Can community college bill me for aid after withdrawing from classes? FAFSA confusion

The school can absolutely bill you for that. It's called Return to Title IV (R2T4). When you withdraw from classes, the school has to calculate how much aid you actually "earned" based on how long you attended. If you only completed half your classes, you only earned half the aid. The school has to return that money to the federal government, but YOU still owe the school. Check your enrollment agreement, it's in there somewhere.

omg this happened to me last yr! the whole financial aid system is such a SCAM. they give u money then take it back and still expect u to pay loans on money u didnt even keep!! like how is that fair??? my advisor told me its just how it works and i ended up on a payment plan with my CC for like 6 months. system is rigged against students 100%

This is an important question that confuses many students. What's happening is a federal process called Return to Title IV (R2T4). When you withdraw from classes, the Department of Education requires schools to: 1. Calculate how much aid you "earned" based on your attendance (in your case, about 50%) 2. Return the "unearned" portion to the federal government immediately 3. Bill you for that amount since the school had to return money that was originally applied to your account Your loan servicer will eventually update your loan balance, but it won't happen immediately. The school can't wait for that process - they've already sent the money back to the government and now have an outstanding balance on your account. You should speak with your school's financial aid office about setting up a payment plan. Many schools offer these with low or no interest.

Had a similar issue and spent HOURS trying to reach someone at federal student aid. Kept getting busy signals or disconnected. Finally discovered Claimyr.com which got me connected to a real person at FSA in about 10 minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. The agent explained that what your school is doing is standard procedure with withdrawals, and my loan balance was eventually adjusted but it took about 6 weeks to show up correctly on the website.

This is one of those weird financial aid quirks that nobody explains when you enroll. Basically, by withdrawing, you triggered what's called a Return to Title IV calculation. The school has to follow federal regulations: - They return the unearned portion of your aid to the government - They bill you for that amount because it created a balance on your account - Your loan servicer will eventually adjust your loan amount, but this can take 30-60 days Here's the important part: this DOESN'T mean you're paying twice. The $4,500 will eventually be removed from your total loan balance - you just won't see that reflected immediately in the federal aid website. The school is essentially fronting the money back to the government and asking you to cover it. I recommend: 1. Get documentation from your school about the R2T4 calculation 2. Ask for a payment plan (most schools offer these) 3. Check your loan balance in about 2 months - it should be reduced by the returned amount

i withdrawn from classes last semester too and got hit with a bill.... its total bs how they dont explain this to u when u sign up for classes!!!! like how am i supposed to know all these rules??? the FAFSA system is so confusing and nobody explains anything until its too late

Something everyone is missing - make sure you check if your withdrawal has put you in SAP (Satisfactory Academic Progress) violation too. If you failed to complete 67% of your attempted credits, you might lose future aid eligibility on top of owing this money. Dealing with both issues at once is important.