Your award is not a single decision. We work out what your education costs, subtract what the federal formula says you can contribute and fill the gap in a set order using the funds available to you.
How Awards Work
Award Topics
Cost of Attendance − SAI = Financial Need
Need-based aid cannot exceed your financial need. Other kinds of aid are limited by your cost of attendance instead.
COST OF ATTENDANCE
An estimate of what a year of your program costs. It can include tuition, fees, books, course materials, supplies and equipment, housing and food, health insurance, transportation and personal expenses.
A number the U.S. Department of Education calculates from your FAFSA using income, assets and family size. It appears on your FAFSA Submission Summary.
It is not a bill and not what your family is expected to pay. It is only an input to the formula above.
Each layer affects what is left for the next one, which is why an outside scholarship can change a loan you had already been offered. Most funds are limited, so awards are made as applications are completed.
1Support from your school or department, and from outside sources: tuition remissions, traineeships, stipends and waivers
2Scholarships from the university and outside agencies
3Grants from federal, state and university programs
4Federal Work-Study and institutional loans
5Federal Direct Loans, subsidized and unsubsidized, and Parent PLUS where a parent qualifies. First-time borrowers complete entrance counseling before funds pay out
GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL BORROWING CHANGED IN 2026Grad PLUS loans are no longer available to new borrowers, and annual and lifetime borrowing limits have been reset. If you were counting on Grad PLUS to cover a gap, read Federal Loan Updates and talk to us before the term starts.
Most awards assume you will enroll full time in both fall and spring. Nearly all aid requires at least half-time enrollment. We check your enrollment after the census date each term, which is published on the academic calendar.
STUDENT TYPEFULL TIMEHALF TIME
Undergraduate12 hours6 hours
Graduate5 hours3 hours
Professional10 hours5 hours
Thesis, Dissertation and Medical Students
One thesis or dissertation credit counts as full-time enrollment. A medical student enrolled in at least one credit is considered full time.
Pell Follows Your Exact Credit Load
For undergraduates, the Federal Pell Grant is prorated by how much of a full load you actually carry after census, rather than by fixed brackets.
Courses Have to Count Toward Your Program
Federal rules limit aid to coursework that applies to your declared program, so a class outside it does not count toward your enrollment for aid. Waitlisted and audited courses never count.
Colorado Graduate Grant Has Its Own Minimum
State rules require graduate and professional students receiving this grant to enroll in at least four credit hours per term.
If your total aid would go over your cost of attendance, we have to adjust it. You will get a revised award notice at your university email. Tell us right away if you receive money we do not already know about, or if something on your award looks wrong.
Your Enrollment Changed
Enrolled less than full time after census and your budget and your award are both recalculated. If dropping a class produces a tuition refund, hold on to it until we finish adjusting your account.
You Received Other Assistance
Scholarships, tuition assistance, employer waivers and non-service stipends all count and may require us to make room by reducing something else. Service stipends, paid for work you perform, do not count.
Your Residency Changed
An approved residency petition lowers your tuition charge, which can create a refund. Contact us as soon as yours is approved so we can adjust before that money reaches you.
You Are Attending One Semester Only
Aid is normally offered across fall and spring. Tell us if you will not be here in the spring, for graduation or any other reason, so we can award one term instead. This can mean owing aid back.
Your FAFSA Was Corrected
When information reaches us that does not match your FAFSA, we review it and correct it if needed, which can change what you are eligible for.
You Need More Than You Were Offered
Carrying more than a full load and short on funds? Submit the Loan Adjustment Form from the Forms page and we will review you for additional loan eligibility.
NEW AND PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS
Estimated award notices go out starting in March, announced by email to your university account and viewable in UCDAccess.
Send us any documents we ask for and we can issue your official award notice, which carries the instructions for accepting it. An official award can be reduced or cancelled if documents never arrive.
CONTINUING STUDENTS
Notices begin in May, again by university email only, with instructions for viewing and accepting your award.
Anything else we need shows up on your To Do List in UCDAccess.
KEEP A COPY WHEN YOUR AWARD CHANGESSave or print your award details page each time it changes. Having the record makes any later question much faster to answer. Email [email protected] with anything you are unsure about.
