1. Have filled out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You can fill out the FAFSA for free at www.fafsa.ed.gov. If you file the FAFSA online, you will need to register for a PIN number. For more information, read Tips on Filling Out the FAFSA.  Complete the FAFSA for the prior year in order to obtain financial aid for the summer.  If you have received financial aid for the Fall/Spring semesters before summer, you will not need to complete a new FAFSA to receive summer financial aid. 
2. Register for at least 6 hours of courswork for one session or 6 hours of courswork over the period of both sessions.
3. The Office of Financial Aid will begin to award students in April.  Students will be emailed to their stthom email address after they have been awarded.  Students should check their mystthom periodically to see when they are awarded.

Summer financial aid is extremely limited. As a rule, a student's eligibility for summer financial aid is limited to remaining Direct Stafford Loan eligibility from the prior academic year.  Campus based federal aid (SEOG,  TEG, Work-Study) is not available. 

Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans may be available to students who have not already borrowed their annual maximums for the year (see below for annual Stafford loan limits).  If a dependent student has met the maximum amount they may borrow for the year, their parents may borrow out of the PLUS Loan program for summer school.

Graduate students can ask to be considered for the Graduate PLUS Loan, which does not have an annual loan limit.  Federal Direct Graduate Plus Loans help graduate students pay for educational expenses.  There is no annual limit for Graduate PLUS loans but students cannot borrow in excess of your cost of attendance minus any other financial aid that they receive. Graduate PLUS loans require that the borrower not have an adverse credit history (a credit check will be done). If creditworthiness is a problem then the student may obtain a creditworthy endorser. The federal government charges interest from the date the first disbursement is made although monthly payments are not required as long as the borrower is enrolled at least half-time.

The Office of Financial Assistance will determine your loan eligibility based on your FAFSA results and your Grade levels are defined by the number of credits successfully completed, not by the number of years in school. Freshmen and sophomores who advance a grade level at the end of the spring semester may be eligible for a loan increase for summer semester.

Federal Direct Student Loans
Loan Limits and Terms-the max you may borrow per year (Fall, Spring & Summer) 

* These limits are lower because parents of dependent students may borrow additionally from the PLUS Loan Program for their students.