Almost every student has a moment in his/her career when it looks like the best option to either save the 'ol GPA or sanity is to withdraw from a course or drop a course. Why? Because if you keep the course, you'll either do poorly, fail to complete it, or have to repeat it. That's just the way life goes sometimes.

But, its not such a big deal, right? Its much better to withdraw or drop and not have any dips in your GPA than to stay in the course and take a chance your GPA will decrease. Maybe yes and maybe no. Here's what your academic advisor may not know and/or may not tell you.

If you are attending a U.S. college or university and are receiving any form of federal financial aid (like a Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Academic Competitiveness Grant, SMART Grant, Perkins Loan, Stafford/FFELP Loan or other federal aid), withdrawing or dropping from courses during the year can mean the difference between qualifying and not qualifying for federal aid in the next year. What????

Here's how it works. The federal government has rules that state a student receiving federal financial aid must (a) meet the basic eligibility requirements for the aid they receive and (b) make satisfactory academic progress (SAP) towards his/her degree. What in Hades' is SAP?

SAP is a three part academic requirement. 1-You have to keep your GPA at or above the minimum GPA set by your institution (usually somewhere between a 2.0 and 2.5, but it varies). 2-You have to complete at least 75 % of all (yes all of the courses you attempt (and courses that you transfer, withdraw from, drop, take an incomplete in and/or fail all count in the courses attempted total). 3-You can't take more than 125 % of the courses allowed by your college/university for your degree.

In plain English, this means: (1) If your college/university requires you to have a 2.0 GPA (this is a cumulative GPA) or better in order to remain in "Good Standing" academically, and you have a 1.9 GPA, then you aren't meeting the SAP requirement. (2) If you've attempted 75 credit hours (total) and you've completed only 40 of those credit hours, you aren't meeting the SAP requirement. (3) If your college says you need only 128 credits to graduate with a degree in your major area and you have 175 credits, you aren't meeting SAP requirements. If you don't meet any one of these SAP criteria, then you lose your eligibility for financial aid the next year. Aack!

Can you regain eligibility? Maybe. The U.S. federal government says your college/university has the ability to put you on probation. But, they don't have to. If the college/university does allow you to appeal the decision, you're going to have to provide them with a really good explanation of why you didn't meet the SAP requirements; and you may also have to provide a plan of action to meet SAP requirements the next time your academic history is reviewed.

How often do colleges/universities look at whether you are meeting SAP requirements? The federal government says they must evaluate SAP for all federal financial aid recipients at least one time each academic year. Some colleges/universities evaluate SAP every semester, however. Its an entirely institutional decision regarding the process and timeline.

If you're uncertain regarding the SAP requirements at your college/university, contact a representative in the financial aid office on your campus. They'll explain it to you in great detail; and, if you're lucky, they may even give you some pointers/tips on improving the likelihood that you'll meet SAP when they review your file.

Until next time!

Lynn Byrne

Preparing for college admissions? Trying to find direction? Need a little help with the planning? Check out my college planning series:

• College Planning Made Easy--the planning and preparation workbook for the take charge, college-bound student,
  
• Paying for College Made Easy--a college financing guide designed to assist students and families in preparing and planning for higher education expenses; and
  
• The Great Scholarship Search--my guide for students and parents researching and applying for scholarship funding.