Ask the aid office before you drop out

You are partway through a degree. The money has run short, or the term has worn you out, and leaving has started to look like the only way to make it stop. You may also be telling yourself that starting was a mistake. This page is for the reader who has not left yet, and who has one question to ask before deciding.

If money or burnout is making you think about quitting college, ask your school’s financial aid office and its dean of students what they can change before you decide.

Why ask first

One person says universities offer free or low-cost help that students can miss or feel too embarrassed to use: a food pantry, emergency money, legal advice, counselling and tutoring. Asking is how you find out what your school has. It is not a confession that you cannot manage. Some people answering a question about quitting suggested three ways to bridge a gap before leaving for good: a campus emergency fund, a paid internship, or a temporary pause. Some people say the dean of students and the student support offices are where to talk about financial aid or a leave of absence.

What the aid office can change

In the United States, the school builds a budget for you, called the cost of attendance, and uses it to decide how much aid you can get. US federal law says that budget includes tuition and fees, an allowance for books, supplies and equipment, transport and personal expenses, and living costs such as food and housing for students who are enrolled at least half time. The same law lists a reasonable allowance for the documented rental or purchase of a personal computer among the equipment. It also says a financial aid administrator has the authority, with adequate documentation, to adjust your cost of attendance case by case when your circumstances are special. That is a power the administrator has, not a duty, so the school decides; but it is the reason to ask.

One person says you can appeal your school’s budget to the aid office for an unusual expense, such as a computer, that your standard loan does not cover. Another person says a federal loan budget covers rent, food and other living costs, so a borrower can be offered more than the tuition bill. A loan is money you repay, and this page does not tell you to take one. The point is to know what your budget already counts, so that you are not working from a smaller number than your school used.

On grants, one person pointed out that having received a Pell Grant before does not by itself make you ineligible, and that the problem in that case was more likely a form that was not finished by the parents, or another eligibility rule. Some people add that a dependent student’s form has to include parent information. One person says to fill out the form even if you think you will not qualify, because that is how you find out. The US Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid site says federal law limits Pell Grants to the equivalent of six years of full-time awards over your lifetime, so ask the aid office how much of yours is left.

A computer, and the rest of the gap

If a computer is part of the gap, some people say schools lend them. One person says colleges often run programmes that lend or give computers to students who cannot afford one, including through the IT department and the library. Another says universities provide loaner machines, or labs and libraries that are enough for coursework. One person says a phone is enough for virtual classes. Another warns that a phone may be hard to use for long-term study, and one person that a refurbished or very cheap computer may not meet the software needs of a major such as engineering or graphic design. So check what your courses require before you rely on a loan, a phone or a cheap machine, and ask the instructor or the school’s technology office.

Change the shape instead of quitting

One person says that if your current schedule is not sustainable, change how the degree is structured, with evening or online courses, or a slower pace alongside internships, rather than quitting outright. One person suggests a formal leave of absence, a paid summer internship that covers housing, or a lighter course load. One person suggests changing where you live, or taking an easier, lower-stress job, to ease burnout. One person says slumps are normal and that rest and the supports around you can carry you through one without a decision to leave.

One person warns that in some majors, such as engineering, the order of required courses can make even one semester off hard, though extensions for a big project may be possible. How much a pause costs depends on your major, so ask.

If you do pause or leave, the federal rules matter, and they differ between an approved leave and simply stopping. US federal regulations say an approved leave of absence needs a written policy at the school, a written request from you and the school’s approval, and cannot total more than 180 days in any 12 months. A leave approved on those terms need not be treated as withdrawing. But the school must also expect you to return and cannot charge extra for the leave, and if you do not return it must treat you as withdrawn, which can use up some or all of your loan grace period. The school has to explain this before it approves the leave, so ask. If you withdraw partway through a term, the school must work out how much of your federal aid you had earned up to the day you withdrew; the rest is treated as unearned and is returned under set rules, so ask what that means for you. Federal Student Aid says a Direct Subsidized or Direct Unsubsidized Loan has a six-month grace period after you leave school or drop below half time, and repayment starts after it; interest on an unsubsidized loan keeps building during those six months. It says a Direct PLUS or Consolidation Loan has no grace period, so ask your servicer. These are reasons to tell the school before you stop attending and to ask what each choice does to your aid. A school that never hears from you can still treat you as withdrawn, and many schools use the middle of the term as the date.

When finishing is the answer

Some people answering a question about quitting argued for finishing, and each gave a different reason. One person says finishing is easier now than trying again later, when age, family or a mortgage make a return harder. Another says the regret of never finishing is heavier than a few hard months. One person says that near the end of a degree, quitting leaves you with debt and no degree. Another says to push through the current hardship now rather than face decades of regret or lower earnings.

Others point at what finishing does not do. One person warns that a finished degree does not promise pay above what you earned before, and mentions earning less after graduating. One person says entry-level computer science jobs were hard to get when they wrote, even with certifications. Some people point out that a licensed field requires the credential, and that experience alone can reach a pay ceiling; others that a degree is overvalued when it does not match what employers want. The answer depends on your field and the work available near you.

Two facts help with the choice between pushing through and pausing, and your school holds one of them: whether it lets you pause without a penalty. The aid office and the dean of students can tell you.

If you are in England

The gov.uk student finance pages say you may be able to apply for extra money from your university or college, such as a bursary, scholarship or hardship fund. They also say you must keep your details up to date, because changes can affect your loan payments. If you suspend or leave, you have to stop your student finance and repay any you are not entitled to; the amount and the timing depend on the type of finance, when in the year you leave and whether you plan to return, and if you suspend because of illness or another serious personal reason you might still get student finance while you are away. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own student finance, which this page did not check.

Who this page is not for

If you have not started yet, and the worry is your age, there is a page here on being the same age with or without the course; start there. If your money problem is rent due within days, the school is not the fast door: the box above comes first, and a call to your landlord before the rent is late. If you are thinking of leaving for a reason that is not money or burnout, such as the course no longer fitting the work you want, the aid office cannot weigh that for you, and this page does not decide whether the degree is worth it. And if you are outside the United States and England, the rules above are not yours; your own country’s student finance office is where to start.

The aid office may say no. It is still the place that can change your school’s numbers, and asking costs one call.