Enrollment Changes

As a full-time student, you must enroll in a certain number of credit hours to keep your full-time status. If you leave school or need to take fewer classes and your enrollment status changes, you could receive less financial aid or lose it completely. It's always a good idea to understand the impact on your financial aid before you drop from full-time to part-time or less-than-half-time status.

Loans
If your student status drops below half time, you need to begin repaying your Stafford loans, and you should check the requirements for your other loans. The Federal government allows you a six-month grace period. During that time, you should receive repayment information. You are expected to begin making payments even if you don't have a job. If you cannot begin repayment, contact your lender. In some circumstances, it's possible to have your grace period extended. For private loans, contact your specific lending institution for their repayment information options.

Grants
The amount of grant funding for which you are eligible depends on your enrollment status as well as how much time you spent in class. You should be aware that you may be required to repay some grant money if you received full-time funding and only attended part time.

Scholarships
Depending on the terms of your scholarship, if your enrollment changes, you might be able to keep the money or you may need to repay it. Scholarships may not have specific provisions about full-time or part-time student status or repayment requirements when you leave school. However, you should read the fine print or contact the donor for specific details.