Continuing Students
Summer Financial Aid
A limited amount of financial aid is available through the Financial Aid Office and through some academic departments for the summer session. Contact your department directly for more information about any financing they may offer for summer enrollment.
Requirements
To qualify, you must:
Meet all general financial aid eligibility requirements.
Be enrolled in classes at least half-time (6 units) to receive most loans and/or grants. (Federal Work-Study, however, does not require enrollment in classes.)
Adhere to the following deadlines:
Apply at least four (4) weeks before the start of your first summer class.
Allow up to three (3) weeks to process a Summer Loan Request Form or Summer Pell Grant Application.
To apply for summer Work-Study, you must submit the Summer Work-Study application by March 31.
The sooner you apply, the better we are able to determine your eligibility for loans before the end of the summer session Drop/Add period.
Summer Loans
The following loan programs may be available to eligible students who enroll in the USC summer session at least half-time (6 units) and follow the application instructions below.
Please be aware that your loan could be canceled if it is based on plans to enroll in two (2) summer sessions and you do not complete both sessions, or if your total enrollment drops to less than half-time for the entire summer.
For document submission instructions, please visit financialaid.usc.edu/contactfao. Your summer loan application will be reflected online in your Required Info and Forms page in FAST.
Federal Direct Subsidized and/or Unsubsidized Loans
Submit a completed online to the Financial Aid Office.
Please Note: Direct Loans are available on a limited basis for summer study. The following students may have some limited eligibility:
Students who have not already borrowed their full 2021-22 academic year loan eligibility.
Students who will graduate at the end of either summer 2022 or fall 2022 semesters.
Students who will advance from freshman to sophomore status at the end of the spring 2022 semester.
Students who will advance from sophomore to junior status at the end of the spring 2022 semester.
Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan
This loan is for parents of undergraduate students.
Submit a completed online Summer Loan Request Form to the Financial Aid Office and apply for a Parent PLUS loan at studentaid.gov.
Private Financing
Available for all students.
Complete the online .
Contact your lender directly to apply for the loan.
Loan Advisory
Prior to applying for private loans, students should exhaust all Federal Title IV assistance available, including Federal Pell Grants, the Direct Loan and the Direct Parent PLUS Loan. The repayment terms of federal loan programs may be more favorable than those for private loans.
Private student loans cannot be included in Federal Direct Consolidation Loans, are not eligible for federal Income-Based Repayment plans, and are not eligible for Federal Economic Hardship Deferments.
Visit Private Financing for more information.
Summer Federal Work-Study
Continuing students can earn up to $3,500 through summer Federal Work-Study. You are not required to be enrolled in summer classes to qualify. Funds are awarded to students with the greatest financial need who:
Intend to enroll at least half-time at USC for the fall 2022 semester;
Meet all general eligibility requirements for financial aid, including Satisfactory Academic Progress;
Demonstrate financial need for both the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 academic years;
Are on-time applicants for 2022-2023 financial aid; and
Submit a Summer Federal Work-Study Application by March 31. You will be required to log in with your USC NetID.
Potential Effect on Your Future Financial Aid Eligibility
The federal government requires that summer Federal Work-Study earnings—minus any employment-related expenses—be considered when determining your financial aid eligibility for the following academic year. As a result, your eligibility for other financial aid programs may be reduced.
Summer Cal Grant
Continuing undergraduate students who receive Cal Grant funds may request that a portion of their funds be used for the summer session. To be considered for a summer Cal Grant payment, you must enroll at least half-time in the summer term at USC.
To be eligible for a summer session Cal Grant, you must:
Be an undergraduate student who has not yet completed a first bachelor’s degree.
Be enrolled at USC at least half-time for the summer term and be considered eligible for the Cal Grant by USC.
File a 2021-2022 FAFSA before June 30, 2021, with USC’s Federal School Code (001328) indicated, if you have not already done so.
File a 2022–2023 FAFSA before June 30, 2022, with USC’s Federal School Code (001328) indicated, if you have not already done so.
Complete a Summer Cal Grant Application and submit it to the Financial Aid Office.
Please visit financialaid.usc.edu/contactfao for document submission instructions.
Please note: When calculating your overall Cal Grant eligibility, the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) considers the summer session a full semester of eligibility. This means your eligibility for the regular academic year will be reduced by an equivalent amount, so it is in your best interest to maximize your summer session unit count. Twelve (12) units are required for the full-time grant, and six (6) are required for the half-time grant.
Summer Pell Grant
Applicants for a summer session Federal Pell Grant must:
Be undergraduate students who have not earned a first bachelor's degree prior to the start of the summer session.
Have used their full-time annual award amount for the fall 2021 and spring 2022 semesters. Students who did not use their full-time annual award amount must exhaust their remaining annual limit before being eligible for the additional Summer Pell Grant.
Have remaining Pell Grant Lifetime Eligibility (details below).
Meet satisfactory academic progress (SAP) requirements.
If you are eligible for Summer Pell Grant funding, your eligibility will be automatically included on your financial aid summary when you enroll in summer courses.
If you wish to have your Summer Pell Grant added to your financial aid summary before you enroll in classes, please complete a Summer Pell Grant Form and list the courses that you are planning to take. Please upload your application form through the Document Library section of FAST as an Unknown or Unlisted type of Financial Aid Document.Students who do not enroll in summer courses will not use their summer Pell Grant eligibility.
Pell Grant Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU): Federal regulations allow students to receive a maximum of 12 full-time equivalent semesters of Pell Grant funding while they are completing their first undergraduate baccalaureate degree. Using a Pell Grant during summer counts against your lifetime eligibility. To find out how much Pell Grant funding you have already received, and how much of your lifetime eligibility remains, please visit studentaid.gov and log in with your FSA ID.
For more information about how the lifetime eligibility limit is calculated, please visit the Department of Education’s website.
We are required to award you a Pell Grant if you enroll in the summer. You have the right to decline your summer Pell Grant in order to preserve your Lifetime Pell Grant Eligibility for a future semester. To decline Pell Grant funds, please submit a Summer Pell Grant Form and check the box indicating that you do not wish to use your Summer Pell Grant. Please upload your application form through the Document Library section of FAST as an Unknown or Unlisted type of Financial Aid Document.
Receiving Your Funds
Be sure to follow all instructions provided with your financial aid summary.
Summer financial aid will be posted to your student account no sooner than one week before your earliest summer class. Loans will be disbursed after you start classes.
Potential Delay of Disbursements Due to Monitoring of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP):
Financial aid may not be disbursed to a student's account until SAP has been evaluated. The Financial Aid Office cannot complete the SAP evaluation until prior semester grades have been officially posted by the Office of Academic Records and Registrar. Therefore, an otherwise eligible student may experience a delayed financial aid disbursement if grades are not made official before the beginning of the subsequent semester. No exceptions can be made to this process.
IMPORTANT: Tuition and fees for summer classes are assessed at the time of registration and due when billed, regardless of class start dates. To avoid late fees, you may be required to pay any outstanding balance on your student account before your financial aid funds can be posted. Please visit the Student Financial Services website for more information about settlement of your student account.
