Graduation & Financial Aid
Congratulations on your achievement! Here is important information to help prepare you for your next steps.
Federal aid impacts of graduation
Per federal regulations, once students earn a degree, they are no longer entitled to receive aid (grants, loans, work-study) unless they are enrolled as a degree-seeking student. Once our office is notified that you have applied for graduation, we will place a hold that will prevent aid in future semesters.
All graduating students are required to complete the Stafford Loan Exit Counseling and Perkins Loan Exit Counseling if they borrowed Stafford or Perkins loans at any time during their undergraduate career. The exit counseling should become available about 30 days before your commencement.
Seeking second bachelor’s degree
If your degree is awarded and you plan to become a second bachelor’s degree-seeking student, we cannot remove your graduation hold or offer you future aid until we can see that a new major has been declared. Once this is done, you need to submit an Enrollment Change Form to be offered your Stafford loans up to your undergraduate loan limits. You will not be eligible for grants if seeking a second Bachelor’s degree.
Becoming a graduate student
If you plan on becoming a graduate student in the next semester, you will need to submit an Enrollment Change Form letting us know. In addition, we are unable to pay out financial aid at the graduate level until your undergraduate degree is conferred. Typically this happens 30 to 45 days after the end of the term in which you graduated.
Applied for graduation, but will not graduate
If you have submitted your graduation application but will not graduate, you must withdraw your application and be registered for the following semester in order to be offered financial aid. Students do not need to submit any forms or notify our office. Financial aid offerings for subsequent semesters will occur once the current semester ends. Please note that federal regulations state that students who are eligible to graduate with a bachelor’s degree and choose to extend their enrollment without graduating cannot continue to receive the Pell grant.
Graduating in the fall semester
Students who plan on graduating at the end of the fall term will be placed in a fall-only budget. In accordance with federal guidelines, undergraduate students will have their Direct Stafford loans prorated to match their exact enrollment. This means the student cannot have their entire loan amount disbursed in the fall term if they plan on graduating in the fall. The same is true for grants. Students attending ¾ time will receive 75% of their fall portion of their grant and those attending ½ time will receive 50% of their fall portion.