced school (community college or state college) it can be doable.

We are far from wealthy (dh is a teacher, I--well, I'm a nurse, I was a CNA and unit secretary before nursing school), but we have lived a fairly frugal lifestyle--older cars that we own, small (850 sq ft) house that has a smaller house payment than most, no credit card debt, etc. We also worked and saved in between my school years. I have always worked full-time, including while in school. Now my employer has a tuition reimbursement program--they pay 33% of your tuition up to 1200 a year. Not a lot, but every little bit helps.

Hopefully you can make it work, and the fewer the loans, the better. My husband had 20K in loans, thank god mine were minimal. I am shocked a people who take out tens of thousands in loans--I just don't think I would be able to do that. It puts you in such a hole before you have even started.

Good luck.

jussocute · Dec 10, 2008

although you may not want to ..you can always take out loans for this semester, pull up your GPA, and then reapply for fall. Just depends on how bad you really want it. The longer you sit out the harder it is to go back....Trust me!

ParkerBC,MSN,RN, PhD, RN · Dec 11, 2008

I hope I can shed some light on your dilemma. There are minimal requirements that need to be met in order to receive financial aid. First, a school has a minimum cumulative GPA that needs to be met, typically 2.0. There is a completing rate factor that students must meet, this is normally 75%. This is calculated by: Number of credit hours earned / number of credit hours attempted.

Example: This semester you attempted 12 credit hours. You withdrew from one course, failed a course, and passed the other two. Your Completion factor is: 6 hours (the two courses passed)/ 12 (total number of hours you attempted to take) = 50% Since it is below 75%, the school can deny the financial aid, but it typically happens to student who continuously show this type of pattern.

Finally, you have a maximum degree completion time frame. It isn't necessarily calculated by the number of years or months you take to complete the degree. Rather it is based upon again the number of credit hours you attempted, not to exceed 150% of the number of hours needed to earn your degree. For example, while pursuing a Bachelor's degree, you attempted thus far 186 hours and your degree requirements for a Bachelor is 124. 186/124 X 100 = 150%.

If your financial aid person told you that you are unable to receive financial aid because of withdrawing from a couple of courses, then it sounds like they denied you based upon the completing rate factor. But if you typically don't withdraw or if that was your first semester, then I would most certainly fight it. I am not sure where you go to school, but a lot of your major universities staff those offices with Graduate Assistants and I have learned from past experience that many of them haven't a clue about financial aid. If you are unable to get anywhere with your Financial Aid representative, request to speak with the Director of Financial Aid and threaten that you are not going to leave until you have an appointment set up with him or her. Exceptions CAN BE MADE and the head chief of the department is the one who can. If exceptions can't be made, then why on earth is there an appeal process?

Print this off and ask questions about it. Often times when you are prepared, in other words you have educated yourself on the subject matter; people in those positions tend to stop with all of the run around. I hope this helps...keep us informed.