Summer Financial Aid

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Summer Financial Aid

Applying for summer financial aid is easy, but please pay attention to the important information below. March 1 is the priority deadline.

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  • Our priority deadline is to ensure that our specialists have time to review your financial aid file and award you by the payment deadline.  Aid may be late for the summer payment deadline if you submit your summer financial aid application after March 1. 

    1. Submit a Summer Financial Aid Application, which becomes available mid-January (priority submission deadline of March 1).
    2. Meet the Eligibility to Apply requirements.
    3. Have on file with Financial Aid and Scholarships the earlier of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®). For example, if you are applying for this summer, submit the FAFSA® you used (or would have used) for the fall and spring semesters prior to this summer term.

    • Even if you received Pell Grant as a full-time student for fall and spring, you can still receive the Pell Grant for the summer.
    • This federal funding is designed to encourage students to move toward on-time graduation.
    • You must be Pell eligible and meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) to receive the summer portion of the Pell Grant.

    • Summer is a continuation of the current school year. Federal loan eligibility in the summer is based on the remaining eligibility after fall and spring.
    • Be enrolled at least half-time (a total of 6 hours that count toward your degree for undergraduates, a total of 3 hours for master’s students and 5 hours for doctoral students).
    • For summer, your enrollment status is based on the courses that count toward your degree as of the financial aid census date (4th class day in July).
    • Please remember that correspondence courses do not count toward your enrollment.
    • Be a degree-seeking student (as opposed to a visiting or transient student).
    • Meet all Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements.

    • Your summer aid is typically awarded before spring grades post in May.
    • Once spring grades post in May, we are federally required to determine if you are meeting the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements.
    • If you are not meeting the SAP requirements, you will lose financial aid eligibility.

    • Summer financial aid disbursement date is typically 10 days prior to the first day of your classes.  
    • Summer financial aid generally requires you to be enrolled in at least half-time in classes that count toward your degree. 
      • For an undergraduate student, 6 hours is half-time
      • For a master’s student, 3 hours is half-time
      • For a doctoral student, 5 hours is half-time
    • Example 1: if you are enrolled in three credit hours for summer 1 and three hours in summer 2 (undergraduate), your aid would disburse 10 days prior to the start of the first summer semester.
    • Example 2: if you are enrolled in half-time hours, but all are in summer 2, your aid would disburse 10 days prior to summer 2. 

  • You may be required to repay all or a portion of your financial aid (or become grant ineligible), if you:

    • Drop a course from your schedule—even if you complete other courses in different summer sessions.
    • Do not attend or complete the course hours that you originally indicated on your summer aid application.
    • Do not attend or complete the entire period of enrollment (i.e., weeks or months) that you originally indicated on your summer aid application.
    • So, be sure to visit with a financial aid representative before dropping a course.