Satisfactory Academic Progress for Financial Aid Eligibility

Eligibility for financial aid funding is contingent upon a student maintaining a minimum standard of satisfactory academic progress:

This amended policy is effective beginning in the 2023 – 2024 academic year
This policy applies to ALL forms of federal & institutional financial aid administered through the Georgetown School of Medicine Office of Admissions & Financial Aid, including but not limited to:
- Federal Stafford Unsubsidized Loan
- Federal Graduate PLUS Loans
- Federal Work-Study
- Institutional Scholarship/Grant
- Institutional Loan
For all standards and requirements contained herein, a “Semester” is any period of time for which the student is enrolled at the conclusion of that semester’s add/drop period in the minimum number of credits necessary to be eligible for federal & institutional financial aid, regardless of whether the student received federal or institutional financial aid
Satisfactory academic progress of financial aid recipients must be tracked from the first date of enrollment regardless of whether or not financial aid was received

Qualitative Standard – Grade Average

Students must maintain both an annual and cumulative grade average of “Pass” as determined by the School of Medicine Committee on Students
Certain courses may be taken using the grading scale of ‘satisfactory/unsatisfactory.’ These do not count towards the GPA (qualitative standard) and only count towards the completed/ attempted credit hours for the quantitative standard below. However, students must still complete these courses successfully to progress in their program

Students must maintain a cumulative Completion Rate of at least two-thirds
Completion Rate: Completed Credit Hours / Attempted Credit Hours
- Completed Credit Hours include all credits for which the student earns a grade, including an “honors” or “pass” notation under honors/pass/fail or pass/fail grading
- Attempted Credit Hours include all credits for which the student is enrolled at the conclusion of the add/drop period for that Semester
- Incompletes (until resolution), withdrawals (after the add/drop period), and failing grades all count as attempted but not completed credit hours

In addition to the Qualitative and Quantitative Standards, students must complete their degrees within a “Maximum Time” of 150% of the normal time for completing the applicable degree, as defined by the Office of the Registrar
Students pursuing second degrees with new course requirements reset the Maximum Time
Students who are unable to graduate within the 150% timeframe lose eligibility for financial aid when the hours needed to graduate and the hours attempted exceed the 150% limit

Any student not satisfying either the Qualitative or Quantitative Standard will receive a “Financial Aid Warning” for the following semester of enrollment
Students in receipt of a Financial Aid Warning may continue to receive federal and/or institutional financial aid so they may improve their grades or pace of completion to meet SAP standards
Failure to meet the SAP standards at the end of the Warning semester will result in the student being placed in an ineligible status and prevent the student from receiving aid until they are either meeting SAP or the student has successfully appealed their financial aid SAP standing

Students may submit a SAP appeal if they did not meet the SAP requirements due to extenuating circumstances
Appeals must be submitted in writing via email to the Office of Admissions & Financial Aid and must include: an explanation of the circumstance(s) that contributed to the student’s academic performance in the semester(s) for which they did not meet SAP requirements, documentation (if applicable) that supports the student’s explanation of the circumstance(s), and an explanation of what has changed that will allow the student to be successful in their program moving forward
Appeal decisions are final and are not further appealable
Students whose decisions are approved will be placed on Financial Aid Probation until the SAP requirements are met

A student on Financial Aid Probation may continue to receive federal and/or institutional financial aid for one “Probationary Semester”

No federal and/or institutional financial aid may be disbursed for students on Financial Aid Probation after the Probationary Semester until grades have posted for the Probationary Semester. This will ensure the student has met the conditions outlined in their financial aid probation.
Should a student on Financial Aid Probation fail to satisfy the terms of their probation, the student will be placed on “Financial Aid Suspension” and will no longer be eligible for federal and/or institutional financial aid until
- The student meets the SAP conditions for their program or
- The student submits another SAP appeal and is approved for an additional probationary semester