Summer 2026 Financial Aid FAQs

Publish Date

2026-03-27

Starting a new semester can be pretty overwhelming with all the things you need to juggle. Check out these FAQs to stay informed and manage your finances like a pro.

Aid offer notifications to eligible, registered students will begin in mid-April.

Q. Is financial aid available in the summer?

A. It depends. Aid options are very limited in the summer and are based on prior usage of annual aid limits for the 2025-26 year. Undergraduate students who are Pell-eligible may have remaining Pell grant eligibility for summer. Students may have loan eligibility remaining as well; however, students must be enrolled at least half-time to be eligible for federal student loans (6 credits for undergraduate students; 3 credits for graduate students).

Q. How do I check my financial aid status or disbursement?

A. To review your financial aid:

Log in to myUIconnect.
Choose "Financial Aid Notification" on the Financial Aid card to see your aid offer.
Choose the “Home” screen to view missing required documents or forms.

To check your disbursement status:

Log in to myUIconnect.
Choose "UI-Pay" on the University Bursar card to view and pay your bill.

Q. How can I make sure I’m eligible to receive my financial aid?

A. Several factors contribute to eligibility:

Ensure that you have a 2025-2026 FAFSA submitted to UIS.
Financial aid will notify students who have aid eligibility for the summer after summer registration begins. Not all students will have student aid available for use in the summer.
To be eligible for financial aid, you must meet all eligibility and disbursement requirements. See Terms & Conditions for further details.
You must establish the minimum enrollment requirement for each type of aid.

Minimum Enrollment Requirement for Summer Loan Eligibility	Undergraduate Student	Graduate Student
Half-Time	6-11 credit hours	3-5 credit hours

Q. Why hasn't my financial aid been offered for summer 2026?

A. If you have not received an aid offer, it could be because:

You do not have any remaining Direct Loan or Federal Pell grant eligibility.
You may not have a FAFSA on file. The 2025-26 FAFSA must be submitted to UIS and is located at StudentAid.gov. The FAFSA must be submitted prior to start of the course, and no later than June 30, 2026.

Q. Why hasn't my financial aid been disbursed?

A. The first financial aid disbursement is on or after May 23, 2026. There could be several reasons why you haven’t seen a disbursement:

Missing financial aid "Student Requirements" items.
Offered loans have not been accepted by the student.
Failure to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). View the SAP Policy on our Policies page.
Enrollment conflicts: enrollment does not meet minimum requirements.

Q. Why hasn't my student loan disbursed?

A. Check the following:

Have you completed Direct Loan Entrance Counseling (first time borrower)?
Is a valid Master Promissory Note (MPN) on file?
Do you meet the minimum enrollment requirement (half-time)?
Parent PLUS loan: Did your parent complete the Parent PLUS Application for Parents and Master Promissory Note (MPN)?
Graduate PLUS loan: Did the graduate student complete the PLUS Application for Graduate Students, entrance counseling, and Master Promissory Note (MPN)?
Loan applications, MPNs and counseling may be completed at StudentAid.gov.

Q. What is the financial aid recalculation date? How does it impact me?

A. The financial aid recalculation date is on or after June 8. Aid is adjusted based on students' enrollment status at this time.

The financial recalculation date is after the last day you may submit a partial withdrawal of a course and receive a 100% refund. Complete withdrawals with no financial obligation must be completed by May 31, 2026, for a full refund for First-Half and Full-Term classes, and June 28 for Last-Half classes.

At recalculation, your cost of attendance and Federal Pell Grant will be adjusted based on your actual enrollment.
Loans will be canceled if your enrollment falls below half-time.
Financial Aid may be adjusted to keep your total financial aid offered within the cost of attendance and demonstrated financial need.
Financial Aid adjustments may result in students owing money back to the university based on the early disbursement and refund schedule.

Q. What happens if my account is overpaid?

A. If your financial aid overpays the student account balance, the overpayment will be refunded beginning on or after May 28. Student account refunds are processed via direct deposit (ACH) or paper check. Direct deposit is recommended and provides a secure, efficient method to receive your refund.

Q. What about my UIS scholarships?

A. Generally speaking, most UIS scholarships are not available in the summer term.