If you fail SAP will you lose Federal Financial aid Forever!?
My: Your daughter's eligibility for financial aid will be reinstated as soon as she regains compliance with the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards. That won't happen automatically with the passage of time, nor will it happen if she transfers to another school - the only way she can regain compliance is to pay out-of-pocket and improve (in her case) her pass/fail ratio. Most schools require that aid recipients pass at least 67 or 70% of the courses that they REGISTER for. (I highlighted "register" to emphasize that she can't get around this standard by dropping classes or withdrawing from school). As an example - if your daughter completed 12 credit hours in the fall, and failed all 12 in the spring, she's now at a 50% pass rate performance - well below the SAP requirement. Another 12 credit hours of passing grades will increase her pass rate to 24/36, a 67% pass rate. At some schools that would be sufficient to conform with the SAP, but even the 70%-required schools would probably look far more favorably upon an aid appeal if she were that close. So - the BEST way for her to regain her aid is to pay for one semester out-of-pocket, and pass all of her courses. No drops - no withdrawals. And yes, in case you're wondering, the schools do share information on financial aid - all federal aid is tracked through a national database known as the National Student Loan Data System, or NSLDS. You can find and review your daughter's aid record here: http://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/ Good luck to you and to your daughter - I hope this helped.
Financial Aid Probation?
You should take your summer classes if you think you can get good grades. I would definitely avoid taking the math classes during your probation period so you have better chance of increasing your GPA. If the math classes are not required then don't take them. If you have to take more math, then I would try getting a tutor through your university. Check with the math department; there's an excellent chance that can find a tutor for you. If you can, you might want to take a light load for the semester that you have a math class in. For example, you might try taking 12 credit hr.s instead of 15 credit hrs. so you cn spend more time on your math. Also, never fall behind in your math class. Attend all the lectures and make sure that you do all the homework on time and if you get any wrong answers on homework problems then make sure you find the correct answers. In math classes, your exams always have problems that are just like your homework. If you can solve your homework problems then you'll do just fine on the exams. I've had experience with financial aid and the probationary periods they can put you on. You didn't say what your cumulative requirement was but I know a lot times you must get at least a cumulative GPA of 2.0. Since you said you have to get at least a 2.5 GPA for the probationary term; that usually means that one term is equal to one semester. After that, you still get your financial aid for the following semester. After that you'll need to keep your GPA above 2.5 for each semester. As long as you keep getting a GPA of 2.5 for each term, you be able to keep your financial aid. Postpone taking any math as long as you can unless it's required to take other courses. Even though your math grade hurt you the most, it sounds like you have to improve your grades in all your classes. I would learn to develop better study habits and get use to attending all your classes. Get a syllabus for all your classes if you can. They always list all the requirements for each classes and plan ahead since the syllabus lists the dates of the exams and also any homework that is required. Buy your textbooks as early as possible and start reading them before the semester begins and get use to each textbook. FInd out if you can do any extra credit that will improve your final grade. If you have any research papers that are required; make sure you start the research for them ASAP. Don't wait until the last minute!
What are three reasons why financial aid should be based on student grades, and why not?
What do you mean “based on student grades”? Should need-based financial aid be allocated on the basis of grades? No, it should be allocated on the basis of… wait for it… need. Should we impose restrictions on continuing financial aid for students in academic jeopardy due to low grades? Absolutely! That’s a brilliant idea! So brilliant that we already do it.
What should an undergraduate do his freshman year to increase his chances of getting into a good graduate school?
Acclimate well with your college.Find peer groups to:socialize withstudy with play intramural sports withDon't do anything Stupid (drugs, too-much-alcohol, being disrespectful of female and male students and staff, etc).Determine what your Real major is. Many people (many) change majors by sophomore year. Indeed at MIT, Harvard and many other colleges there is No major until you declare one at the Start of sophomore year.Pay attention to the requirements for your eventual major.Work with professors so that they know you and appreciate your hard and good work. Those professors will be necessary for getting great letters of recommendation. But don't even think of that until sophomore year.Try to get a good summer job after freshman year. Anything. A Job. It is the work ethic that is more important.And most importantly: Enjoy the process of maturing from a raw teenager into an Adult. And enjoy your campus and peers. All the best.
Getting financial aid appeal approved?
