2024-2025 Undergraduate Bulletin > Policies and General Information > Scholarships and Financial Aid > Financial Aid Eligibility: General Requirements

Financial Aid Eligibility: General Requirements

To be eligible for CMU and federal undergraduate assistance you must:

1. Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen for federal, state, and most CMU programs.
2. Demonstrate financial need (for need-based programs) as determined by the CMU OSFA and by federal regulations.
3. Be enrolled full time (12 credits per semester except for federal and institutional grants and/or Federal Direct Loans) in a degree program. Students enrolled less than full-time but at least half-time (6 credits per semester) may have grant aid pro-rated.

   NOTE: In order to graduate within four years in a degree program that requires a minimum of 120 hours of credit, a student must average at least 30 hours of credit each year. Several degrees may require a minimum greater than 120 hours.

4. Federal aid recipients may not owe a refund from any federal grant or loan or be in default on any federal loan.
5. Students must be enrolled in CMU courses to receive financial aid, except under special circumstances. Students whose program of study requires a course(s) not offered at CMU may apply for a Consortium Agreement to receive financial aid while enrolled at another institution.
6. Students can only receive a Federal Pell Grant at one institution. Students may receive a Federal Stafford Direct Loan while enrolled at least half-time simultaneously at two institutions up to the annual maximum grade-level limit.
7. Guest students attending CMU are not eligible to receive financial assistance through CMU. Students should check with their home institution to determine eligibility for financial assistance.
8. Eligibility for federal student aid requires a student to be admitted into a degree-seeking program AND be currently enrolled in CMU classes. Students planning to use life experiences for evaluation and potential course credit are not eligible for financial aid to cover the cost of these courses.
9. Students must begin participation in their courses of study to establish aid eligibility for that course. If the student does not begin participating in their course(s) by the 2nd Friday of the term/module that the course falls into (this date will differ depending on the course start date), the student will be administratively dropped from that course, and financial aid will be re-evaluated, which may have an impact on eligibility. This process follows federal regulations for the purpose of establishing financial aid eligibility.
10. You must meet all Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements to maintain eligibility for all federal and some institutional aid. For more specific SAP information, refer to the Satisfactory Academic Progress toward your Degree section