Eligibility

To be eligible for federal, state and institutional financial aid, you must:

  • File a FAFSA each year at studentaid.gov.
  • Be a U.S. Citizen or Eligible Non-citizen (see below).
  • If male, be registered with Selective Service (with very few exceptions).
  • Have a high school diploma or GED High School Equivalency diploma.
  • Be enrolled in a degree-seeking or approved certificate program.
  • Be in good standing on all federal educational loans and grants.
  • Make Satisfactory Academic Process.
  • Be enrolled for at least 6 credit hours for undergraduate or professional students. Undergraduate students may be eligible for the Pell and MAP Grants if enrolled less than 6 hours.
  • Be enrolled for at least 5 credit hours for graduate students.
  • Be working to complete degree requirements. Once a student has completed their degree requirements they are ineligible for additional financial aid for that program.

Students meeting the Eligible Non-citizen criterion are:

  • A permanent U.S. resident with a Permanent Resident Card (I-551 or I-551C).
  • The holder of an I-94 from the Department of Homeland Security with one of the following designations:
    • Refugee
    • Asylum Granted
    • Parolee – for a minimum of one year and status has not expired
    • Victim of Human Trafficking
    • T-Visa Holder: (T1, T2, T3, etc.)
    • Cuban-Haitian entrant

Each aid program may have additional requirements such as Expected Family Contribution (EFC), financial need, etc. Refer to each program for specific information about eligibility.

International Students:

International students are not eligible for federal, state or institutional need-based financial aid. For more information regarding aid resources, please contact the Office of International Services.

Incarcerated Students:

Incarcerated students are not eligible for federal, state or institutional need-based financial aid.

Federal Student Financial Aid Penalties for Drug Law Violations:

The Higher Education Act of 1965 as amended (HEA) suspends aid eligibility for students who have been convicted under federal or state law of the sale or possession of drugs, if the offense occurred during a period of enrollment for which the student was receiving federal student aid (grants, loans and/or work-study). If you have a conviction(s) for these offenses, call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243) or click here to complete the "Student Aid Eligibility Worksheet" to find out how this law applies to you.

Students who lost federal student aid eligibility due to a drug conviction can regain eligibility if after passing two unannounced drug tests conducted by a drug rehabilitation program that complies with criteria established by the U.S. Department of Education.

Repeated Coursework:

Federal regulations state that a student can receive aid for a previously passed course (D or greater) only once if the student is again receiving credit for the course. SFAS and Registrar will verify this information each semester. Financial aid awards will be recalculated for students registered for a course in which they have already received two passing grades.