what happens if you drop a course and drop below 12 credits uni

by Hope Kutch IV 5 min read

If you take 12 credits in a semester, which is a typical full-time requirement, and drop a class, you fall below full-time status. This may impact your eligibility for future financial aid, or you may be required to pay back your funding source for the tuition and books for the dropped course.

Drop Courses
If you drop below 12 hours, you will be considered a part-time student. If you wish to drop all of your courses after the semester begins, you must withdraw entirely from the university.

Full Answer

What happens if you drop a course in college?

This may impact your eligibility for future financial aid, or you may be required to pay back your funding source for the tuition and books for the dropped course. Failing a course may also put financial aid in jeopardy, if it puts you under a minimum grade point average requirement.

What happens if my credits drop during the late drop period?

Dropping Credits During the Late Drop Period. Impacts on your aid eligibility: You will be responsible for the balance of your tuition bill if your aid is adjusted. Your financial aid award(s) may be adjusted if your award(s) requires full-time or half-time enrollment and your credits drop below the minimum required.

Do dropped courses count as credit hours for financial aid?

Credit hours for dropped courses are not included in your hours of enrollment for financial aid Dropped courses do not count in your HOPE/Zell Miller or Undergraduate Admissions Academic Scholarship attempted hours

Should I drop a class because of the professor?

If you need the class for your major, you’ll want to check at what other times during the year it is offered. If you are dropping the class because of the professor, first make sure that there will be other options for professors, otherwise, you will find yourself in the same situation just further down the line.

What happens if you withdraw a class and go below 12 credits?

What happens if you: Drop below full time status (less than 12 credits per term): Pell Grant: If you drop below full time status before the end of the add/drop period, the amount will be pro-rated. You will receive 3/4 of the award amount for 9-11 credits, or 1/2 of the award for 6-8 credits.

Does dropping a course affect you?

Dropping a class is much better for your GPA than failing a class or getting a C or D in it is because a dropped class does not affect your grade point average. Dropping a class may also raise your GPA because it can allow you to spend more time on other classes and raise your grades in them.

What happens when you drop below full-time?

Dropping below full-time status – Could negatively impact grant and/or scholarship aid and may require you to repay some or all of the aid you've received so far for the semester. Check with Financial Aid & Scholarships (FAS).

Can dropping classes affect credit?

If you drop a class after that period, you could lose credits and hurt your GPA. So if you're wondering what happens to your financial aid if you drop a class, you can see that dropping a class could disrupt your academic progress and, as a result, cause you to lose your financial aid.

Is it better to fail a class or drop it?

Failing & Then Re-Taking a Class Croskey notes that dropping a class is better than withdrawing, but withdrawing is better than failing. “A failing grade will lower the student's GPA, which may prevent a student from participating in a particular major that has a GPA requirement,” Croskey says.

Is dropping and withdrawing the same thing?

Important Definitions. Course Drop: Removal of a course from your schedule prior to the end of the first week of class. Course Withdrawal: Any removal of a course from your schedule after the end of week one using the online form provided.

Do you still have to pay student loans if you drop out?

When you leave school or drop below half-time status, your student loan debt stays with you. Your loans can't be canceled or forgiven because you didn't get the education you expected or you couldn't finish your degree program.

What happens to my student loan if I drop below half-time?

Once you graduate, drop below half-time enrollment, or leave school, your federal student loan goes into repayment. However, if you have a Direct Subsidized, Direct Unsubsidized, or Federal Family Education Loan, you have a six-month grace period before you are required to start making regular payments.

Will I lose financial aid if I withdraw?

The Federal Return of Title IV Funds procedure mandates that students who officially withdraw (drop all classes) or unofficially withdraw (stop attending without dropping all classes) may only keep the financial aid they have "earned" up to the time of withdrawal.

What is the 60 percent completion rule?

Once 60% of the semester is completed, a student is considered to have earned all of his/her financial aid and will not be required to return any funds. Federal law requires schools to calculate how much federal financial aid a student has earned if that student: completely withdraws, or.

How does dropping a class affect satisfactory academic progress?

Course withdrawal may affect your financial aid eligibility and may drop you below your satisfactory academic progress requirement. Courses that you have withdrawn from still count towards your Attempted Units, which may impact your Unit Cap.

How many credits do you need to not pay student loans?

Students must be enrolled at least six (6) credit hours to remain eligible to receive loan funds. If you drop below 6 credit hours, your loan will automatically be canceled. You must begin loan repayment with the Department of Education if you drop below 6 credit hours.

About Future Student Aid Eligibility

If you drop below half-time enrollment, you may be ineligible for aid, including loans. Depending on the time during the semester that you drop a c...

If You Drop Credits Before Your Financial Aid Is Disbursed

If you drop credits before all of your aid is disbursed: 1. You will be responsible for the balance of your tuition bill after your aid is adjusted...

What Happens and What to Do If You Late-Drop Credits

Students with Federal Direct or Perkins LoansIf you received a Federal Direct Loan or Federal Perkins Loan and drop below half-time, the grace peri...

What does it mean to drop a course?

Dropping a Course. Withdrawing from a Course. "Dropping" a course means you dropped it before the end of the drop/add period. A student "withdraws" from a course after the end of the drop/add period. Credit hours for dropped courses are not included in your hours of enrollment for financial aid. Generally results in a grade of W, WP, or WF.

Does withdrawing from UGA affect financial aid?

Withdrawing from all courses can affect a student's financial aid eligibility as cited under the preceding topic. In addition, when a student withdraws or is withdrawn from all his or her courses prior to completing more than 60 percent of the term, federal financial aid regulations generally require the student to repay a portion of the federal student aid received during the term. The amount of any required aid repayment is calculated by UGA Student Accounts according to the federally prescribed formula.

