Full time and Part time student difference?

I am 19 yrs old, currently a Full time student taking 4 classes


3 classes which are 3 credit hours, and 1 class which is 5 credit hours, so a total of 14 credit hours.


I want to drop one class, which leaves me with 11 credit hours and becoming a Part-time student.





What would this affect? Would it hurt my degree plan? Would it affect my health insurance if I drop out of a class in the middle of a semester? Would it affect my GPA?





I go to University of Houston if that helps anything.


Any more information on Full time and Part time student differences would be appreciated.


Thanks.



It definitely can affect your financial aid. Re-read the conditions of the loans/grants/scholarships you received to see if they require you to be a full-time student. Many of them do. There is aid for part-time students, but it's less than for full-time students.





It won't change your GPA, but the class may or may not show up on your transcript. If you drop before a certain date, the class won't show up on your transcript at all. It'll be like you never signed up for it. However, if you drop after that date, you will have a W on your transcript. It won't affect your GPA, but having a W does raise some questions.





This may or may not affect your degree plan. If this class is required for your major, then you will have to take it again at some point. At my school, there is a policy that you may only sign up for a class twice. So if you sign up, then drop out, that counts as one of the two times you can take that class. If your school has this policy, then think very carefully before signing up for this class again.





You also should look at your four year plan and see if you have space in your schedule to sign up for this class again. Some majors (such as engineering or double majors) are very restricted to the four year plan and can't retake a class and still graduate on time. Others have a lot of leeway, especially as an upperclassmen.





Being a part-time student may also affect your health insurance (and car insurance if you have that). Full-time students often have a reduced price for insurance compared to part-time students. Again, this may not be the policy with your insurance company, so definitely check with them.





I suggest you talk to your academic advisor and someone in the financial aid department, especially if you get money from the school.




Yes it would definitely affect financial aid. You will need to be a full-time student to receive financial aid. You should stick it out. Next semester just take 12 credits total, the 5 credit hr class is a lot. If you drop a class then you will have to spend perhaps a extra semester or year at the university trying to make up for the classes you dropped.