Typically, summer financial aid consists of unused financial aid eligibility from the prior fall and spring terms. If a student is offered and accepts the annual maximum limit of the amount of grants and loans for the academic year, there would be no eligibility left for enrollment in a summer term. Both Minnesota State Grants and the Federal Pell Grant may be available provided the student meets eligibility criteria and funding exists. Private educational loans can also be a source of funding for summer courses.
Summer term is considered the last term of the academic year for financial aid purposes. For continuing Metropolitan State students, the Financial Aid Office will process a Summer Term Award Notice approximately one week after the student has registered for summer courses provided a FAFSA is on file and all requested documents have been received.
For students beginning attendance in the summer term, a FAFSA must be filed for the year. For example, if the student begins attendance in summer 2019, the application for financial aid for that term is the 2018-19 FAFSA, as summer is the final term for that FAFSA application.
Keep in mind, if the student intends to continue enrollment beyond the summer 2019 term, the 2019-20 FAFSA will also need to be completed.
Once the Financial Aid Award Notice is prepared, the student is sent an email with instructions on how to access the information through Minnesota State's eServices. If the Notice includes student loans and the student wishes to borrow, the Loan Acceptance process is done online via student eServices. Students can make an online loan request by following the instructions below:
- Visit Student eServices and log in.
- On the left, click on "Financial Aid" and then "Loans".
- Follow the on-screen instructions to submit the loan acceptance.
- In 1-3 business days, the student's loan status will be updated to "Certified" status.
Loan funds will be applied to the student's account on the scheduled disbursement date.