 |
| Photo Credit |
The decision to transfer schools might cross
your mind, and can become something of a conflict of interest. Transferring
schools can allow you to trade-up, so to speak. If you attended a school with a
mediocre reputation, poor job market location, or expensive tuition, you might
consider a transfer to a school that will boost your objectives. However, keep in mind that transferring may also
affect your financial aid. And, some of
the changes may be affected based on when you decide to transfer. Here’s how.
Regardless of your transfer date you’ll need to
resubmit your FASFA form. Your financial
status and eligibility to receive financial aid shouldn’t be affected by a
change in schools. This also means that
your expected family contribution (if in undergrad) will also remain the same. Further, make sure you check the amount of
credits that transfer to remain eligible for financial aid under the
satisfactory academic policy. Federal
subsidized loans can also be affected greatly if you are transferring from a
four-year to two-year program. Any
campus-based aid provided by the previous school will not be transferred. Further, you may receive less institutional
aid than you may have received at your previous school because each school is
different, may have differing amounts of available money to give out, and most
campus aid is distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. On the plus side, if your new school is
cheaper you may receive a smaller financial aid award than your previous school,
but this only means that the cost of attendance is cheaper and the amount of
loans you have to repay will be less!
Transferring Mid-semester: Your financial aid is “earned” after 60% of
the semester has been fulfilled. If you
leave before this is met, the school will return unearned aid to the federal
government. This can affect how much you’re
able to borrow at your new school.
Transferring Mid-year: FASFA forms are for the academic year; so a
mid-year refiling means that most of the financial information will be the same
and your eligibility for financial aid should be the same as well. However, depending on how much you earned at
the previous school, you may qualify for less financial aid as you did as a
first-time or returning student.
Transferring For a New Academic Year: If you don’t know where you’ll be attending
school for the next academic year, then your FASFA form will not reflect the
school by the deadline (you can always add potential schools on your filing),
but this could mean you are awarded less aid than had you filed on time.
Keep in mind your previous school’s existing
loans. Those loans will begin their
grace period (or repayment based on the terms) as soon as you drop to below
full-time/half-time enrollment (based on the terms). Therefore, it is important that you contact
the lenders to work out a continuing education deferment or other repayment
option.
Until
Next Time,
Jenny
L. Maxey
You
Might Also Like:
5
Financial Aid Mistakes to Avoid at the Beginning of the Semester
No comments:
Post a Comment