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Financial Aid Eligibility

As a prospective student, to be eligible for financial aid:

  • You must be admitted into a degree-seeking program.
  • Generally you must be enrolled at least 6 credit hours each semester as an undergraduate student. In a few cases a student can be enrolled less than 6 credit hours and receive Federal Pell Grants. Most graduate students must be enrolled at least 4.5 credit hours each semester.
  • Undergraduate students must enroll in a minimum of 12 credit hours each semester to be eligible for the Indiana Higher Education, Freedom of Choice and Twenty-First Century Awards.
  • Extended studies (evening) and accelerated division students are assessed significantly reduced tuition charges and are typically enrolled part-time (6-11 hours). Part-time enrollment may qualify you for Federal Pell Grants, state part-time grants and/or Federal Direct Stafford loans.
  • Graduate students are eligible for the Federal Direct Stafford loan, Graduate Direct Plus loan and College Work-Study.

Selection Criteria

Students applying for financial aid are considered by the financial aid office for all programs for which they are eligible, including federal, state and institutional aid programs. A financial aid counselor will review the following criteria when reviewing a student’s file:

  • The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) must be received by the Federal Processing Center by March 10 to be considered for state aid programs.
  • In most cases, only students who are United States citizens, permanent residents, or eligible noncitizens as defined by the Federal government, are eligible for financial aid. With only a few exceptions, all students must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and the UIndy Aid Application. (A separate Summer UIndy Aid Application (PDF) must be filed for summer semesters.)

To receive federal aid, the student must demonstrate financial need by submitting the FAFSA and:

  1. Meet the general eligibility requirements outlined above,
  2. Meet the eligibility requirements imposed by specific aid programs, and
  3. Maintain satisfactory academic progress toward completion of a degree within a reasonable time period. Failure to make normal progress will cause the student to be ineligible for federal, state and institutional aid programs.

Merit scholarships are reserved for students (primarily undergraduate) who have demonstrated superior academic achievement. High school class rank, college prep courses and test scores from the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or American College Testing (ACT) Service are used in evaluating the student's academic performance. Scholarship selection for transfer students is based on college academic performance. Some specific aid programs utilize additional selection criteria.

Continued Eligibility

Many financial aid awards are renewable over the normal four-year college program. The student must demonstrate his or her eligibility each year before financial aid may be awarded. The student must continue to:

  • Meet the general eligibility requirements outlined above,
  • Demonstrate financial need for need-based aid by submitting the FAFSA,
  • Meet the eligibility requirements imposed by specific aid programs, and
  • Maintain satisfactory academic progress toward completion of a degree within a reasonable time period. Failure to make normal progress will cause the student to be ineligible for federal, state, and institutional aid programs.

Duration of Eligibility

Regulations also govern the maximum length of time a student may receive financial aid. Students working toward a baccalaureate degree may not receive aid beyond 150 percent of the length of their program of study. For a student pursuing a bachelor’s degree, this time frame is defined to be 186 total credit hours attempted (150 percent of hours to graduate). For a student pursuing an associate’s degree, this time frame is defined to be 93 total credit hours attempted (150 percent of 62 hours to graduate).

Transfer hours count toward this number of hours. Some programs, like state grants and University merit aid may restrict the student’s eligibility for aid to less than the above time frame.

The maximum time frame for graduate students is 150 percent of the length of their specific program.

With the exception of the Federal Direct Stafford loan and College Work-Study, financial aid is awarded to undergraduate students working toward their first baccalaureate degree. Students who enter the professional phase of the physical therapy or occupational therapy program at the end of three years of undergraduate study are considered to be graduate students and are not eligible for some federal and state aid programs.