Maintaining Eligibility
To maintain your eligibility to receive financial aid, you must meet the following requirements:
- You must be a degree-seeking student.
- You must meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP).
- You must be enrolled at least half-time.
Scholarships & Financial Aid monitors your SAP at the end of every semester (professional law, medical, veterinary medicine, dental and pharmacy students are reviewed annually). If you do not meet the requirements for SAP, you have the right to appeal and provide information about extenuating circumstances that may have hindered your progress. Appeals are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Please note that SAP and minimum enrollment requirements for individual financial aid program eligibility may vary.
In addition to potentially affecting current semester financial aid, drops and withdrawals are considered unsuccessfully completed coursework when determining SAP and will impact completion rate. If you drop below the necessary completion rate you may lose eligibility for financial aid in future terms.
SAP Components
There are three components to SAP. If you do not comply with any component, you may lose aid eligibility. The three components are as follows:Minimum Grade Point Average - (Cumulative TAMU GPA)
- Undergraduate Students: 2.0
- (Includes Undergraduate students in the College of Nursing, College of Dentistry, and School of Public Health)
- Graduate Students: 3.0
- (Includes Graduate students in the College of Nursing, College of Dentistry, School of Law, College of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, and School of Public Health)
- Professional Programs:
- Veterinary Medicine Students: 2.0
- Law Students 2.33
- Medical Students: 2.0
- Dentistry Students: 2.0
- Pharmacy Students: 2.33
Completion Rate (Deficit Hours)
You must successfully complete a minimum percentage of all credit hours attempted. This percentage includes all institutional and transfer credit hours, regardless of whether you received financial aid. Grades of W, F, I, U, Q, X, NG, and grade exclusions are not considered to be adequate grades for completion.- Undergraduate Students: 75%
- (Includes Undergraduate students in the College of Nursing, College of Dentistry, and School of Public Health)
- Graduate Students: 67%
- (Includes Graduate students in the College of Nursing, College of Dentistry, School of Law, College of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, and School of Public Health)
- Professional Students:
- Veterinary Medicine Students: 67%
- Law Students: 67%
- Medical Students: 67%
- Dentistry Students: 67%
- Pharmacy Students: 67%
Maximum Hours (Excessive Hours)
You are expected to complete your degree within a maximum timeframe, including transfer hours earned as well as institutional attempted hours. You may not receive financial assistance beyond the following:- Undergraduate: 134% of degree requirements
- (Includes Undergraduate students in the College of Nursing, College of Dentistry, and School of Public Health)
- Graduate Students: 150% of degree program requirements
- (Includes Graduate students in the College of Nursing, College of Dentistry, School of Law, College of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, and School of Public Health)
- Professional Students:
- Veterinary Medicine Students: 200 hours
- Law Students 135 hours
- Medical Students: 285 hours
- Dentistry Students: 250 hours
- Pharmacy Students: 219 hours
SAP Warnings
If you do not meet SAP minimums for a semester, you will be given a warning at the end of the semester. You will be allowed to receive financial aid for the next semester of enrollment. If you fail to meet SAP components after your warning semester, you will be ineligible for financial aid. If you do not meet SAP minimums after your warning semester, you will be given the opportunity to appeal. This appeal process is outlined below.SAP Notifications
Students who fail to meet SAP minimums are not eligible to receive financial aid. Students will be notified of the reason(s) for the loss of eligibility through an email sent to their TAMU email address as well as via their Scholarships & Financial Aid Portal.Students may appeal their ineligibility by providing information on extenuating circumstances, indicating what has changed to allow successful academic progress. However, the submission of an appeal is only a request and does not guarantee that scholarship or financial aid eligibility will be reinstated. The appeal must be submitted online through the Howdy Portal. Click the My Finances tab and enter the Scholarships & Financial Aid Portal. Students should provide evidence of the extenuating circumstances that occurred. For more information, please review the "Appeals Process" section. Please note that the financial aid appeal process is different from college/department academic appeal processes. Scholarships may require a separate appeal process.
