Summer Financial Aid

Including the Year-Round Pell Grant for Summer classes

Current undergraduate students can fill out the Summer Aid Application in MyRED (available mid-March through July) to be reviewed for summer aid.

In addition to the Summer Aid Application, you must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at studentaid.gov. Summer is considered your last term in the overall academic year, so most students will have filed the FAFSA already. The last day to complete the FAFSA for summer aid each year is June 30.

Incoming first-year students who take summer classes may qualify for aid if they complete the correct academic year FAFSA and the Summer Aid Application before June 30.

*Eligibility for summer aid is based on the number of credits and sessions you enroll in.

 

Register for Summer coursework and complete the summer aid application in MyRED.

Financial Aid Details

Summer Scholarships

  • A few academic scholarship programs, such as Regents, Chancellor's, or Nebraska Achievement for full tuition, are available over the summer.
  • Complete the Summer Aid Application for your summer scholarship eligibility to be reviewed. Scholarships available for summer are distributed based on individual scholarship requirements as referenced in your initial scholarship offer. Students must meet renewal criteria in order to qualify for summer scholarship benefits. Most scholarship programs do not have a summer component.
  • Academic scholarships may or may not be available for summer. Refer to your original scholarship guidelines. Scholarships may or may not be awarded through your academic college, depending on each unit’s policies. Some external scholarships may be available during the summer.

Summer Grants

Federal Pell Grants are available year round. For most students, there is a requirement to enroll at least half-time (6+ credits) to receive the Pell Grant for summer. In limited situations, a student may be eligible for a Pell Grant at less than half-time enrollment (1-5 credits). Pell Grant eligibility is based on enrollment as of July 17.  If you drop or withdraw from a class on or before July 17, your Pell Grant may be reduced or canceled.

Interpreting a Summer Pell Grant

If the Pell Grant is $7,395 for the academic year, a student would have received $3,698 for the fall semester and $3,697 for the spring semester as a full-time student. Under the summer Pell program, this student could receive an additional $3,697 for the summer semester, if they enrolled full-time (12+ credits). If this same student enrolls half-time (6-8 credits) for the summer semester, the student would receive a $1,848 Pell Grant for summer, or one-half of a full term award.

Minimum Credits for Summer Pell Grant

If you were enrolled full-time (12+ credits) and received the full-time Pell Grant amount for the previous fall and spring, you must enroll at least half-time (6+ credits) in summer classes to receive a summer Pell Grant. If you enrolled part-time for the previous fall or spring, you may receive the Federal Pell Grant with less than half-time enrollment using the remainder of your annual Pell Grant amount during summer.

Summer Federal Work Study

Federal work-study funding is limited as the funds are typically exhausted during the regular academic year. However, if funds are available when you are awarded, you may receive work-study funds.

Summer Loans

In order to qualify for federal student loans, you must be enrolled at least half-time (6 credits for undergraduate and law students and 5 credits for graduate students) and have remaining eligibility for the academic year. You must be enrolled at the time you accept the loan. Loans cannot be processed after your enrollment period has ended. You can review annual loan limits on the Federal Student Aid website at studentaid.gov.

Summer Federal Parent PLUS Loans

In order to qualify for the Federal PLUS Loan, your parent must apply online at studentaid.gov, be approved, and you must be enrolled at least half-time (6 credits for undergraduates). The process cannot be completed after your enrollment period has ended.

Summer Alternative Loans

Students applying for alternative loans are not required to complete the summer aid application. If a loan application is received by the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid and we require further information, we will contact the student via email.

Global Experiences

If you are interested in a global experience over the summer, you must first meet with a Global Experiences Coordinator. Only University-approved programs qualify for financial aid. Financial aid that is awarded to you will be released to the student account by the first day of the summer session in which you are enrolled or by the start date of your experience abroad, whichever is later. Most, but not all, scholarship and financial aid programs can be used for studying abroad. UNL Tuition scholarships can only be used if UNL tuition is assessed. Study Abroad program fees are not UNL tuition.

We encourage you to meet with a student services specialist in Husker Hub for all of the necessary financial aid steps to prepare for study abroad.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Students must be meeting financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards to qualify for summer financial aid. SAP is reviewed at the end of the regular academic year (after the spring term). Students who do not meet SAP have the opportunity to appeal and should consider doing so as soon as possible to be considered for summer financial aid.

Applying for Summer Aid

In addition to the Summer Aid Application in MyRED, you must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at studentaid.gov for summer aid. Summer is considered your last term in the overall academic year, so most students will have filed the FAFSA already. The last day to complete the FAFSA applicable for summer aid is June 30th.

Summer Awarding

  • In order to request financial aid for summer, you must already be successfully enrolled for summer coursework. Once you are enrolled, you may complete the Summer Aid Application in MyRED (available mid-March through July).
  • The enrollment you indicate on the Summer Aid Application must match your enrollment in MyRED exactly before you will be awarded summer financial aid. Federal funds are awarded on a first-come, first-complete basis to students with completed financial aid files. A Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) does not need to be on file for scholarship only applicants.
  • You must be enrolled in credit-bearing coursework to receive a summer financial aid, scholarship, or fellowship disbursement. Enrollment in zero credit coursework does not constitute enrollment for financial aid purposes.
    • Because federal regulations require scholarships or fellowships awarded for periods of non-enrollment to be treated as financial assistance for the academic year period of enrollment (fall/spring), UNL will not disburse any summer funds without credit-bearing course enrollment. Enrollment in a 0-credit course does not constitute enrollment for financial aid purposes. If summer aid were disbursed, it would negatively impact  a student's fall/spring financial aid awards.

Summer Aid Disbursement

  • You must accept your financial aid awards before the last date of your summer enrollment. For example, if your last session of enrollment is the 1st Five-Week Session, you must accept your financial aid awards by the last day of that session.
  • Your enrollment will be reviewed after each session's last day to add a class (census date). After the census date for which you have reached at least half-time status, your accepted aid will disburse if it matches your Summer Aid Application. Any combination of summer sessions can be used to reach the half-time status. For degree-seeking undergraduates, summer half-time status is six credits. For degree-seeking graduate students, summer half-time status is five credits for summer 2024. For Law students, summer half-time status is six credits.
  • Summer aid could be reduced or canceled if you change your enrollment and enroll for fewer credit hours in a session than you indicated on your Summer Aid Application. If your enrollment plans change, you must update your Summer Aid Application in order for your aid to be released. Since financial aid can sometimes be released based on anticipated coursework (6 credits for undergraduates and law students and 5 credits for graduate students), you may be required to return aid if your enrollment plans change to fewer credits for a subsequent session.

Summer Cost of Attendance

Total estimated cost of attendance for summer includes tuition and fees, housing and food, books and supplies, and allowances for transportation, personal expenses, and loan fees. All costs are subject to actual fee structures as approved by the Board of Regents. Each of these elements can be determined by credit hours of enrollment or length of session(s) enrolled. Financial aid cannot exceed the total estimated cost of attendance. Tuition and fee information per credit can be found on the Office of Student Accounts website. Summer housing options on-campus can be found on the University Housing website.