Summer Financial Assistance Options

While most students can qualify for federal financial aid by completing the FAFSA, certain eligibility requirements must be met. These include, but are not limited to:

• Being a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen
• Meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards
• Remaining within your lifetime federal aid limits
• Being enrolled in a degree seeking program

After your FAFSA is received, you may also be selected for a process called verification, which requires additional documentation before aid can be finalized.

If you have questions or concerns about your eligibility, please contact the Office of Student Financial Assistance for personalized assistance.

There are several reasons Northern Kentucky University may not yet have your FAFSA on file. If you have questions about your specific situation, please contact the Office of Student Financial Assistance for assistance.

Common reasons include:

• Your FAFSA was recently submitted and has not yet been received or processed: It takes 1-3 business days for us to receive the FAFSA once it is processed by the Department of Education.
  
• NKU was not listed as a school recipient on your FAFSA. Our school code is 009275.
  
• Information on your FAFSA does not match our records: This can include name, social security number, or zip code.
  

Eligible students will begin seeing summer financial aid offers posted to their accounts in early April.

To receive a summer aid offer, the following must be true:

• Your 25/26 FAFSA must be successfully processed
• You are enrolled in courses within a degree seeking program
• You have remaining aid eligiblity for the academic year 

If you meet these requirements and do not see a summer aid offer on your account after early April, please contact our office so we can review your eligibility and assist you further.

Federal financial aid is generally based on your remaining eligibility for the academic year and your cost of attendance (budget). If you have already used your annual eligibility, additional funding may not be available until the next academic year begins.

• Undergraduate students:
  • Unsubsidized & subsidized loans: Offered up to their remaining annual eligibility up to their maximum allowed budget. If a student accepts their full years worth of loans prior to the start of the summer, then there will not be any federal loan funding left until the fall.        
  • PELL Grant: Offer will match the amount given to the student for the previous spring/fall semester as long as the student has not hit their lifetime limit. The offer will be prorated based on enrollment.
  • Parent PLUS Loans: Are not offered automatically, however, dependent students may pursue this funding source if they wish. It will require an approved application for the summer term and a completed authorization form turned in to the Office of Student Financial Assistance. 
• Graduate Students:
  • Unsubsidized loans: Offered up to their remaining annual eligibility up to their maximum allowed budget. If a student has already accepted their annual limit prior to the start of the summer, then there will not be any available until fall.
  • Graduate PLUS loans: Dictated by the amount of other offers on the student's account. Once all other awards are applied, PLUS loans will be offered up to the student's remaining room in their budget. Please note that PLUS loans require the student, or an approved cosigner, to pass a credit check. 

Before your federal loans can appear on your billing statement, you must complete the following requirements (if not already on file):

• Master Promissory Note (MPN)
• Loan Entrance Counseling

You do not need to wait for your FAFSA to finish processing to complete these steps. We encourage you to complete them as soon as possible to avoid delays in your loan disbursement.

• Complete your Master Promissory Note: https://studentaid.gov/mpn/
• Complete Loan Entrance Counseling: https://studentaid.gov/entrance-counseling

If you are accepting a Direct Grad PLUS loan, understand that these loan offers require the student to pass a credit check and fill out specific PLUS MPN. More information about PLUS loan requirements can be found here: https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans/plus/grad

We strongly encourage you to register for all of your planned courses at the beginning of the semester.

If you are enrolled in 7-week sessions, this means registering for both your first and second session courses at the same time.

There are important benefits to doing so:

• One consolidated bill: You will receive a single bill for the entire semester, allowing you to know upfront what you owe and whether you can expect a refund (if applicable).
• Federal Pell Grant considerations: Under federal regulations, Northern Kentucky University cannot increase a Federal Pell Grant award after the initial disbursement for the semester.

If you add courses after your Pell Grant has been disbursed, you will not be eligible for an increase in Pell funding to cover those additional charges.

To avoid unexpected out-of-pocket costs, please enroll in all intended courses before the semester begins whenever possible.

Yes. Northern Kentucky University’s Office of Student Financial Assistance is committed to providing timely updates regarding newly enacted federal policies and guidance.

Although the anticipated changes are not scheduled to take effect until July 1, 2026, and final federal guidance has not yet been released, we have created a dedicated webpage outlining currently available information and expected updates.

We encourage you to review that page regularly, as it will be updated as additional details become available.

• Undergraduate student changes
• Graduate student changes

Once July 1st hits, students who have yet to have their federal aid disbursed will be subject to the new rules and regulations. To ensure the maximum amount of your federal aid eligibilty for the summer, please make sure that you have met all federal aid requirements prior to this date.

To be eligible for most federal financial aid programs, you must be enrolled at least half-time:

• Undergraduate students: 6 credit hours per semester
• Graduate students: 3 credit hours per semester
• Law Students: 5 credit hours per semester

If you are enrolled in an Accelerated Online program, you may take multiple 5- or 7-week terms within a single fall, spring, or summer semester. Financial aid eligibility is based on your total enrolled credit hours across all terms within that semester, not each individual term.

Depending on the type of aid you receive, your award may be prorated if you are enrolled less than full-time. Students receiving the Federal Pell Grant may qualify for a prorated award at any level of enrollment.

Student loans will be subject to proration if not disbursed prior to July 1, 2026 due to new regulations within the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill. Please see the FAQ associated with that topic for more information.

For many of our students, most, if not all, of their summer aid comes from utilizing funds from the FAFSA. Unfortunately many state programs, such as KEES and the CAP Grant, do not apply for the summer term. Additionally, many of our institutional awards, including merit scholarships, are also specific to the fall/spring.

However, if additional assistance is needed, there are some options. This list includes, but is not limited to:

• Alternative loans: Are from a third party provider. Be sure that you meet all the lender requirements before applying. More details on alternative loans can be found here: https://inside.nku.edu/financialaid/programs/loans.html
• Outside scholarships: Are from resources outside of NKU. If you have an outside scholarship that you would like posted to your account, please get in contact with Student Account Services.
• Tuition Waivers: NKU staff/faculty, state programs such as KCTCS and Educational workforce, and employer sponsored tuition waivers are typically applicable during the summer. For more information on if your tuition waiver can apply for the summer term, please reach out to our office.
• Path to Success Scholarship (Accelerated Online students only): Much like fall and spring, this award does apply to eligible students for the summer term as well. For more information about this award, please see our website: https://onlinedegrees.nku.edu/programs/undergraduate/