Students who graduate from Texas A&M University but do not meet Scholarships & Financial Aid SAP minimums will be denied aid eligibility for additional coursework taken at the same degree level (i.e. teacher certification or post-baccalaureate work), but may visit with a Scholarships & Financial Aid advisor to determine continuing eligibility. Academic progress for students beginning a new degree level (i.e. undergraduate to graduate or undergraduate to professional) will be evaluated based on coursework/performance at the new level.
Changes to recorded grades that take place after SAP evaluation has occurred will be included in the next official SAP evaluation at the end of the subsequent semester. If a grading error is corrected after the SAP evaluation was completed, students may contact our office by phone, email, or in person to request a recalculation of SAP status using the corrected grade. Recalculations will not be done when an Incomplete (I) grade is updated once missing work is completed.
If extenuating circumstances have prevented you from meeting the minimum Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements for financial aid eligibility, federal regulations provide you the opportunity to appeal the loss of your eligibility.
If an appeal is granted, you will be placed on financial aid probation and asked to follow an academic plan that will lead to meeting minimum SAP requirements in future semesters . If you do not meet the terms of probation, eligibility for financial aid will cease and all remaining aid will be cancelled. Subsequent appeals of the same nature are not permitted. Once you fail to meet the terms of your academic plan and lose eligibility, the only way to regain eligibility for financial aid is to meet the SAP minimum requirements.
Appeal Process
To request an appeal for not meeting SAP minimums, please follow the steps below:
- Visit howdy.tamu.edu and access the Scholarships & Financial Aid Portal channel on the My Finances tab.
- Complete and submit the online SAP Appeal Form(s)
- Print the Academic Advisor Appeal Questionnaire Form and meet with your Academic Advisor to have this completed. Once complete, upload this to your financial aid student portal.
- Once the above steps are complete, a link will be available in your financial aid student portal to schedule an appointment online with a financial aid advisor.
Scholarships & Financial Aid does not recognize the GPA that results from the submission of the Grade Exclusion Form. Grade excluded courses will be calculated in financial aid GPA based on the grading mark earned in each course (D, F, or U).
Students must also complete at least 75% of all coursework attempted. Because grade excluded courses cannot be used to satisfy degree requirements, they will be considered attempted but not passed. This will impact cumulative hours completed and possibly leave undergraduate students to fall below the minimum 75% completion rate that is required for Satisfactory Academic Progress.
Grade exclusions may also impact student loan eligibility. Annual loan limits are determined based upon classification. Grade exclusion may change a student’s grade level/classification.
*Grade exclusions are no longer an option available to students after August 2013.
All financial aid offers are based on full-time enrollment. However, most of the financial aid programs we offer require students to be registered at least half-time. The Award Proration page includes information regarding funds and proration rules. Please see the chart below for the definition of your enrollment status for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. Veterinary Medicine students enrolled in graduate coursework during the summer will follow the graduate enrollment requirements.
For Federal, State and Institutional Aid (including scholarships), the following will apply:
| Classification | Fall | Spring | Summer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate | Full-time: 12 Three-quarter: 9 Half-time: 6 | Full-time: 12 Three-quarter: 9 Half-time: 6 | Full-time: 12 Three-quarter: 9 Half-time: 6 |
| Graduate | Full-time: 9 Three-quarter: 7 Half-time: 5 | Full-time: 9 Three-quarter: 7 Half-time: 5 | Full-time: 6 Three-quarter: 5 Half-time: 3 |
For Federal, State and Institutional Aid (including scholarships), the following will apply to these Professional Programs: Veterinary Medicine (DVM), Law (JD), Medicine (MD), Dentistry (DDS), Pharmacy (Pharm D)
| Semester | Fall | Spring | Summer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional Students | Full-time: 12 Three-quarter: 9 Half-time: 6 | Full-time: 12 Three-quarter: 9 Half-time: 6 | Full-time: 8 Three-quarter: 6 Half-time: 4 |
Professional students enrolled in graduate coursework during the summer will follow the Graduate enrollment requirements.
Federal regulations require colleges to consider all educational financial assistance to be calculated in determining student eligibility. If it is determined an over award has occurred and needs to be resolved, it may result in funds being returned to an aid program and the student owing the University money.
Financial assistance includes:
- Grants
- Loans
- Scholarships
- Waivers, fellowships & assistantships
- Work Study
- Specific Veteran educational benefits
- Programs used to cover postsecondary educational expenses
An over award will be caused when a student receives more aid than their:
- Financial Need
- Enrollment eligibility
- Cost of attendance
Scholarships & Financial Aid is required to correct all over awards at the time they occur. If you receive additional resources after all aid has disbursed, then your aid will be adjusted as needed to keep eligibility for each aid program. If the adjustment results in the student owing a balance of $500 or more, Scholarships & Financial Aid (along with Student Business Services) will place a hold on your account. The hold will prevent course registration and transcript release. Once payment is made, the hold will automatically expire.
Scholarships & Financial Aid awards all students assuming full-time enrollment. Students’ records are then reviewed each semester to determine if they are enrolled less than full-time. If students are enrolled less than full time, adjustments are made to their financial aid. This review and adjustment occurs each semester, before the financial aid disbursement date and again at census date (12th class day for fall and spring, 4th class day for summer).
| Award/Program | Requires Full-Time Enrollment | Is Prorated if not Enrolled Full-Time | Requires at least 3/4 time Enrollment | Requires at least 1/2 time Enrollment | Is Prorated if not Enrolled 1/2 Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| College Access Loan | X | ||||
| Federal Direct Loan - Subsidized | X | ||||
| Federal Direct Loan - Unsubsidized | X | ||||
| Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan | X | ||||
| Federal Pell Grant | X | X | |||
| Federal SEOG | X | ||||
| Federal Work Study | X | ||||
| Private/Alternative Loan1 | Varies by lender | ||||
| Regents' Scholarship | X | ||||
| Scholarships2 | X | ||||
| Federal TEACH Grant | X | X | |||
| TEXAS Grant | X | X | |||
| Texas Aggie Grant | X | X | |||
| Texas Aggie Graduate Grant | X | X | |||
| Texas Aggie Scholarship | X | X | |||
| Texas College Work Study | X | ||||
| Texas Public Education Grant - Resident | X | X | |||
| Texas Public Education Grant - Nonresident | X | X | |||
| Texas Public Education Grant - International | X | ||||
(1) Refer to Alternative Loan Page for more information.
(2) Refer to your donor or the Scholarship Handbook.
*The above chart is based on policy for Fall and Spring semesters. Please note Summer award proration may differ.
Federal financial aid regulations require us to confirm whether you began attendance in at least one course to establish eligibility for federal student loans. Based on the information we receive, adjustments to financial aid awards may be necessary and will likely result in a balance due to the University.
Instructors will confirm if you began attendance or became academically engaged in your courses through the Howdy portal. Instructors may reference any of the following to confirm that you began academic engagement:
You attended a class (in-person or synchronous online) where there is an opportunity for direct interaction between the instructor and students
You submitted an academic assignment
You took an exam
You participated in an interactive tutorial, webinar, or other interactive computer-assisted instruction
You participated in a study group, online discussion, or group project that is assigned by the institution
You interacted with an instructor about academic matters
Please note that the following DO NOT constitute attendance for financial aid purposes:
Logging into an online class without active participation (including accessing prerecorded lectures that do not allow for direct interaction between the instructor and students)
Living in university housing
Utilizing university meal plans
Meeting with an academic advisor or participating in group advising
Attending a voluntary or informal study group not assigned by the university
If the instructor confirms you began attendance in the class, your financial aid will not be adjusted. If we do not receive confirmation that you began attendance in the course(s), we are required to adjust your financial aid based on your remaining hours enrolled. If we do not receive confirmation you began attendance for ANY enrolled course, we are required to cancel ALL of your federal financial aid.
In addition to potentially affecting your current semester financial aid, drops and withdrawals are considered unsuccessfully completed coursework when determining your Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) and will impact your completion rate. If you drop below the necessary completion rate you may lose eligibility for financial aid in future semesters. For more information on SAP, please review the SAP information above.
To determine the amount of aid the student has earned up to the time of withdrawal, Scholarships & Financial Aid will divide the number of calendar days the student attended classes by the total number of calendar days in the semester (minus any scheduled breaks of 5 days or more). The resulting percentage is then multiplied by the total federal funds that were disbursed (either to the student’s university account or to the student directly by check or direct deposit) for the semester. This calculation determines the amount of aid earned by the student which they may keep (e.g., if the student attended 25% of the term, the student will have earned 25% of the aid disbursed). The unearned amount – total aid disbursed minus the earned amount – must be returned to the federal government by the University or the student. Scholarships & Financial Aid will notify and provide instructions to students who are required to return funds to the government.
Allocating Returned Title IV (Federal) Aid
Funds that are returned to the federal government are used to reduce the outstanding balances in individual federal programs. Any state or institutional aid received may also be subject to reduction or cancellation, based on the same withdrawal date used to calculate the return of federal funds.Financial aid returned (by the University and/or you or your parents) must be allocated in the following order:
- Unsubsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loans
- Subsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loans
- Federal Direct Parent (PLUS) Loans
- Federal Pell Grant
- Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants
- Federal SEOG
- TEACH Grants
You should also be aware that as a recipient of financial assistance, you must comply with the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy, outlined above. By withdrawing, you may not be eligible for financial assistance from Texas A&M University in the future, because you did not complete a specified number of credit hours for which aid was disbursed.
Allowed: You received an unsatisfactory or failing grade in the course. You want to take the course again to receive a satisfactory or passing grade. You can take the course again. There is no limit to the number of times you can retake a course if you continue to receive a failing grade.
Allowed: You are enrolled in 15 or more credit hours, including a previously passed 3 credit hour course. Your financial aid will not be affected because you are in 12 credit hours (full-time) that are not repeated courses.
Not allowed: You received an A or a B in a course at Texas A&M, and you want to take it again. You will not get federal financial aid for this class because you already received a passing grade. However, your financial aid will not be affected if you are enrolled in 12 other credit hours in addition to the repeated class.
Not allowed: You received a D in a course, then retook it for a better grade and got a C. You want to take it a third time for a better grade. You will not get financial aid for this class because you already repeated the class once and received a passing grade each time. However, your financial aid will not be affected if you are enrolled in 12 other credit hours in addition to the repeated class.
Caution: You received a C or a D in a course and want to take it again for a better grade. You can only retake a course one time if you got a passing grade.
Allowed: You received an unsatisfactory or failing grade in the course. You want to take the course again to receive a satisfactory or passing grade. You can take the course again. There is no limit to the number of times you can retake a course if you continue to receive a failing grade.
Allowed: You are enrolled in 12 or more credit hours, including a previously passed 3 credit hour course. Your financial aid will not be affected because you are in 9 credit hours (full-time) that are not repeated courses.
Not allowed: You received an A or a B in a course at Texas A&M, and you want to take it again. You will not get federal financial aid for this class because you already received a passing grade. However, your financial aid will not be affected if you are enrolled in 9 other credit hours in addition to the repeated class.
Not allowed: You received a D in a course, then retook it for a better grade and got a C. You want to take it a third time for a better grade. You will not get financial aid for this class because you already repeated the class once and received a passing grade each time. However, your financial aid will not be affected if you are enrolled in 9 other credit hours in addition to the repeated class.
Caution: You received a C or a D in a course and want to take it again for a better grade. You can only retake a course one time if you got a passing grade.