Financial Aid is available for the summer semester of your Arch year. As long as you meet the typical eligibility requirements, including being enrolled full-time and in “good standing” based on Rensselaer's Satisfactory Academic Progress policies, financial aid will be awarded to you for the summer of your Arch year.
Unless your demonstrated financial need is reduced based on your FAFSA filing, you can expect to receive the same total Rensselaer funded gift aid for two semesters of full-time enrollment during your Arch year. The Summer term will be one of the terms, and the other will depend on your student-specific pattern. Your eligibility for Federal or State grant funding will depend on the results of your FAFSA and state grant renewal application. Revisions are only made for reasons described in the Revision of Awards section of the Student Guide to Financial Aid.
Note: Because the room and board portion of the financial aid Cost of Attendance will be less for summer, this may reduce some students' eligibility for need-based work or loans. Our priority is to renew after gift aid first.
We anticipate that Federal Work study will be offered as long as you meet eligibility requirements and there are positions available during the summer. The number of summer positions available may be fewer than during fall/spring, and positions held during the 2023-24 award year are not automatically renewed.
Using aid while away can decrease the amount available to you when you are on campus. If you have questions about using aid during your away term, please contact the Office of Financial Aid.
This applies regardless of your Away Semester living location.
Students participating in an approved Away Semester activity are considered to be enrolled on at least a half-time basis for Federal Direct Loan deferment purposes. However, as of May 2019 the activities do not result in academic credit hours that meet degree attainment requirements, which makes them ineligible to count toward new or increased financial aid eligibility.
How and When to Apply
This is required for renewal of your need-based awards. We plan to begin Arch awarding in April 2024 with students who filed their FAFSA prior to the March 15, 2024 renewal priority date. However, we are aware that delays have impacted many students' abilities to complete the FAFSA by this date. If you were not able to file the FAFSA prior to the March 15, 2024 priority date, do your best to complete it as soon as possible. The Office of Financial Aid will continue to review and determine awards regularly leading up to the beginning of the Summer 2024 semester.
New York State TAP Grant Recipients: You must request funding for the Summer term specifically when renewing your TAP application for your Arch year of enrollment. If your enrollment pattern changes, update your application.
Please note that if you only have Rensselaer merit awards, you do not need to file the FAFSA.
If additional documents are needed, it will be based on factors such as selection for Federal Income Verification.
Student Loan Deferment Eligibility
Note: If you choose not to participate in an approved Arch work or learning experience and are not enrolled on at least a half-time basis at any Federal Student Aid participating campus for over six consecutive months, you will increase your risk of entering the repayment on your Federal Student Loans.
Arch activity participation is considered equivalent to being enrolled on at least a half-time basis for Federal Direct Loan in-school deferment eligibility purposes.
