<p>So im withdrawing fro Niagara University and starting over at a less expensive college. I still have a balance at Niagara of about $2700. i’ve been told by my advisor that if i don’t pay them off i won’t be able to get any grants or loans but i’ve also been told that is not true. which one is correct?</p>
<p>What happens is that unless the first college is paid, they won’t release your transcript to any other colleges, making it probably impossible to be admitted anywhere else and therefore receive aid.</p>
<p>Someone else might comment on whether you will be able to get Federal/state money to take classes at local colleges.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear about your situation.</p>
<p>Hope this can work out some way. can you take a student loan out to cover the debt, and move on?</p>
<p>Did your FA package have a gap in it? I have a feeling many kids find themselves in this situation after a year or so.</p>
<p>Are you are freshman or soph?</p>
<p>Right - is this $2700 due or is it deferred? If its due, get a subsidized loan thats deferred until you complete your degree</p>
<p>Be careful…transferring may not save you money esp. if you end up going an extra semester or year to graduate. You may want to be sure you’ve exhausted all your options where you are first. I’ve been there!</p>
<p>As pointed out, you will have to figure out some way to pay your bills before the current school will release your transcript to transfer. You are required to list all previous college enrollments and credits on applications for transfer so you can’t just decide not to do this. The first hurdle is to figure out how to pay the bill so you can get your transcript released so you CAN transfer.</p>
<p>Please go and talk to someone at your current school regarding how you can go about paying this bill. Perhaps they can help you figure this out. As pointed out…you are probably not the only person who is leaving a school and is in this situation.</p>
<p>Re: financial aid…I’m going to take a guess here…I’m not sure any SCHOOL would give you financial aid knowing that you have a debt to another college. They would not want to find themselves in the same boat a semester or year from now…having you owe THEM money.</p>
<p>I’m going to go out on a limb and say that grant/loan eligibility would not be affected due to an unpaid balance…there is no “credit check” for these so an unpaid school balance would not likely be a factor. Hopefully kelsmom or another FA pro will correct me if I’m wrong. But the sticking point is getting your transcript released, as everyone has told you. Without that, I don’t think you’ll be able to register at your new school which of course would mean you won’t need grants/loans anyway! Can you work this semester to pay off your debt and start fresh in the fall?</p>
<p>Btw, was this a FA advisor or an academic advisor who told you that?</p>
<p>If the school reported you to the federal government as having a grant overpayment, you would NOT be eligible for any federal aid (grants, work study, loans) at any school until the situation is resolved. When a student withdraws from school after receiving federal aid & some of the aid must be paid back, the school must send the money back to the feds. Some schools will let the student owe the school … others will report the student to the feds & let the student owe the feds directly. If that is what happened to you, Nsa, you will need to contact the feds & arrange to repay the money. Contact Niagara’s financial aid office to find out if this is your situation & to ask whom to contact if it is.</p>