📘 Understanding Summer Financial Aid at 91ÖÆÆ·³§ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉúÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø
(AY 2025–2026)
Summer financial aid can feel confusing, so this guide breaks it down step by step and explains how aid works for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, with examples you can follow.
✅ STEP 1: Apply for Summer School (Undergraduate Students)
Undergraduate students must complete a Summer School Application.
How to apply:
- Visit the Financial Aid website
- Click on Forms
- Complete the Summer School Application(located under forms tab)
- Email the completed form to:
⚠️ Financial aid cannot be reviewed until this application is submitted.
🕘 Important Processing Note:
All Summer School Applications will be reviewed and processed after final grades are posted and available in the system.
✅ STEP 2: FAFSA Requirement (All Students)
Financial aid for Summer 2026 is based on your 2025–2026 FAFSA.
👉 Summer aid uses any remaining eligibility from the fall and spring semesters.
If you did not submit the 2025–2026 FAFSA, you must do so to be considered.
✅ STEP 3: Enrollment Requirements for Summer Aid
To receive most types of summer financial aid, you must be enrolled in:
✅ At least 6 credit hours
Important Pell Grant rules:
- Pell Grant can be used in the summer if you are eligible
- Pell does NOT pay for repeated courses
- Pell eligibility depends on what you have already used during fall and spring
🎓 UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS: HOW LOANS WORK IN THE SUMMER
Summer loans are not new loans — they are based on what you have left from your yearly limit.
📌 Federal Loan Limits by Classification (2025–2026)
| Classification |
Subsidized |
Unsubsidized |
Total |
| Freshman |
$3,500 |
$2,000 |
$5,500 |
| Sophomore |
$4,500 |
$2,000 |
$6,500 |
| Junior/Senior |
$5,500 |
$2,000 |
$7,500 |
📌 Additional Unsubsidized Loan (Parent PLUS Denial):
- Freshman/Sophomore: up to $4,000
- Junior/Senior: up to $5,000
✅ SUMMER LOAN EXAMPLE (UNDERGRADUATE)
Example: Freshman Student
- Borrowed for Fall & Spring:
- $3,500 Subsidized
- $2,000 Unsubsidized
- Parent applied for Parent PLUS Loan and was denied
- Student received additional unsubsidized loan: $4,000
- Student completes 30 or more earned credits by the end of Spring
✅ Result for Summer:
- Student is now classified as a Sophomore
- Eligible for an additional $1,000 in Subsidized Loan for summer
- Eligibility increases based on new classification
⚠️ IMPORTANT: Parent PLUS Loan Rules for Summer
- Parents may apply for a Parent PLUS Loan for summer
- If your parent was denied PLUS during Fall/Spring and you already received the additional unsubsidized loan, you cannot receive additional unsubsidized loan again for summer
- ✅ However:
- If your parent was denied earlier but is approved for summer, the Parent PLUS Loan can be used for the summer semester
🎓 GRADUATE STUDENTS
- Eligible for Unsubsidized Loan up to $20,500 per academic year
- If you did not borrow the full amount during the fall and spring:
- You may borrow the remaining balance for summer
- You may also apply for a Graduate PLUS Loan for summer
🎓 PROFESSIONAL STUDENTS
- Aid eligibility follows program‑specific loan limits
- Unsubsidized Loan and Graduate PLUS Loan options apply
- Summer eligibility is based on remaining annual limits
Your Financial Aid Counselor can help with program‑specific questions.
✅ FINAL REMINDERS
- ✔ 2025–2026 FAFSA is required
- ✔ Must be enrolled in 6 credit hours or more
- ✔ Summer aid uses remaining eligibility, not new aid
- ✔ Pell does not cover repeated courses
- ✔ Summer applications are processed after grades post
📩 QUESTIONS OR HELP?
📧 finaid@tuskegee.edu
📞 Or contact your assigned Financial Aid Counselor
