Samantha Chaffin

News Editor

A major struggle college students often run across is keeping on top of the academic schedule and knowing when to drop or withdraw from a course and being aware of the difference and repercussions or benefits of each option.

Dropping a course is the first option students should look at and is allowed during the first 10 days of a semester course, or the first five days of an 8-week course.

According to information distributed by JoAnn Hertz and Susanne Forrest of Central Academic Advising, “When you drop a course, it disappears from your academic record as if you never enrolled in it and therefore will not count as attempted credit on your academic transcript or for Financial Aid purposes.”

A withdrawal is allowed after day 10 of a course until the end of week 10 for full semester courses. A shorter time period is allowed for 8-week courses.

Withdrawing from a course will result in a W on a student’s transcript. This  option is better than an F in a course as it will not affect a student’s GPA however it will still affect Financial Aid Satisfactory Progress.

“Students who fall below a 67 percent completion rate face financial aid probation and possibly a financial aid appeal,” wrote Hertz and Forrest.

In any case, when considering dropping or withdrawing from a course, students should keep in mind the number of credits they are enrolled in, as some scholarships require full-time student status in order to be eligible.

Students who receive any type of grant or loan need to “understand the rules governing these monies,” according to Hertz and Forrest. These can be printed and viewed at www.isu.edu/finaid/sap_pol1314.pdf.

Hertz and Forrest stressed that students should always check with their adviser before dropping or withdrawing from any course.