Eligibility for Students with Criminal Convictions

While some schools grant limited eligibility for federal student aid to incarcerated students, the University of South Carolina does not participate in prison education programs and cannot offer federal student aid to those currently incarcerated. You may check with your correctional facility’s education director to find out if your facility has a list of schools that offer a qualifying program.

Department of Justice Drug Conviction Restriction

In instances where an individual has been convicted of a drug offense, the Department of Justice may deny access to federal student aid. Individuals who are affected by this may contact 202-377-4600 or send an email to applicationsystemsdivision@ed.gov to resolve the issue.

Repeat Coursework

Federal regulations limit the number of times a student may repeat a course and receive federal financial aid for that course.

• A student may receive federal financial aid when repeating a course that was previously failed (F) or withdrawn from (W).
• Once a student passes a course (with a D or better, including a Pass grade) the student may receive federal financial aid for only one additional attempt of the same course, regardless of the grade earned for the second attempt.
• For the second attempt, a grade of W does not count as an attempt.   However, a passing grade or a grade of F, FN or WF does count as an attempt and the student is no longer eligible for federal aid for that course, even if it is a requirement from the college or school to earn a grade higher than a D.
• If a student retakes a course that is no longer eligible for financial aid, the credits are excluded from the total enrollment and the student’s financial aid will be adjusted to exclude these credits. 
• Please note that the repeat coursework rule could also affect academic progress.  Repeated courses will be counted in both the attempted hours and hours earned when determining maximum timeframe.  To see maximum timeframe limits for each program, please review the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy.