Summer & Minimester

Winter Minimester Aid Options

The treatment of Minimester units varies by aid program.

Prohibited Minimester Aid Payments

For many aid programs, including all TU scholarships and all aid from the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC), awards cannot be adjusted or disbursed based on Minimester units.

Approved Minimester Aid Payments

We can only adjust aid payments for minimester units for the following aid programs:

• Federal Pell Grants
• Federal SEOG Grants
• The TU Institutional Grant
• Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
• Federal PLUS Loans

These Mini-Spring payments are subject to the following rules:

Spring Units
+ Minimester Units
= Total Units for Spring Aid Payments

If you already meet the minimum unit requirements for all your spring aid based solely on your spring units, then your Minimester units will not change your spring aid. If your additional Minimester units boost you to a higher enrollment level, such as full-time status, then we will base your spring aid payments on that combined level.

• Undergraduate example — 3 (minimester) units + 9 (spring) units = 12 units = full-time status for spring aid payments.
• If your total spring aid payments exceed your combined minimester and spring term charges, the Bursar’s Office will issue you a spring term aid rebate.

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Summer Aid Options

Summer aid is limited. Students may be able to borrow summer direct student loans if they enroll at least half-time and have not already borrowed their maximum annual direct student loans. Parents can borrow summer PLUS loans if students will take at least 6 summer units. Students can only receive summer Pell Grants if they have leftover eligibility from not enrolling full-time the previous fall or spring semester. 

aid programs	Summer aid options
Pell Grants	Need-based grant for undergraduate students. Only available to students with leftover Pell Grant Awards from the Fall 2015 or Spring 2016 semesters.
Direct Subsidized Student Loans	Need-based federal loan for undergraduate students. Only available to students with leftover loan eligibility from the Fall 2015 or Spring 2016 semesters.
Direct Unsubsidized Student Loans	Federal loan for students with leftover eligibility from the fall 2015 or spring 2016 semesters.
Parent PLUS Loans	Federal loan for parents of undergraduate students.
Graduate Student PLUS Loans	Federal loan for graduate students.

Summer Aid Eligibility Requirements

• To receive a summer Pell Grant, you must register for your classes by the summer Change of Schedule deadlines.
• To be eligible to apply for any of these aid programs, you must also meet the federal General Eligibility Requirements. 
• Your total summer aid, also cannot exceed your summer Cost of Education budget.
• Repeating Completed Courses — if you repeat a course that you already completed with an A, B, C, D, or Pass grade, then you can only receive federal aid to repeat this course for a second time. 

Summer Pell Grant eligibility requirements

Federal Pell Grants are only available to students with exceptional financial need who are pursuing their first Bachelor's Degree.

• If you received a Federal Pell Grant for the 2015-2016 academic year, and you did not attend full-time for both fall 2015 and spring 2016, then you may have some leftover Pell Grant eligibility for summer 2016.
• Your summer Pell Grant will be determined using a formula that considers your remaining 2015-16 eligibility, the number of weeks in your summer attendance, and the number of units for which you register. 

Summer Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loan eligibility requirements

To apply for Federal Direct Subsidized or Unsubsidized Loans for summer, you must also meet all of the following conditions:  

• You must register for and remain enrolled for at least 6 summer units (for example, 3 units for Summer Session I and 3 units for Summer Session II).
• You must not have already borrowed your maximum annual loan amounts and must have leftover annual eligibility based on the loan limit charts.
• To view the loan amounts you already borrowed for 2015-16, please login to Towson Online Services.
• If you have remaining annual eligibility, then you should be able to borrow that remaining eligibility for the summer (for example, a freshman who only borrowed $3,500 for fall 2015 and spring 2016 could borrow up to $2,000 in unsubsidized loan for the summer).

Summer PLUS Loans

If you do not meet the Pell Grant or Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loan requirements, then you might want to borrow a federal PLUS loan.

• For summer PLUS loans, the loan period is 5/2016 to 8/2016.
• Apply for Parent PLUS Loans for Undergraduate Students
• Apply for Graduate Student PLUS Loans

Applying for Pell Grants and Subsidized or Unsubsidized Loans

Carefully read the summer loan and Pell grant eligibility criteria outlined above.

If you have not already done so, you must submit a 2015-16 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Because your summer aid eligibility will depend on your total summer course units, you must register for your summer courses before you submit your summer aid application.

Complete the  online summer aid application."

• Login to TU Online Services
• Choose Self Service and Student Center.
• At the bottom of the Finances section, choose Financial Aid Forms.
• Choose 2015-16 and Application for Summer Aid.

When your summer aid offer is ready, we will send an aid notification to your TU email account. You must review your awards to confirm and accept your approved amounts.

• If we are able to offer you a summer Pell Grant, it will be listed on your awards screen.
• If you requested a summer student loan, we will automatically process it and accept it for the amount you requested or the maximum you are eligible to borrow, whichever is less. 
• If you do not request  a summer loan, we will offer you the maximum loan amount in case you decide to accept and borrow a loan.

If you change your total summer units after you submit the summer aid application, it can reduce your aid and increase your remaining charges.

If your summer aid exceeds your charges, you will receive a financial aid rebate. Rebates are usually available three weeks after the credit balance occurs.

Application Deadlines 

• To avoid aid payment delays, please apply for summer aid by April 1. 
• We will accept late applications, but your aid may disburse late.