You may be in danger of losing your financial aid
Before You Drop a Class, Withdraw from College, or Simply Stop Attending consider the following:
- You could lose your financial aid eligibility for this semester and for future semesters: Mass Grant and other Massachusetts State, Pell and other Federal Grants and Loans can be impacted drastically.
- If you have attempted 30 credits of developmental course work, you will not be eligible for any additional federal aid if the course work is developmental. Once you have attempted 30 credits of developmental course work, you will no longer be eligible to receive financial aid for developmental courses.
- Your financial aid could be reduced and you may have to repay part or all of your tuition and/or financial aid.
- You will or may have a "W" (withdrawal) grade on your permanent MCC academic transcript. You may jeopardize your financial aid if you can't meet federal minimum standards of academic progress.
- Should your enrollment status/attendance drop below 6 credits, your current aid may be affected and you may become ineligible for certain aid programs such as Stafford Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans or a Pell Grant.
Important
- If you drop a course and are receiving a grant, loan, or scholarship, please check with a Financial Aid counselor for a review on the impact this may have with your future aid and with the Student Accounts Office for a review on the impact this may have on your current aid.
- All state grant and scholarship programs can be affected if you drop classes or withdraw from college. All federal grant and loan programs can be affected if you drop classes or withdraw from college. These grants and programs include, but are not limited to: Pell, Supplemental Grant, ACG, Federal Work Study, Perkins Loans, and Stafford Loans.
Attendance is important. Instructors may withdraw students from courses for excessive absences. If illness, accident or similar circumstances make it impossible for a student to attend classes for three or more consecutive days, it is the student's responsibility to notify the Records and Registration Office immediately. Financial Aid may be impacted.
You do have alternatives to consider:
- Ask the instructor for help and a realistic assessment of your performance in the class. Your instructor can help you, and you may be doing better than you think.
- Contact the Enrollment Services Office, or your academic department's lab, or utilize a private supplemental instructor or tutor.
- Talk to your academic advisor, or seek assistance at the Enrollment Services Office.
- Drop back to an easier course. If you do drop back to an easier course, check with the Financial Aid Office to see if it will impact your current aid.
Effect of Drug Conviction
Persons convicted of drug trafficking or possession under federal or state law while receiving federal financial aid may be ineligible to receive federal student aid including grants, loans and work-study programs.
When completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, a question asks if the student has ever been convicted of a drug related offense. Failure to answer the question will automatically disqualify the student from receiving federal aid. Answering the question falsely, if discovered, could result in fines, imprisonment or both.
Convictions count only if they were for an offense that occurred during a period of enrollment for which the student was receiving federal aid. A conviction does not count if it was reversed, set aside or removed from the student's record or if the conviction occurred when the student was a juvenile (before age 18) unless the student was tried as an adult.
According to the law, the following indicates the period of ineligibility for federal student aid. (A conviction for sale of drugs includes convictions for conspiring to sell drugs.)
Possession of Illegal Drugs
1st offense - 1 year from date of conviction
2nd offense - 2 years from date of conviction
3+ offenses - Indefinite period
Sale of Illegal Drugs
1st offense - 2 years from date of conviction
2nd offense - Indefinite period
A student regains eligibility the day after the period of ineligibility ends or when he or she successfully completes a qualified drug rehabilitation program. Further convictions will make the student ineligible again. Students denied eligibility for an indefinite period can regain it only after successfully completing a rehabilitation program as described below.
A qualified drug rehabilitation program must include at least two unannounced drug tests and must satisfy at least one of the following requirements:
- Be qualified to receive funds directly or indirectly from a federal, state or local government program or federally or state-licensed insurance company.
- Be administered or recognized by a federal, state, or local government agency or court.
- Be administered or recognized by a federally or state-licensed hospital, health clinic or medical doctor.
It is the student's responsibility to certify to the Financial Aid Administrator that he/she has successfully completed a qualified rehabilitation program.