Student Financial Aid Requirements:

To receive federal student financial aid from the U.S. government, you must be one of the following:

• U.S. citizen
• U.S. national (includes natives of American Samoa or Swain’s Island)
• U.S. permanent resident who has an I-151, I-551, or I-551C (Permanent Resident Card)

If you’re not in one of these categories, you must have an Arrival-Departure Record (I-94) from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to receive student financial aid.

Does student financial aid apply to online schools?

Yes! The definition of what falls into the category of eligibility for student financial aid covers everything from programs of organized instruction that lead to academic or professional degrees and certificates to other recognized educational credentials.

To receive federal student financial aid for online learning, you must be enrolled in an eligible program, with two exceptions:

If a school has told you that you must take certain course work to qualify for admission into one of its eligible programs, you can get a Stafford Loan for up to 12 consecutive months while you’re completing that preparatory course work. You must be enrolled at least half-time,* and you must meet the usual federal student financial aid eligibility requirements.

To receive student financial aid, you must be enrolled at least half time,* and you must meet the usual federal student financial aid eligibility requirements.

If you’re enrolled at least half-time* in a program to obtain a professional credential or certification required by a state for employment as an elementary or secondary school teacher, you can get a Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Work-Study, a Stafford Loan, or your parents can get a PLUS Loan, while you’re enrolled in that program.

*Half-time
Schools measuring progress in credit hours and semesters, trimesters, or quarters, “half-time” is at least six semester hours or quarter hours per term for an undergraduate program. Schools measuring progress by credit hours but not using semesters, trimesters or quarters, “half-time” is at least 12 semester hours or 18 quarter hours per year.

Schools measuring progress by clock hours, “half-time” is at least 12 hours per week. Note that schools may choose to set higher minimums than these.
Half-time enrollment is not a requirement to receive student financial aid from a:

• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
• Federal Work-Study
• Federal Perkins Loan programs