Summer School

Financial aid generally is available only for the nine-month academic year except for students in special programs, such as Cooperative Education, that require summer attendance. In other cases, the Federal Pell Grant and Federal Stafford Loan usually are the only types of aid available for summer school. Students who borrowed the Federal Stafford Loan maximum during the academic year are not eligible for loan assistance in the summer unless they have progressed to a higher grade level with a higher loan limit.

Application for summer school aid requires a separate Summer School Enrollment form in addition to the FAFSA. Summer loans are not processed automatically based on submission of the FAFSA. Students must request summer aid by the following dates in order to have funds available by the payment deadlines. Students planning to attend first summer session or both summer sessions in 2013 must submit a Summer School Enrollment form and a 2012-2013 FAFSA by March 1 (if not already submitted). For second session only, a Summer School Enrollment form and a 2012-2013 FAFSA must be submitted by April 1 (if not already submitted). Students applying for a private loan must complete a loan application/promissory note with their lender and first-time Federal Direct Stafford borrowers must complete a promissory note  and entrance loan counseling at studentloans.gov online.

Students experiencing academic difficulties who anticipate that they may need to attend summer school must apply for summer school aid before final spring grades are reported in order to have funds available in time for first summer session.

Cooperative Education students who wish to receive their unused fall or spring scholarship stipends in the summer must enroll in at least two sessions for a total of 12 credit hours. A total of 24 credit hours must be completed for the year in order for renewable University scholarships to be awarded for the following year. (More restrictive criteria apply for renewal of the Palmetto Fellows or LIFE scholarships.)

For most types of aid, students must be enrolled at least half time (currently six credit hours for undergraduates, three hours for graduate students) for the period of the aid request. Although Maymester classes can count toward half-time enrollment, typically no aid can be disbursed for Maymester. Additionally, Maymester hours cannot be used to progress a grade level for a first summer session loan.