Does Financial Aid Cover Summer Classes? (2024)

For many college students, the summer is an opportunity to take additional classes to help reach their degree sooner. Summer sessions are usually shorter than regular semesters, and since many classes can be completed at a community college, they can often be significantly cheaper.

It’s an increasingly popular strategy. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, students who take summer courses at community colleges are more likely to complete their degrees.

But how do you pay for it? Here’s what you need to know about summer financial aid options.

Why Students Take Summer Classes

Whether you plan on taking classes at your current university or at a nearby community college, summer classes can be beneficial. You can retake classes you struggled with in the past to improve your grades, knock out core or elective course requirements and fast track your degree.

If you graduate early, you can reduce how long you’re in school by a semester or even a full academic year. It also helps lower how much you’ll have to spend on tuition, fees, and room and board for every term that you reduced while in college. And, you can start working to earn full-time income sooner.

4 Types of Summer Financial Aid

Can you get financial aid for summer classes? Absolutely. You have multiple options:

1. Grants

Grants are an excellent place to start since they are a form of gift aid that often don’t need to be repaid. There are several kinds of grants you may qualify for:

• Pell grants. Low-income students may be eligible for Pell grants. Previously, students couldn’t use federal Pell grants for summer classes. However, the government changed that in 2017, giving students access to year-round Pell grants to pay for summer sessions. Eligible Pell grant recipients can get up to $7,395 for the 2023-24 award year (July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024).
• State grants. Some states have grants to help students pay for their summer classes. For instance, the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency allows eligible students to receive a Pennsylvania State grant for the summer term. Visit your state education agency’s website to find out if your state has a similar program.
• Institutional grants: Your university may have grant programs specifically designed to help students pay for summer classes. For example, the University of Colorado Boulder’s Achieve Summer program covers up to six credit hours of resident tuition and fees for eligible students. Contact your school financial aid office to find out what programs are available.

2. Scholarships

As another form of gift aid, scholarships are also a good way to reduce your summer session costs. Scholarships can come from schools, nonprofit organizations and for-profit businesses. Typically, there aren’t restrictions on what term students use the scholarship for, so you can apply for scholarships and use the awards to pay for your summer classes.

3. Student Loans

While there aren’t federal or private student loans specifically for summer classes, you can still take out student loans to pay for your credits. The same loans you apply to pay for your fall and spring semesters can also be used for summer classes.

With federal student loans the interest rates tend to be less and there are more flexible repayment options compared to private loans, so they should be a first choice.

However, federal student loans have limits on how much you can borrow each year, and money used for summer sessions counts against that limit. There is also an aggregate limit on how much you can borrow in total for your education:

• Undergraduate subsidized and unsubsidized loans. Depending on your dependency status and what year you’re in at school, federal loan limits for undergraduate students range from $5,500 to $12,500 per year. That limit applies to all of the loans you take out for the year, including the fall, spring and summer sessions. The aggregate limit for undergraduates is $57,500. No more than $23,000 can be subsidized loans.
• Graduate unsubsidized loans. If you take out direct unsubsidized loans, the maximum you can borrow is $20,500 per year. The aggregate limit is $138,500, including all loans used for undergraduate study. No more than $65,500 of that amount can be subsidized loans.
• Graduate PLUS loans. If you take out Grad PLUS loans, you can borrow up to the total cost of attendance.

Unlike federal loans, private lenders usually don’t cap how much you can borrow. You can typically take out enough to cover the total cost of attendance for your program.

While federal student loans always have fixed interest rates, private student loans can have fixed or variable interest rates. Repayment plans can also vary. Private loan terms can range from five to 15 years, so you can pick a term that works best for your budget.

4. Work-Study

If your college participates in the federal work-study program, there may be opportunities for summer aid.

If you qualify for the federal work-study program, you will work part-time in a field related to your major. While pay can vary by the type of work you do and the employer, you’ll earn at least the federal minimum wage. The money you earn can be used to offset your summer education costs and reduce the need for student loans.

Applying for Financial Aid for Summer Classes

To get financial aid for the summer term, follow these three steps:

1. Contact Your School’s Financial Aid Office

Once you decide to take summer classes, contact your college’s financial aid office and ask about potential financial aid opportunities. Your school may have grants, scholarships and work-study programs so you won’t have to borrow as much money. The financial aid office can tell you what aid is available and what forms you need to complete an application.

2. Complete the FAFSA

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is what schools and the federal government use to determine your eligibility for grants and federal student loans.

The FAFSA does qualify you for aid that will help cover summer classes. It’s important to fill out an application as soon as possible to ensure you get all the financial aid you’re entitled to receive.

When you fill out the FAFSA, you have to select the academic year for which you’re applying for financial aid. For instance, if you’re applying for aid for the 2023-2024 academic year, you would select “2023-2024.”

However, FAFSA summer aid applications are a gray area, and schools have varying rules on what academic year they belong in for financial aid purposes. Before submitting the FAFSA, contact your college’s financial aid office to see which FAFSA year you should select.

3. Research External Financial Aid Opportunities

If you’ve used up all of the available institutional and federal financial aid options, you may qualify for external opportunities, such as private scholarships and student loans.

• Summer scholarships. To look for scholarships, use search tools like Chegg, The College Board’s Scholarship Search and Niche.
• Private student loans. Before submitting an application for a student loan, compare rates and loan terms from multiple lenders. If you aren’t sure where to start, check out our picks for the best private student loans.