Eligibility Requirements

Eligibility requirements vary widely between different aid programs.

Aid programs include many different grant, scholarship, loan, and work programs from different funding sources (federal, state, institutional, or private).  Some aid programs require financial need, but many others do not. Most grants require financial need. Most scholarships don't require financial need and are awarded to the strongest applicants based on a competitive comparison of students' academic or other achievements.

To apply for most federal aid programs (including federal loans, grants, and work-study funds) and TU's need-based grants, you must meet all of the federal general eligibility requirements below. Each of these aid programs also have additional eligibility requirements.  Some of the Maryland Higher Education Commission's (MHEC) state grants and scholarships also use some of these requirements.

Federal General Eligibility Requirements

Students must meet all six requirements below.  Parents who borrow Federal PLUS Loans must meet requirements 1 and 2.

  1. Meet federal aid Citizenship Requirements (U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident, or other eligible non-citizen).
  2. You must not be in default on any prior federal student or parent loans and must not owe any repayments on federal student grants.
  3. Students must annually submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and must agree to only use federal aid for educational purposes.
  4. Formal admission into a degree or certificate program and enrollment in courses that are applicable to that program.
  5. Meet TU's Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy.
  6. Must have a valid social security number (except for students from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau).

Undocumented and DACA students do not meet these federal requirements, but are eligible for other aid programs.  (Old aid regulations used to deny aid to certain students with drug convicitions, but those restrictions have been eliminated.)

Additional Eligibility Requirements

The following aid programs also require financial need:

The following aid programs DO NOT require financial need: