Enrollment Requirements

There are some minimum enrollment requirements that you’ll need to meet in order to qualify for financial aid. These requirements are mostly based on your cost of attendance and student classification.

Cost of Attendance

During the fall and spring semesters, undergraduate students’ cost of attendance is based on full-time enrollment (12+ hours). Graduate students’ cost of attendance is based on part-time enrollment (4-8 hours). If your actual enrollment does not match your cost of attendance on your offer letter, we will reach out to you with next steps as we near the start of school otherwise your loans will not be disbursed. We will automatically update your cost of attendance to match your enrollment after census.

Disbursement of Grants & Loans & Enrollment

The number of hours you enroll for a semester will have an impact on the disbursement of your financial aid.

Please view the specifics for enrollment requirements for Pell Grant, Texas Grant and the Distinguished Presidential Scholarship. You can view our Types of Aid page for specific requirements for other funds.

Undergraduate Enrollment Requirements 

Semester	Full Time	3/4 Time	1/2 Time
Fall/ Spring	12	9	6
Entire Summer	12	9	6

Graduate/Doctoral Enrollment Requirements

Semester	Full Time	3/4 Time	1/2 Time
Fall/ Spring	9	6	4
Entire Summer	5	4	3

 

Enrollment Requirements for Grants

For fall and spring, grants are offered based on full-time enrollment (12+ hours for undergraduates and 9+ hours for graduates). A minimum half-time enrollment (6 hours for undergraduates and 4 hours for graduates in fall/spring) is required for disbursement of grants. Texas Grant requires a minimum of 9 hours enrollment. Grants will disburse as follows based on enrollment:

Full-time: 100%

3/4 time: 75%

1/2 time: 50%

Pell Grant and enrollment

Beginning Fall 2024 and Spring 2025, Pell Grant prorates based on exact enrollment per credit hour due to FAFSA simplification.

For questions regarding the disbursement of a specific grant, please email onestop@utsa.edu from your UTSA email address.

Enrollment Requirements for Stafford and PLUS Loans

In fall and spring, Stafford and PLUS (both Parent and Graduate) require a minimum half-time enrollment (6+ hours undergraduates, 4+ hours graduates) to be eligible. Your cost of attendance must match your actual attendance in order for your loans to disburse. Undergraduates are automatically set with a full-time (12+ hours) cost of attendance and graduates are automatically set with a part-time (4-8 hours) cost of attendance when offered. During the semester we review your account to determine if you registered for full time (undergraduate) or part-time (graduate). If at census you are registered less than what your cost of attendance is set for, then your account will be updated which could cause a change to your financial aid offer.

Undergraduates Graduating in the Fall

If you are an undergraduate graduating in the fall, we are required by federal regulation to prorate your Stafford loans to reflect the number of hours you are taking in the fall. If you are less than full-time (fewer than 12 hours) this could result in a decreased amount of Stafford loan eligibility. If you have questions regarding this, please email onestop@utsa.edu from your UTSA email address.

For information about enrollment requirements for other loans, please visit our Loans page.

Financial Aid at Census Date

Your financial aid disbursement is based on your enrollment status as of the Census date for the term (5 p.m. CT). Your credit hours for the semester become “locked” as of Census. Adding another class after Census won’t count towards your enrollment for financial aid. For instance, if you were part-time after census and added more hours to try to be full-time, then you would still be considered part-time on your financial aid. If you drop classes but are still enrolled as of Census, you must maintain at least half-time enrollment to be eligible for financial aid. You can find the Census date on the Academic Calendar.