Paying for College

Summer Session 2025

INFORMATION FOR RECEIVING FINANCIAL AID

The Financial Aid Office will use your 2025-26 FAFSA® application and summer enrollment to award your aid.

Step 1: Apply for Aid

The academic year runs summer through spring term so make sure and file your 2025-26 FAFSA® application.

If you enroll for summer term 2025:

• You received a 25-26 award offer prior to enrolling for summer: Let us know if you would like your Federal Direct Student Loans redistributed to include summer term by submitting a Revision Request – Federal Direct Loan.
• You have not received a 25-26 award offer prior to enrolling for summer: The financial aid office will award all your eligible funds for Summer 2025 through Spring 2026 based on full-time attendance, unless you otherwise notify us by submitting a Revision Request form.

Step 2: Enrollment Requirements

• Enrollment requirements for summer are the same as other terms. Full-time is 12+ credits, 3/4 time is 9 to 11 credits and half-time is 6 to 8 credits for undergraduates. Half-time for graduates is 5 credits, and full-time is 9+ credits. Students are initially awarded based on full-time enrollment for all terms. If you plan to enroll in fewer credits, notify us by submitting a Revision Request form.
• You must enroll in all summer credits (including Degree Partnership Program credits) at the start of the term even if you have courses that begin later in the summer.
• A minimum of 6 undergraduate credits are required to receive federal student loans and participate in the Degree Partnership Program with WOU as the home institution. Graduate students need to enroll in a minimum of 5 credits to receive federal student loans.
• If you have eligibility for institutional funds, you must enroll in a minimum of 9 WOU undergraduate credits to receive the funds each term.
• Annual loan limits remain the same regardless of the number of terms you attend.

Step 3: Changes in Enrollment

• Summer term Census Date is the same as other terms (2nd Friday of term). Aid will be adjusted to your enrollment level at Census Date. Dropping courses after Census Date may result in a reduction or reversal of your Pell Grant.
• You must participate in all of your courses in order to earn the federal financial aid that is disbursed for the term.
• If you drop a course before the course begins or if we are unable to verify your participation in a course, we are required to reduce or reverse any Pell Grant payment made for that course.
• Reversed Pell will be returned to the US Department of Education and the reversal of that aid may create an owing balance on your WOU student account.
• If you drop, withdraw from, or do not fully complete your summer sessions, you will be considered withdrawn from the term (for financial aid purposes) even if you are enrolled in future summer sessions.

Step 4: Disbursement of Aid

• Most funds will disburse the week prior to the start of the term and based on your enrollment level.
• If you have later starting summer sessions your aid may not fully disburse until your enrollment level matches your awarded aid.

Students who have been awarded Federal Work Study for the academic year may begin working during summer session after July 1^st, if enrolled half-time or more.

Important Federal Student Loan Information:

Federal Student Loans are disbursed across all eligible terms of attendance.

If you attend at least half-time in summer term and accept Federal Student Loans, your loans will be divided evenly over all four terms of attendance. If you accept a total of $5,500 in Subsidized and/or Unsubsidized Loans, disbursements will be split as follows: 

Note: Pell Grants are now available year-round to eligible students.

Additional WOU Summer Session Information: 

• Summer term is unique from other terms at WOU, as it includes eight separate sessions that financial aid monitors in terms of enrollment and aid eligibility. The session lengths are listed below.
  • 10 week session
  • 8 week session
  • 6 week session
  • 4 week sessions
  • 3 week sessions
• You must enroll in all summer courses for which you intend to receive financial aid by the start of the term.
• If you register for classes in later starting sessions which you later decide to drop, your aid will be adjusted. Once the term begins and if you’re thinking you might drop course(s) from one of the later starting sessions, it’s best to drop the class before it ever begins, as it will help you avoid having to repay funds!
• If you register for sequential sessions, your aid will be spread across the time frame for all sessions. If you drop one of the sessions, your aid may be adjusted. Again, it’s best to drop before the course ever begins.
• If your first course for summer term is in one of the later starting sessions, your financial aid will disburse the week before that portion of the term begins.