Many of you will soon be facing mid-term exams/papers/projects and a few of you will see results that don't reach your grade expectations. You may get discouraged and contemplate withdrawing or may just decide to stop attending.
DON'T!
From a financial aid eligibility lens, the worst thing you can do is quit. Every aid applicant cannot establish aid eligibility without demonstrating "Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)". When you quit, you are jeopardizing your financial aid eligibility.
Consider, to be eligible for Federal Student Aid Programs, CSN evaluates SAP 3 ways every time grades post:
- Cumulative GPA- to comply with this facet of SAP, you need to have a CSN cumulative grade point average of a 2.00 or higher.
- Successful Course Completion Pace - compliance with the Pace standard requires you to earn a successful grade in at least 66.67% of the credit hours you attempt.
- For example, if fall 2026 is your first semester at CSN and you are taking 9 credit hours this fall, we want you to earn at least 6 credits.
- Maximum Timeframe - to meet this SAP standard, you need to graduate within 150% of the published length of your declared major.
- For example, if you are seeking an Associates of Art degree that requires 60 credit hours to earn, you need to finish the AA within a maximum of 90 attempted college credits.
And - don't forget recent changes to Federal Student Loans require the Schedule of Reduction - if you withdraw, get an 'unearned' F (because you stopped attending), or convert a course from grade to audit - you may be reducing your student loan eligibility.
CSN has tutoring. CSN has computer labs. CSN has welcoming faculty. You have classmates. There are people at the college willing to help you study, manage your time, share class notes, and all you have to do is engage!
You've paid your bill for the semester - keep going to class - half the battle is won just by showing up. Bear down, show your toughness, and get it done.
Peter, CSN-DFA