How to Pay for Summer Classes: Your Questions Answered

Updated on March 13th, 2024

Most college students already understand how paying for college tuition during the fall and spring semesters work. However, when it comes to how to pay for summer classes, many students have questions.

Summer sessions are predominately optional, so they aren’t necessarily a part of a typical college experience. That means many students don’t have to factor summer classes into their financial plans.

Is your student trying to figure out how to pay for college without debt? If so, we can help! If you and your student want to find out more about scholarship opportunities that can pay for college – including summer classes – sign up for our free college scholarship webinar! Take a trip over to http://thescholarshipsystem.com/freewebinar to secure your spot today.

By attending summer classes, students have the ability to graduate sooner, allowing them to launch their career faster and, potentially, reduce their total cost of getting a degree. As a result, they choose to take on more courses during the summer months. When that happens, they have to find a way to handle the expense of adding on more classes.

Here’s a look at some common questions about how to pay for summer classes.

 

Can You Get Financial Aid for Summer Classes?

Yes, university students can potentially get financial aid for summer classes. However, it can be a little trickier than it is during the rest of the year.

When it comes to federal financial aid – including federal student loans – students are assigned a maximum financial aid limit each academic year. If a student has already reached that limit, they can’t use the federal financial aid package even for summer courses, as there isn’t any left available.

If a student has space left, they can potentially tap up to that limit for summer classes. They do have to meet other eligibility requirements. For example, students have to be attending at least a half-time to qualify.

For private student loans, there are fewer restrictions. As long as your student can qualify for a loan to cover the cost of summer classes, a private lender will move forward regardless of how much the student has already used in financial aid that year.

Related Video: Summer Classes Financial Aid: Is It Possible?

How Does Summer Financial Aid Work?

Generally, summer financial aid works just like financial aid during the rest of the school year. There aren’t separate programs for summer financial aid, so the core mechanisms remain the same.

If students have any specific questions about how their school handles financial aid distributions for summer classes, it’s best to contact the financial aid office directly. They can let the student know if there are any nuances they need to be aware of, as well as critical deadlines that may be relevant.

 

Do You Need to Fill Out the FAFSA for Summer Classes?

Yes, your student does need a completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for summer classes. All federal financial aid is based on a student’s FAFSA. Additionally, many schools rely on students’ FAFSA information to determine their eligibility for various programs, including certain need-based instructional grants and scholarships.

But that doesn’t mean your student needs a separate FAFSA for taking summer classes either. Each FAFSA is typically good for one academic year, covering a full 12-month period.

However, each college determines which FAFSA covers the summer session. If your student already has a FAFSA on file with that school for the prior fall/spring academic year, they may not need to submit anything else to cover summer classes. But that isn’t universally true.

Ultimately, students interested in financial aid for summer classes should contact their school’s financial aid office. They can let the student know if additional information is necessary.

Can You Get a Student Loan for Summer Classes?

Yes, it is possible to get federal student loans, as well as private student loans, for summer classes. Often, the process is incredibly straightforward with federal loans and private student loans, working just how it would at any other time of year.

For federal student loans, as mentioned above, there are some eligibility requirements to consider. Mainly, students can’t have reached their maximum limit during the academic year already. If that has happened, the student isn’t eligible for federal student loans until the next academic year. However, if there are funds available, for eligible students they may be able to secure a federal student loan for summer courses.

Are There Scholarships for Summer Classes? What About Grants?

Yes, there are scholarships for summer classes, as well as some grant programs. Some scholarships are fairly flexible, allowing students to use them during any part of an academic year. Others may be specifically geared toward summer sessions.

With grants, they may be offered by the college or another organization. For example, Pennsylvania’s Summer State Grant Program is specifically aimed at summer sessions.

If your student is curious about their options, conducting a grant and scholarship search is wise. Additionally, students may want to contact their college’s financial aid office to see if any institutional awards may be available to them.

Can You Use Summer Jobs or Internships to Pay for Summer Classes?

Even if your student usually relies on financial aid, that doesn’t mean they can’t use summer jobs or internships to cover the cost instead.

If your student’s college has payment plans for summer classes, using a job or internship to cover the expense is pretty simple. Your student would simply use their earnings to handle the bill. However, students have to pay for college classes upfront in many cases, which means using a summer job to pay for classes immediately isn’t always viable.

In some cases, students use private student loans to fund summer classes but pay them off quickly using the money from their summer job or internship. Ultimately, they only hold that debt for a few months that way. Others may tap savings to handle the cost of classes, then use the job or internship to replenish that stash of cash.

Otherwise, using a forward-thinking approach can work. For example, a student could work during the summer of 2023 to fund their 2024 summer classes. They could then hold a summer job or internship in 2024 to pay for 2025 summer classes, and so on. Essentially, they would save their earnings from one year to pay for the next.

Are There Important Deadlines for Financial Aid for Summer Classes?

Yes, summer financial aid may have a separate set of deadlines students need to meet. Each school has unique requirements for enrolling in summer sessions, including some that will impact financial aid awards and distributions.

Usually, registration for current students at a school will begin at some time in the spring, such as in late March or early April. Students who are beginning their college journey in the summer may have different deadlines to get signed up.

Summer session financial aid may also have its own processes. However, those deadlines will likely also be in the spring at most schools.

If your student is signing up for summer classes for the first time, they need to check with their school to determine any critical enrollment or financial aid deadlines. That way, they can make sure that they complete any necessary steps on time.

Is your student trying to figure out how to pay for college without debt? If so, we can help! If you and your student want to find out more about scholarship opportunities that can pay for college – including summer classes – sign up for our free college scholarship webinar! Take a trip over to http://thescholarshipsystem.com/freewebinar to secure your spot today.