Changes That Affect Eligibility

Various factors may result in increases or decreases in your eligibility for financial aid:

Class Load

Increases or decreases in the number of credits you take per term may affect how much financial aid you are eligible to receive. Before making changes to your class schedule, check with your financial aid administrator for more details.

School Transfer

Financial aid does not automatically transfer with the student to a new institution. Students must contact the financial aid administrator at the new school to determine what actions should be taken to receive aid. Not all institutions participate in the Federal Pell Grant or the Minnesota State Grant programs.

Students with federal aid must be sure to have an electronic version of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) results sent to the new institution. In many cases, the new institution will be able to access the federal application system electronically. If you transfer to a more expensive school, you may be eligible to receive more aid.

Students with a Federal Direct Loan, PLUS loan, or SELF Loan will need to reapply. Students receiving work study or the Minnesota Postsecondary Child Care Grant also need to reapply. Having a work-study job at one school does not necessarily guarantee a position at another school, particularly if the second college has already exhausted its work-study funding. See your financial aid administrator for details.

Family Financial Status

Students and families sometimes experience changes in their financial status due to special circumstances, such as the loss of a job, serious illness, disability, separation or divorce, or death in the family. If your family income changes, your financial aid eligibility also may change, even if you previously applied and were denied assistance.

Contact the financial aid administrator at the institution you attend or plan to attend and explain your circumstances. In special instances, the aid administrator can adjust the information used to calculate your expected family contribution which may result in increased financial aid eligibility based on your revised level of financial need.