Summer & Minimester

Winter Minimester Aid Options

The treatment of Minimester units varies based on the aid programs you are receiving.

Prohibited Minimester Aid Payments

For many aid programs, including all TU Scholarships, 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
• Grants and Scholarships from the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC)

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 from 3/4-time to 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 2021 Aid Options

Summer aid is limited. To borrow any federal loans you must enroll at least half-time. 

If you already borrowed your maximum annual 2020-2021 Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loans during the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters, then you can't borrow additional Direct Subsidized / Unsubsidized Loans for Summer 2021.  See loan limit charts.  PLUS loans don't have annual limits, but your total aid can't exceed your summer Cost of Attendance budget.

aid programs	Summer aid options
Pell Grants	Need-based grant for undergraduate students. Only available to students who meet the Pell Grant eligibility requirements.
Direct Subsidized Student Loans	Need-based federal loan for undergraduate students. Only available to students with leftover loan eligibility from the Fall 2020 or Spring 2021 semesters.
Direct Unsubsidized Student Loans	Federal loan for students with leftover eligibility from the fall 2020 or spring 2021 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 attempt. 

Summer Pell Grant requirements

You must be pursuing your first Bachelor's Degree, and the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) from your 2020-2021 FAFSA must be less than 5,712.  Summer grant amounts are based on your total summer units and your EFC.  To receive summer Pell Grants, you must also must meet one of the following conditions:

• Most Fall 2020 or Spring 2021 Pell Grant recipients who take at least 6 summer units will be eligible for summer Pell Grants.
• If you will take less than 6 summer units, then you will only be eligible for a summer Pell Grant if you have leftover eligibility from the Fall 2020 or Spring 2021 semesters because you didn't already receive full-time Pell Grant payments for at least one of those semesters.

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 2020-2021 loans and must have leftover annual eligibility based on the loan limit charts.
• To review the loan amounts you already borrowed for 2020-2021, login to the Towson Online Services Student Center, choose Financials, View Financial Aid, and the 2020-2021 Aid Year.
• 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 2020 and spring 2021 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 5/2021 to 8/2021.
• 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 2020-2021 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.

To apply for summer aid, you must submit our Summer Aid Application.

1. Login to Towson Online Services.
2. Choose Financials and Financial Aid Forms.
3. Then, choose the 2020-2021 aid year and Summer Aid Application.

Application Deadlines 

• To avoid aid payment delays, please apply for summer aid by April 23. 
• We will accept late applications, but your aid may disburse late.

Summer Aid Offers

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 and you can decide if you want to 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.