Enrollment Status:
If you’re an undergraduate student:
- “FT” means full time and equals 12 or more credits per term;
- “3QT” means three-quarter time and equals 9–11 credits per term;
- “HT” means half-time and equals 6–8 credits per term;
- “LT HT” means less than half time and equals 1–5 credits per term; and
- “NA” means you won’t be attending during that quarter.
If you’re a graduate student:
- “FT” means full-time and equals 6 or more credits per term;
- “HT” means half-time and equals 3 to 5 credits per term;
- “LT HT” means less than half-time and equals 1 or 2 credits per term; and
- “NA” means you won’t be attending during that quarter.
You must be enrolled at least half-time to receive most forms of financial aid. However, if you are enrolled less than full-time, you may be ineligible to receive certain types of aid.
Further, if you register in any given term for fewer credits than the enrollment status shown on your award letter, you will not be able to receive your financial aid until notifying the Student Financial Services Office of the change in your enrollment status so your aid can be reviewed and possibly revised.
And, if you register for more credits than your enrollment status indicates – enrolling full-time rather than half-time, for instance – you may be eligible to receive additional aid and so, again, should notify our office as soon as possible so your aid can be reviewed and possibly revised.
The review and revision process generally takes about two weeks and, depending on the time of year can take even longer, so be sure to let us know as soon as possible if your enrollment for any given quarter will be different than that shown on your award letter.
It’s important for financial aid recipients to understand that satisfactory academic progress requirements and enrollment standards for financial aid purposes may be different than those for academic purposes. While it may be possible, and perhaps even advantageous, academically, to …
- Enroll less than full time; or
- Enroll for less than 15 credits as an undergraduate; or
- Rearrange your schedule to take a class in a subsequent year; or
- Take an incomplete in or withdraw from a class; or
- Take additional credits to receive a minor or second major,
… these kinds of changes—and any others that decrease the number of credits for which you enroll and/or increase the number of quarters it takes you to receive your degree—could have an effect on your eligibility to receive financial aid. While we’re not academic advisors, we can tell you what effect these kinds of changes will have on your financial aid eligibility. Therefore, we strongly encourage you to understand the satisfactory academic progress and enrollment requirements as they apply to financial aid and then check with our office if an academic opportunity to deviate from these standards presents itself.