What does "drop the course" mean?

You drop the course (s) that lasts the entire semester after you have completed the course (s) that does not span the entire semester.

How many credit hours do you drop before or during drop period?

Dropping Hours Before or During the Drop/Add Period: If you are an undergraduate student, your financial aid is based on an enrollment status of 12+ credit hours per semester during the academic year (6+ credit hours for summer terms).

What happens if you drop below enrollment status?

If you drop below your respective enrollment status during a drop/add period, your financial aid will be adjusted based on the number of credit hours you are enrolled in at end of the drop/add period. Dropping Hours After the Drop/Add Period:

How much financial aid do you have to repay?

A student who unofficially withdraws may be required to repay up to 50% of the financial aid received for the term. Students who never attended any of their classes and did not complete any coursework are required to repay 100% of the financial aid received for the semester or summer term.

What happens if you withdraw from a university?

If you withdraw from the University, you must contact the Registrar's Office to begin the official withdrawal process and establish your withdrawal date. If you stop attending all of your classes, you are required to officially withdraw from the University. If you stop attending all of your classes but fail to complete the official withdrawal ...

Can you drop a class after the drop add window closes?

Dropping Hours After the Drop/Add Period: If you drop one or more classes after the drop/add window closes but are still enrolled and attending your other courses, your financial aid will typically not be adjusted.

What happens if you drop a class below half time?

So if you drop enough classes that you drop below half-time enrollment, the government will treat it as if you graduated. In other words, the clock on the grace period before you have to start making payments will begin. If you have Direct Stafford Loans, ...

How long is the grace period for Stafford loans?

If you have Direct Stafford Loans, the grace period is six months. If you have Perkins or University Loans, the grace period is nine months. Fact: The clock on your repayment grace period starts from the day after you drop below half-time enrollment. Once the grace period ends, your student loan payments will start, ...

Does dropping a class affect student loans?

In most cases, one dropped class won’t affect your student loans. However, there’s a certain course load you have to meet if you don’t want the monthly payments to start on your student loans.

Can you get financial aid if you drop a class?

While one dropped class may not initiate the grace period on your student loan payments, it can definitely affect your life. Any class that is dropped could affect your financial aid award. In other words, you may not be eligible to receive the same level of aid. This is why it’s always in your best interest to check with your financial aid office ...

Is there a grace period on PLUS loans?

No grace period on PLUS loans. If you have a PLUS loan, there is no grace period. Loan repayment will begin directly after you drop below half-time enrollment. So if you have PLUS loans or your parents took out PLUS loans for your education, there’s a lot less wiggle room than if you have other types of federal loans.

What happens if you drop a class?

If you take 12 credits in a semester, which is a typical full-time requirement, and drop a class, you fall below full-time status . This may impact your eligibility for future financial aid, or you may be required to pay back your funding source for the tuition and books for the dropped course. Failing a course may also put financial aid in jeopardy, if it puts you under a minimum grade point average requirement. And if you drop under the institution's grade point average requirement, you may be forced to drop out.

What does it mean to withdraw from a class?

Withdrawing from a class means that at some point within your school-prescribed timeline, you remove yourself officially from the class roster. This may have implications on your student status and financial aid, but it also means that you don't receive an official grade for the course other than a "W" for withdrawal.

How long does it take to realize a class isn't a good fit?

Sometimes, it takes a week or so to realize the mismatch.

Does withdrawing from a course affect your GPA?

Instead, you may have a choice between withdrawing by the final drop date or finishing out the term with an "F." Withdrawing doesn't affect your GPA. You can retake the course, if required, at a later point when you are more prepared.

Can failing a course put financial aid in jeopardy?

Failing a course may also put financial aid in jeopardy, if it puts you under a minimum grade point average requirement. And if you drop under the institution's grade point average requirement, you may be forced to drop out.

Can I withdraw from a class I never took?

If you withdraw very early, it will be as if you never took the class at all, and you may get a 100 percent refund for the class tuition. School policies vary, though. Early withdrawal deadlines are sometimes the first day, the end of the first week or two weeks in. Partial refund withdrawals are also possible by certain dates.

What happens if you drop a class after the drop deadline?

If you choose to drop a class after the drop deadline, it is considered “withdrawing” from a class. When you withdraw from a class, instead of having a grade on your transcript, it will be marked with a “W,” and according to the school policy, you may not get your money back that you had paid to enroll.

What happens if you drop a class and lose out on financial aid?

Therefore, if you drop a class and lose out on those credits, you’ll want to make sure that your financial assistance remains unaffected.

What does it mean to drop a class?

Essentially, it means unenrolling in a course by a certain deadline date. Most colleges will give you specific deadlines to both add and drop classes. When you drop a class before the drop deadline, it’s as if it never happened.

What to do if you drop a class because of a professor?

If you are dropping the class because of the professor, first make sure that there will be other options for professors, otherwise, you will find yourself in the same situation just further down the line. 2.

What to do if you drop a class because you don't want to try?

As mentioned above, if you are dropping the class because you don’t want to try, then you should pause and reconsider. College, like life, will offer its fair share of challenges, but it is through such challenges that you grow and learn.

Is it better to drop a class or not?

But, the truth is, it’s not so simple! Depending on your specific situation, dropping a class may be a good solution for you. But before you do so, you should ensure that you understand why you want to give up on the class, as well as the repercussions for doing so. Also, dropping a class may not really be the right solution if you need ...

Is dropping a class good?

Why Dropping a Class May Be Good. Of course, “good” and “bad” are subjective and situational, but in some instances, dropping a class is considered better than staying. For example, if you are going to fail or get a “D,” it’s probably better to unenroll. Additionally, if the class is causing you physical or emotional stress ...