Taking summer courses at different college - Can I still get FAFSA aid?

Yes, you need to add the in-state school to his FAFSA! Schools can only access his financial aid information if they're listed on the FAFSA. The good news is you can still update his 2024-2025 FAFSA to add schools. Log into studentaid.gov, select "Update FAFSA Form," and add the new school code. But here's the important part - you should also contact the financial aid office at the in-state school immediately. Many schools have separate summer aid applications with deadlines that might be approaching fast.

my daughter did this last yr took 2 classes at community college in summer. we just called financial aid office at the school and they told us what to do. pretty simple actually just had to add the school and fill out a summer aid form they had

Adding the school to the FAFSA is step one, but there are several other important things to understand about summer financial aid: 1. Summer terms often count toward the PREVIOUS academic year's aid. So summer 2025 might actually use 2023-2024 FAFSA funds, not 2024-2025. You need to verify this with both schools. 2. Pell Grant eligibility might be available if he hasn't used his full academic year amount. 3. Federal loan limits are annual, so if he's already borrowed the maximum for the year, he may not be eligible for additional loans for summer. 4. Many schools have institutional summer aid programs with separate applications. I recommend contacting BOTH financial aid offices - his current school and the summer school - to coordinate. This is important because accepting aid at one institution can impact aid at the other.

just wanted to add that waiting on hold with financial aid offices is THE WORST especially now during busy season. i spent 3 hours last week trying to get someone on the phone and kept getting disconnected. super frustrating!!!!

You also need to make sure your son meets the enrollment requirements for summer aid. Some schools require at least half-time enrollment (usually 6 credits for undergrad) to qualify for federal loans during summer. If he's only taking one 3-credit course, he might not be eligible for certain types of aid. Check with the in-state school about their specific requirements for summer financial aid.

The STUPID thing about FAFSA is that even if you add another school, there's no guarantee they'll give him any aid!!! My daughter added a summer school and they said all their summer funds were already allocated. Such a waste of time. The whole system is designed to be confusing and frustrating!!

also dont forget to check if the credits will transfer back to his main school!!! my nephew took summer classes but his university only accepted them as electives not for his major requirements. waste of money

One last thing to consider: If your son receives financial aid for the summer term at the in-state school, this could potentially impact his Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) calculations. All courses taken with federal aid count toward his cumulative completion rate and GPA requirements for continued aid eligibility. Make sure he's prepared to successfully complete any summer coursework if he accepts aid for it.

After calling both schools and updating the FAFSA, could you please come back and update us on what you found out? I'll be in a similar situation next summer and would love to know how it works out for you!

This is such a helpful thread! I'm in a similar situation with my daughter who wants to take summer classes at a community college while attending her 4-year university. From reading all these responses, it sounds like the key steps are: 1) Update the FAFSA immediately to add the summer school, 2) Contact both financial aid offices to understand how summer aid works and any deadlines, 3) Verify credit transfer requirements, and 4) Check enrollment minimums for aid eligibility. The point about summer terms potentially counting toward the previous academic year's aid was really eye-opening - I never would have thought of that! Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences.

As someone who just went through this process last year, I wanted to add a few practical tips that helped us navigate the summer FAFSA situation. First, when you call the financial aid offices, have your son's student ID numbers ready for both schools - it speeds up the process significantly. Second, ask specifically about "consortium agreements" - some schools have arrangements that allow you to receive aid from your home institution even when taking classes elsewhere, which can sometimes be more favorable than applying for aid directly through the summer school. Third, if the summer school doesn't have aid available, ask about payment plan options - many schools offer interest-free monthly payment plans that can make the costs more manageable even without financial aid. The summer FAFSA process definitely has more moving parts than regular academic year aid, but it's absolutely worth pursuing if it can save money on that prerequisite course!

I'm new to this whole FAFSA process and this thread has been so educational! My son is a high school senior who will be starting college in the fall, and I'm already thinking about potential summer course scenarios for next year. One question I have after reading all these responses - when you update the FAFSA to add a new school, does that trigger any kind of review or delay in processing aid at his primary school? I'm worried about accidentally messing up his main financial aid package by making changes to add a summer school. Also, are there any fees associated with adding schools to the FAFSA or updating it? I want to make sure I understand all the potential costs and complications before we get to that point next year.

This thread is incredibly thorough and helpful! As someone who works in higher education finance, I'd like to add one more important consideration that hasn't been mentioned yet. When your son takes summer courses at the in-state school, make sure to understand how this affects his enrollment status and dependency classification for the FOLLOWING academic year's FAFSA. If he's considered enrolled at multiple institutions during the summer, it could potentially impact how his 2025-2026 FAFSA is processed. Also, keep detailed records of all summer coursework and aid received - you'll need this information when filling out next year's FAFSA. The IRS Data Retrieval Tool won't capture institutional aid or work-study earnings from summer terms, so you'll need to report these manually. It's a small detail but can save headaches during next year's application process!