FAFSA drug conviction disqualification?

Question by Chris: FAFSA drug conviction disqualification?
I’m trying to get back into school and finish my degree, but I’m worried I might be disqualified from receiving financial aid. I was in school for the Fall semester of 2008, and whenever the Fall semester ended I was arrested for a misdemeanor called “Drug Abuse.” Basically, I made a huge mistake on New Year’s Eve and had taken Vicodin and had some on me. I went to jail for half a day, and later received a fine. Right now I’m wondering if being on Winter break between the Fall ’08 and Spring ’09 semester counts as being outside of a period of enrollment. I looked up “period of enrollment” on Google and found it to mean semester on one of the top 10 sites listed. The other sites didn’t say otherwise they just didn’t define “period of enrollment.”

The actual FAFSA question is the following:
Have you been convicted of the possession or sale of illegal drugs and the offense occurred while you were receiving federal student aid (grants, loans, and/or work-study)?

and in non-bold below it:
Count only federal or state convictions for the possession or sale of illegal drugs if the offense occurred during a period of enrollment for which you were receiving federal student aid (grants, loans, and/or work-study).

So yea again I’m thinking it is technically outside of a period of enrollment and doesn’t count. Hopefully, this is the case and I can go back for my senior year and put this all behind me.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the quick reply, Ara. I can get my record wiped at the non-medical and non-government level on January 1, 2010. It is hard to find a place that will give me a job now, but after my record is clean I should be okay to apply at most places again. I just completed a Student Aid Eligibility Worksheet and found that even if it is a ‘yes’ that I’ll be eligible for Financial Aid one year after the misdemeanor. This is conveniently before the Spring semester starts so I’m hoping that I can still be awarded aid at that time.
Haha thanks Dazed and Confused. Yea I suppose you are right, but now that I’ve stopped going officially does that mean I’m still enrolled? The Spring semester of ’09 I withdrew my classes to get my head on straight and didn’t schedule any classes for Fall ’09. However, when I called back I asked how I could start going again and they said my file was still active and I just had to start scheduling classes. Does this mean I’m enrolled right now even?

Best answer:

Answer by Ara
fafsa…won’t and can’t give u money..it is a fed regulation….it won’t matter because you will not be able to get a job with ur record…

Add your own answer in the comments!