Aid in Future Years: Undergraduate Students
Renewal of Financial Aid Awards
To continue to receive financial aid, you must reapply for aid each year. For upperclass students, preference is given to current aid recipients whose applications are received on time. Aid will be based on your family's financial need each year. The amount of the award may increase or decrease depending on your family's financial circumstances, and the number of siblings enrolled in college. Students will be expected to borrow more and have higher work allotments in successive years.
With the exception of students admitted into the New England Conservatory or School of Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts five-year combined undergraduate degree program, it is expected that you will be offered Tufts aid for up to eight semesters or until your bachelor's degree is obtained, whichever comes first.
Transfer students, including those admitted as REAL students, will offered aid based on their entering grade level. For example, a student who enters as a sophomore can expect to be offered Tufts aid for up to six semesters, or until your bachelor's degree is obtained, whichever comes first.
Students accepted into a combined bachelor's/master's degree program will typically be charged graduate tuition during the 9th and 10th semester. Institutional grant/scholarship aid, if offered, will be awarded by the graduate program for the semesters the student is charged the graduate tuition rate.
Maintaining Federal Aid Eligibility
To maintain eligibility for federal aid, you cannot owe payments or be in default on a Federal Perkins Loan, a Federal Family Education Loan or a Direct Stafford Loan for attendance at Tufts or another institution; nor can you owe a repayment on a Federal Pell Grant or Federal SEOG Grant; nor can you have borrowed in excess of the loan limits, under Title IV Programs, at any institution.
Satisfactory Academic Progress for Federal Aid
According to federal regulations and Tufts policy, you must be making satisfactory academic progress toward your degree in order to be eligible for federal and state financial aid. You must have a cumulative GPA of 2.00 and accumulate at least the following number of semester hour units (SHUs) by the end of each semester. Please note: Grades of I, W, NG, or NR may not be used to satisfy these requirements. Transfer credits, summer credits and AP credits may be used to satisfy these requirements. Repeated courses can only be used to satisfy these requirements in cases where the student receives additional course credit for the repeated course. Your progress will be reviewed at the end of the fall and spring terms.
| SHUs Needed | SHUs Needed | |
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Spring | |
| First Year | 12 | 24 |
| Sophomore | 39 | 54 |
| Junior | 70 | 86 |
| Senior | 102 | 120 |
If you do not meet the satisfactory academic progress guidelines, you will be given one semester on Financial Aid Warning. If you do not meet the guidelines by the beginning of the following semester, you will be ineligible to receive any federal or state financial aid, including Federal Direct Loans, and your parents will not be able to borrow a Federal Parent PLUS loan. You may regain eligibility if you meet the guidelines in subsequent semesters.
If you return from a leave of absence after making unsatisfactory progress, you will be placed on Financial Aid Probation and must agree to an academic plan that requires completing at least 15 SHUs with a semester GPA of at least 2.00 in each subsequent semester so as to complete the degree requirements in no more than a total of nine semesters.
If you wish to appeal an unsatisfactory academic progress decision in the case of injury, illness, death of a relative, or other special circumstances, you may send your appeal in writing to the director of financial aid.
If you are denied federal and state financial aid because of unsatisfactory academic progress, you will still be eligible to receive Tufts financial aid.