Financial aid full-time for undergraduate student is 12 credits.  If you are taking less than 12 undergraduate credits, the tuition component of your cost of attendance will be reduced to three-quarter time (9-11.5 credits), half-time (6-8.5 credits), or less than half time (1-5.5 credits).  

Financial aid full-time for graduate students is 9 credits.  If you are taking less than 9 graduate credits, the tuition component of your cost of attendance will be reduced to three-quarter time (7-9 credits), half-time (4.5-6.5 credits), or less than half time (1-4.0 credits).  If you are on Reduced Registration, the tuition component will be reduced to actual tuition and fees.  

Financial aid locks aid at the enrollment on census.  While you may retain eligibility for your aid based on your enrollment status, the amount could adjust based on the limit of the cost of attendance.  You cannot have more aid from all sources than the total cost of attendance in a semester.  Example: you have grants, scholarships, and loans that equal your full-time cost of attendance.  You are now three-quarter time so your total cost of attendance has been adjusted down.  Even though you remain eligible for your loans, the amount of your loan must be reduced to the three-quarter time amount so as not to exceed your total cost of attendance.  

Undergraduate students may wish to repeat a course previously passed (A, B, C, D or PRG) to gain additional knowledge or improve a previous performance.  A student who wishes to repeat a previously passed course more than once should be aware of the following federal guidelines:

• Federal aid (Pell Grant, SEOG, Direct Student Loan, Direct Parent PLUS Loan, Federal Work Study and Perkins Loan) may only pay for repeating a previously passed course one time.
• Courses that have been declared ‘repeatable’ by the Registrar’s Office will be exempt from the rule.  Complete list of repeatable courses.
• A student who is not in at least 12 new fundable hours along with the repeated course(s) will have their budget and federal aid adjusted to match the fundable hours.  12 credit hours is considered full-time for financial aid purposes.
• Repeatable hours will count during satisfactory academic progress evaluation at the end of each semester.  Please go access  Keeping your Financial Aid for more information.

Repeated courses that were previously not passed are always fundable hours.

For financial aid purposes, students can only pursue one degree at a time.  Until you have achieved a bachelor’s degree, you are awarded undergraduate financial aid based on enrollment in undergraduate credits.

Undergraduate students who take graduate (500-level) courses will have the credit count toward undergraduate financial aid. This class is treated the same as other undergraduate credits and your financial aid is awarded based on your total credit enrollment.  12+ credits is considered full-time.  If you have been admitted to a Mines graduate program, the credit could “double count” meaning it counts toward both your undergraduate and graduate degrees. Because this class credits toward your undergraduate degree, it is treated the same as other undergraduate credits and your financial aid is awarded based on your total credit enrollment. 

If you are a graduate students taking a prerequisite course (less than a 400-level course number) you cannot count those credits toward your financial aid enrollment.  As a graduate student, financial aid can only use graduate credits going toward your degree when calculating financial aid.  For example: if you are taking a 3 credit 400-level course, a 3 credit 500-level course, and a 3 credit 300-level course, you will be awarded as a half-time student for financial aid for being in 6 graduate level credits.  

You must be enrolled at least half-time (4.5 graduate credits) to receive financial aid.  

Financial Aid is generally awarded based on a full academic year (fall and spring).  If you are graduating in December, we will adjust your Cost of Attendance to one semester and adjust your awards.  Scholarships, grants, and work study are adjusted to fall only award equal to half of a full year award (i.e. if your grant award was $2000 for fall/spring, your fall-only award would be $1000) as long as you have enough federal need.  

Undergraduate loans are prorated based on your enrolled credits in the fall term.  The academic year is defined as 24 credits.  Your loans are prorated based on your fall enrollment compared to the academic year.  For example:  As a senior undergraduate dependent student you are eligible for $7500 in federal student loans for the academic year.  You are taking 9 credits in your final (fall) term.  You are eligible for 9/24 * $7,500 for the fall term ($2,813).

Graduate loans are adjusted based on the Cost of Attendance for the fall term.  The total of all aid in a semester cannot exceed that semester Cost of Attendance.  For example: As a graduate student you are eligible for $20,500 in an unsubsidized student loan for the academic year.  If you are only attending the fall semester, your Cost of Attendance is $20,034 (half of the annual Cost of Attendance) so your unsubsidized loan award will be reduced to $20,034.