Summer Aid

Summer aid is not extra aid. It comes out of the same annual pot as fall and spring, so what you have left in summer depends on what you used earlier in the year.

FILE THE FAFSA FIRST

Summer belongs to an aid year, so you need that year's FAFSA on file and every other requirement satisfied before anything is awarded.

ENROLL AT LEAST HALF-TIME

Half time means a different number of credits depending on your level:

Undergraduate: six credit hours
Graduate: two credit hours
Professional: five credit hours

Undergraduate Students

You can receive a Pell Grant year round. That is worth understanding, because it can let you take summer courses, finish sooner and borrow less.

YOUR PELL GRANT IN ONE AID YEAR

Up to 150%

You can use up to 100% across fall and spring, then up to another 50% in summer if you are enrolled at least half time.

How that plays out depends on your credits each term.

Full Time All Three Terms

You use 50% in fall, 50% in spring and another 50% in summer. That is the full 150%.

Full Time in Fall and Spring, Half Time in Summer

Summer pays at the half-time rate, so you receive about 25% for the summer instead of 50.

Below Half Time in Summer

No summer Pell, unless you did not use your full award in fall and spring. In that case a smaller, less-than-half-time award may still be possible.

YEAR-ROUND PELL SPENDS YOUR LIFETIME LIMIT FASTER Taking summer Pell does not raise your lifetime cap. Every student gets the equivalent of 12 full-time semesters, or 600%, and then Pell stops. Using 150% in a year means reaching that ceiling sooner. Check what you have used at StudentAid.govwith your FSA ID.

PLAN SUMMER IN THE FALL, NOT IN APRIL If you received a Pell Grant for fall and spring and think you might take summer courses, call us early in the year. We can help you decide how much to use now and how much to hold for summer, which is a decision you cannot undo in April.

Most students spend their whole year of loan eligibility in fall and spring and arrive at summer with nothing left. If summer is in your plan, hold some back.

Leftover Federal Direct Loan

If you did not borrow your full annual limit in fall and spring, the remainder is awarded for summer.

Parent PLUS Loan, for Dependent Students

A parent can borrow to fill the gap, subject to the new federal caps. See Federal Loan Updates before counting on it.

Private Loan, for Independent Students

A private student loan can cover summer costs. It requires a credit check.

Graduate and Professional Students

Enrolled at least half time in summer? You can receive aid up to your summer cost of attendance. The arithmetic is simpler than the undergraduate version.

Nothing is awarded until you register. We package summer aid in early May, after registration.

We Use Whatever Direct Loan You Have Left

Subtract what you borrowed in fall and spring from your annual limit. The difference is awarded for summer.

A PLUS or Private Loan Fills Any Gap

If your remaining Direct Loan does not reach your summer cost of attendance, the rest can come from a Grad PLUS Loan if you still qualify, or a private loan. Both require a credit check.

Money Reaches Your Bill the Week Before Classes

Check the academic calendar for your summer start date.

What Changed for Federal Loans

Effective July 1, 2026

Grad PLUS ended. Closed to new borrowers. Some continuing students still qualify.

New program and lifetime caps. Total federal borrowing is now capped by program and over your lifetime.

New repayment plans. New loans use the Tiered Standard Plan or the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP).

Annual Direct Unsubsidized limits for graduate students did not change. If you borrowed before July 1, 2026, different rules may apply. See Federal Student Loan Changes.

YOUR DIRECT LOAN LIMIT IS ANNUAL, NOT PER TERM One annual limit covers fall, spring and summer together, so borrowing the full amount by spring leaves no Direct Loan for summer. That is a federal loan limit on all Federal Direct Loans (including PLUS Loans), not a limit on everything else. Summer has its own cost of attendance, and a private loan can cover what your aid does not reach.

What Now?

Start With the FAFSA Grants, work-study and federal loans all start with one application. Compare Student Loans If this does not cover everything, federal loans usually come next. Look at Grants First Grants are money you never repay. Take all you qualify for before borrowing. Know Your Costs Your cost of attendance sets the ceiling on how much aid you can receive. Something Changed? Lost income, a change at home or unusual costs can all be reviewed. Where Is My Refund? Aid pays your bill first. What is left is released to you by the Bursar.

Tools & Resources

CU Campuses

CU Anschutz

Student Finances

Financial Aid

Summer Aid

Undergraduate Students

Graduate and Professional Students

What Now?

Financial Aid & Scholarships Office

Summer Aid

Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate Summer Aid Options

Summer Pell Grant

If You Need More

Graduate and Professional Students

What Now?

Financial Aid & Scholarships Office