Can drug charges affect student aid?

Like most college students, you rely on student loans and grants to continue your education. For most students, the big concern with financial aid is maintaining good grades to keep from losing it. What students do not always think about is how criminal convictions can put their student aid at risk.

College, for most students, is their first time away from home. You will learn how to navigate new social circumstances and some of these circumstances may involve drugs or alcohol. What happens if experimentation or a mistake leads to faced drug charges? Could this put your student aid at risk? According to the Federal Student Aid Office with the Department of Education, it can compromise your financial aid eligibility.

If you are receiving federal student aid, then you could face suspended eligibility if you have charges against you. When you initially fill out your form, there are questions regarding your criminal history. If you have drug convictions while receiving federal aid, then you will have to fill out an accompanying worksheet to determine your eligibility.

Fortunately, there are ways for you to regain your eligibility if you lose it. The drug conviction does not have to mark the end of your education. Instead, you can complete an approved rehabilitation program. Another way that you can regain your eligibility is if you pass two unannounced drug tests that an approved program offers.

Now, if you have the conviction after you submit the form, then you could lose your eligibility entirely and then you would be liable for any of the aid that you received in that period.