Financial aid question.

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Specializes in Home Health Clinician.

I currently attend a school that will give me financial aid until I am done with my program.... if I actually ever gain entry to said program... :rolleyes:

I have put in my app, and I need to take an entrance test for another school, but I was looking at the school website (and then to all the community college websites) and they have this rule where you can only have 93 attempted hours (transfers... withdrawls... anything), total. After that you can't receive financial aid any longer, even if you have need for it.

I had gone to school at the same school when I was just out of high school. 20 years ago. My grades were less than parr, to say the very least. And clearly, with my transfer credits from my current school (almost all A's) and with the old attempted credits, I will never get financial aid, and with 4 kids, there is no way I can afford to go through school with no help. I can't be gone for 60+ hours a week... I mean, I can... but I would never see my kids. (Although, there are times when this might be attractive... just kidding)

Anyway, I am wondering if there is any way around this. Has anyone been in a similar situation and what did you do about it?

I need to be able to apply to other programs, but being able to pay for it, may elude me.

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I currently attend a school that will give me financial aid until I am done with my program.... if I actually ever gain entry to said program... :rolleyes:

I have put in my app, and I need to take an entrance test for another school, but I was looking at the school website (and then to all the community college websites) and they have this rule where you can only have 93 attempted hours (transfers... withdrawls... anything), total. After that you can't receive financial aid any longer, even if you have need for it.

I had gone to school at the same school when I was just out of high school. 20 years ago. My grades were less than parr, to say the very least. And clearly, with my transfer credits from my current school (almost all A's) and with the old attempted credits, I will never get financial aid, and with 4 kids, there is no way I can afford to go through school with no help. I can't be gone for 60+ hours a week... I mean, I can... but I would never see my kids. (Although, there are times when this might be attractive... just kidding)

Anyway, I am wondering if there is any way around this. Has anyone been in a similar situation and what did you do about it?

I need to be able to apply to other programs, but being able to pay for it, may elude me.

I am in this situation right now. I am supposed to start the Respiratory Therapy program at MCC. I was just informed today that because I have 93 credit hours I don't qualifty for a loan. Let me know if you find anything out about this. I guess I will just have to pay for this out of pocket right now. Gemberly, do you know if I have a loan with Baker, can I defer it. I know it goes into repayment after six months and it will be more than that if we start the nursing program in March.

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Specializes in Home Health Clinician.

You can defer as long as you are enrolled in school. There might be some form you have to fill out, so they know you are enrolled at another school, so I would call the financial aid office about it, but as long as you are still in school, you are able to defer your loan.

I paid for every class I took at MCC with my own money... LOL And now I find out that those classes count against me too. LOL

But at Baker, because I haven't transfered any classes there. I have enough space to still be eligible for financial aid.

Now I am wondering is this only classes that actually have transfered from Baker to MCC that will count? If so that gives me a bit of wiggle room, but if they count all those classes and any classes I took at SC4 even if they don't go toward my program, I am screwed up for financial aid.

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Specializes in Home Health Clinician.

I also read on another site that you can try to appeal this 93 credit situation, but you have to have some sort of plan of action.

Now I understand why Baker changed it so you couldn't just register for classes outside your step plan. I guess people were running into this situation.

I guess an option would be to get a contingent position at a hospital and work when you can, and hopefully with tuition reimbursement...

Ugh.

Let me know if you find anything out J.

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You can defer as long as you are enrolled in school. There might be some form you have to fill out, so they know you are enrolled at another school, so I would call the financial aid office about it, but as long as you are still in school, you are able to defer your loan.

I paid for every class I took at MCC with my own money... LOL And now I find out that those classes count against me too. LOL

But at Baker, because I haven't transfered any classes there. I have enough space to still be eligible for financial aid.

Now I am wondering is this only classes that actually have transfered from Baker to MCC that will count? If so that gives me a bit of wiggle room, but if they count all those classes and any classes I took at SC4 even if they don't go toward my program, I am screwed up for financial aid.

Please keep me informed if you find anything out. I really don't have the money to put out for these classes right now but if I don't pay by tomorrow I will be deregistered.

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Specializes in AGNP.

I ran across this situation when I went back to school for nursing. I had a previous bachelors degree then got my associates in nursing so I obviously had tons and tons of credits. I was able to appeal the financial aid credit limit and just had to prove that I was enrolled in an degree granting program and show them my graduation plan and then they allowed me to get financial aid again.

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Specializes in Home Health Clinician.

Thank you. That is what I was hoping, just a chance at getting that lifted. Clearly, by the amount of pre-reqs and whatnot I have taken in the last two years, I have turned the corner in deciding what I want to be when I grow up!

I didn't even use financial aid while I went to Community College, so this rule is kind of frustrating!

Thanks for the advice!

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Specializes in Home Health Clinician.

I found the appeals form from MCC online. So now I am ready for when I get accepted! ;)

LOL

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I just ran across this post and I am in the same situation now. The class I am currently enrolled in puts me at 93 hours and I start a Radiologic Technology program in May. I saw that the last post to this thread was in August 2008. To the original poster, how was your situation resolved?

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I too am in this situation and will be submitting my appeal in a couple of weeks. I'm not expecting any problems, but if I do have them, I'll be up a creek :crying2:

From what the financial aid advisor told me, this is not a school thing, but a federal thing. Pell grant, Stafford Loans (subsidised and unsubsidized) and PLUS loans are all administered by the feds. I guess they figure that if you've already got a degree, you shouldn't need another one --- WHAT EVER !!!! :lghmky:

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Specializes in Home Health Clinician.

Hey, I got my letter in the mail, my financial aid appeal was approved. :) Not sure how long it will take to actually see any of the money due to the announcement on MCC's FA page, but whatever... eventually... they will confirm it.

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Hey, I got my letter in the mail, my financial aid appeal was approved. :) Not sure how long it will take to actually see any of the money due to the announcement on MCC's FA page, but whatever... eventually... they will confirm it.

I got my appeal approved a few weeks ago and the loans have already gone through. I find it speeds up the process if you fax everything they ask for rather than taking it into the office.

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