Hello all, Okay so here is the deal, I have two more semesters and a summer session left to graduate. And in order for me to graduate in Dec 2011, I needed to take five classes this semester(15 hours), but this semester only. And now I am in jeopardy of failing two classes. :( I have NEVER failed a class before and I have only gotten ONE D, in which I felt miserable for days about. My GPA has never fallen before a 2.75. But I may lose my financial aid because, I have not met ALL the requirements to maintain my financial aid. One of the requirements is 73% course completion of all courses attempted. By failing two classes, that would put me at a 60% course completion. My question is how do I get my financial aid appeal letter approved? I really just overhelmed myself with taking all these courses. It was not a "easy" load(business finance, small business finance, management of organizations, internation economics, business law) and it was really hard for me to keep up with the material. And in one of the courses, my professor knows that. But I feel horrible that I did this, ya know, I DID THIS! :( It sucks. But we live and we learn. Thanks for all your answers.
How can I help my child get financial aid for higher education?
1, Getting need based financial aid depends on having ‘Need’.Need = COA - EFCYou can get the COA or Cost of Attendance from the school website.You get your EFC or Expected Family Contribution when you file FAFSA online. Or use an online tool to forecast it. Usually there is a Student Contribution of summer earnings and a bit of school year earnings as well. So help the student get a summer job the year before college.2. Getting need based financial aid depends on going to a college that will give it. There are 60 or so colleges in the country that ‘meet full need’. There are more that will meet full need for instate low income students, like CA public schools. Some others may or may not meet need depending if your profile is at the top of the pool. So get very good grades and SAT/ACT score. And choose the school list wisely. The school will have a Net Price Calculator, or NPC that you can use to get an estimate of aid based on your family data.Without the school giving you need aid, you will only get a limited amount from the Federal Gov’t. You can always hunt for scholarships to apply to but this is very tie consuming and you won’t know if you get the funds till after your acceptances usually, so focus on the schools first.
How Do You write a financial aid appeal letter?
Dear Office of Financial Aid(IF THERE IS A CONTACT PERSON PUT THEIR NAME HERE INSTEAD OF FINANCIAL AID OFC.) My name is "name" and I am writing to you to appeal my suspension of federal aid. The Fall and Spring semesters were a very stressful and difficult time in my life. Not only was I a full-time student, but also I tried to maintain a full time/part time job just to help pay bills in my house while my mom was out of work, diagnosed with Glaucoma. Her condition required laser surgery and I wasn't able to attend my classes on a regular basis, because I had two siblings to look after, as well as my mother. (I WOULD OMIT THE PART ABOUT YOUR GRANDMA, I'M SURE ITS A LEGIT STORY, BUT THIS IS ENOUGH. AFTER THIS PARAGRAPH YOU SHOULD GIVE THEM A REASON WHY YOU WANT TO STAY IN SCHOOL AND YOUR GOALS. HERE IS AN EXAMPLE). I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to continue my education at this institution. However, without the funds from my federal aid, this is not possible. With my aspirations of graduating in "year", with a "name of degree" degree, I plan to devote myself to my studies and education. Please consider revoking the suspension of my federal aid for the Fall 2009 semester. Thank you for your time and attention in this matter. I will be contacting you later this week to follow up on this urgent matter. Ok, so that's an idea. You really should follow up on it after you send it, too, they like to see that you are thorough and that you really value your education. I've had my aid suspended once for dropping too many classes and they can be a pain to deal with. but if you write them a nice letter and your grades are decent, you should get your appeal approved. Hope this helps you and good luck in your studies!!
Do I need to have good grades to get an athletic scholarship to an Ivy League school?
Are you interested in an Ivy League school, or Stanford? Stanford isn't in the Ivy League.Most Ivy League schools and some other top-tier schools have need-blind admissions and only need-based aid. Whether you need financial aid has no impact on your admission. If you are admitted on your merits, then your family income determines your aid package. If your parents are rich, you won't get any aid. If they're middle class, you'll get some aid. If they're poor, you'll get more aid. Your skill in a sport and the overall strength of your application have no impact on aid. If the last person admitted off the waitlist is poorer than the person the admissions committee was most confident about admitting, then the last person admitted will get a better aid package.You'll probably need good grades. A stronger part of your application can make up for a bit of weakness elsewhere, but to get into a lot of Ivy League universities, you'll need to show you can do the work. That most often means taking challenging classes and doing well in them.
Can dropping a year after undergrad to do some top notch research work substantially increase my chances of getting admitted to any top USA School(s) like MIT, Stanford, CMU, or Berkley for a master's in computer science (with financial aid)?
Make sure your research is top notch under a professor whose LOR will be valued in a reputed university in the US. I also tried the same to drop a year and do research. I have 5 pubs, but I didn't get any positive response from any prof in US since my advisor was not 'branded' like an IITian prof. So if you want to take the risk and drop a year make sure you work under the very very best!