Enrollment Status & Enrollment Intensity Definitions for FSA

If you plan to use Federal Student Aid (FSA) to pay for your education, then you will need to understand and follow these definitions for student enrollment status and enrollment intensity.

Enrollment Status Definition for FSA

Enrollment status is defined by how many credit hours for which a student is enrolled in a semester.

Federal student loan borrowers must be attending at least half-time to receive loan disbursements.

Undergraduate Students (Enrollment Status per 16-week semester)

Semester Course Load	Student Status
12+ semester Hours	Full Time
9 semester hours	Three-Quarter Time
6 Semester Hours	Half Time
3 semester hours	Less than Half Time

Graduate Students (Enrollment Status per 16-week semester)*

Graduate students need at least 3 credits per semester for loans.

Semester Course Load	Student Status
6+ semester Hours	Full Time
4.3 semester Hours	Three-Quarter Time
3 semester Hours	Half Time

To be eligible for FSA, you must have an enrollment status of:

Undergraduate students need a minimum of 3 credit hours per semester for the Pell Grant; 6 credit hours per semester for student loans.
Master's level students need at least 3 credits per semester for loans.

*Doctoral students may review the definition of their full time status.

Enrollment Intensity Definition for FSA

Beginning with the 2024-2025 Award Year, Pell Grant awards and disbursements will be prorated for enrollment intensity.

Enrollment intensity is the percentage of full-time enrollment at which an undergraduate student is enrolled, rounded to the nearest whole percent.

For example, if full-time enrollment is 12 credit hours and a student is enrolled in 7 credit hours, the enrollment intensity would be 7 ÷ 12 × 100% = 58.3% (round to 58%). Refer to the chart below for determining enrollment intensity, per semester.

Enrolled Credit Hours	Enrollment Status	Enrollment Intensity
12 (or more)	Full-Time	100%
11	Three-Quarter Time	92%
10	Three-Quarter Time	83%
9	Three-Quarter Time	75%
8	Half-Time	67%
7	Half-Time	58%
6	Half-Time	50%
5	Less than Half-Time	42%
4	Less than Half-Time	33%
3	Less than Half-Time	25%
2	Less than Half-Time	17%
1	Less than Half-Time	8%

If you have questions about your enrollment for FSA, you may contact a financial aid advisor by emailing [email protected] or calling 855-731-9218 (Mon – Thurs 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET; Fri 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET).