Navigating Summer Financial Aid at UCF: Requirements and Opportunities

For students attending the University of Central Florida (UCF), understanding the requirements and opportunities for summer financial aid is crucial. Financial aid is available to eligible UCF students enrolled in summer sessions, including newly admitted students. The summer term is considered a trailer to the fall and spring aid year award cycle, and the awarding process differs. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the requirements, application process, and available aid options for UCF students seeking financial assistance during the summer term.

Key Requirements for Summer Financial Aid

To be considered for summer financial aid at UCF, students must meet several essential requirements:

FAFSA Completion: Students entering Summer 2026 who wish to apply to receive financial aid for the summer term must complete the 2025-2026 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The 2026-2027 FAFSA covers Fall 2026, Spring 2027, and Summer 2027. All students anticipating financial aid funding for the summer term are required to have a complete 2025-2026 FAFSA with a valid Student Aid Index (SAI), and the UCF Federal School Code (003954) listed.
Enrollment: Prior to being offered financial aid for the summer term, transfer students admitted for the summer term, and all continuing students, must first enroll in summer classes. Please remember, students must be enrolled at least half-time for eligibility. Students are required to be enrolled at least half-time in order to be eligible for most financial aid funding.
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP): Students must meet the Standards for Satisfactory Academic Progress. Students with a valid FAFSA with UCF and have a SAP Financial Aid Warning, Cancellation, or Probation status will have their financial aid eligibility reviewed at the end of Spring after their SAP status has been evaluated. It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of minimal hourly requirements for each program, which can be found on the Program Eligibility Charts. When requirements are no longer met, awards will be adjusted as necessary; updated awards will appear on myUCF.
Admission Status: Admission to UCF must be finalized with no contingencies. Students must be classified as degree-seeking.
Verification Completion: Verification must be completed.

Meeting these requirements ensures that students are eligible for consideration for various financial aid programs.

The Application Process

The awarding process for the summer term differs from the fall and spring awarding processes. It is important students understand the steps for applying and receiving financial aid for the summer term.

FAFSA Submission: You should start by submitting a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. The summer 2026 term is a part of the 2025-2026 aid year, and students applying for financial aid for the summer must complete the 2025-2026 FAFSA.
Enrollment in Summer Courses: Transfer students admitted for the summer term, and all continuing students, must first enroll in summer classes.
Review Financial Aid Summary: Office of Student Financial Assistance begins notifying incoming freshmen and transfer students of their estimated financial aid packages March. Students must actively log onto the myUCF portal and accept or decline the loan offers. The financial aid office cannot accept or decline an award on a student’s behalf.
Notification of Outside Awards: Students must notify our office of all outside awards received, including awards paid directly to you. You are required to inform financial aid of any additional aid you expect to receive not yet listed on the financial aid summary or found under View my Financial Aid on myUCF. Any subsequent awards may necessitate a revision of your financial aid award package.

Available Financial Aid Options

UCF offers various financial aid options to help students fund their summer studies:

Pell Grant: Eligible students may receive the Pell Grant during the summer term. The Pell Grant Program is the largest of the Federal Student Aid grant programs and provides a “foundation” of financial aid to which assistance from other federal and non-federal sources may be added. Determination of Pell Grant eligibility requires submission of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). In certain situations, an eligible student can receive up to 3 Full-Time Terms of Pell Grant within a given academic year or 150% of a student’s scheduled Pell Grant award for an award year. After a student has used 100% of their Pell Grant eligibility in a given award year or the equivalent of 2 Full-Time semesters of Pell Grant (Fall semester counting as 50% and Spring semester counting as 50%), in order to be eligible to receive an additional 50% of Pell Grant funding students must be registered for a minimum of 6 credits (half-time enrollment). Please be aware that the additional 50% of Pell Grant eligibility will be prorated based on enrollment and will count toward the students 600% Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU).
Bright Futures: Students who are eligible for Bright Futures may receive summer funding. The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship is a merit award based on high school academic achievement. NOTE: In order to receive the Bright Futures Scholarship award, your post-secondary institution selection on the Initial Student Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) must be stated as “University of Central Florida.” If you have selected another institution on the FFAA and you are planning to attend UCF, you must update your institution name selection to reflect “UCF”. Florida Bright Futures awards are not considered definite until the state has notified UCF of students’ official eligibility.
- Florida Academic Scholars (FAS): The Florida Academic Scholars will receive an award amount equal to 100% of tuition and applicable fees. This is the most competitive Bright Futures scholarship and the most generous one. Florida Academic Scholar (FAS) recipients may receive funding for up to five years from high school graduation for a maximum of 120 semester hours toward the completion of a first baccalaureate degree.
- Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS): Florida Medallion Scholars will receive an award amount equal to 75% of tuition and applicable fall, spring and summer fees. This scholarship is less competitive than the FAS, but it still has relatively high minimum test score and GPA requirements.
UCF Grant: Undergraduate students may be eligible for the UCF Grant. Your eligibility is based upon your financial need as determined by your Student Aid Index (SAI) from your 2025-2026 FAFSA, and the availability of funds at the time of awarding.
Federal Stafford Loans: Along with meeting all other financial aid eligibility requirements, students must be enrolled at least half-time in order to receive Federal Stafford loans.
Graduate PLUS Loans: Graduate students can borrow a Graduate PLUS Loan to assist with covering his/her educational expenses.
Federal Work-Study (FWS): Due to limited FWS funding, Summer FWS will be awarded to continuing students who 1) were actively employed Spring 2020 and were unable to continuing working after COVID-19, 2) enrolled for the Summer 2020 term and 3) will work via working remotely or physically on campus. Students not working either physically on campus or remotely will be ineligible for a Summer FWS award. Students earning FWS funds for Spring term without working ended with the last pay period of the term - 4/30/2020.

Important Considerations for Bright Futures Recipients

Several specific considerations apply to students receiving the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship:

Transient Enrollment: UCF will include approved transient enrollment hours in Bright Futures awards according to the per credit hour award amount for the type of institution attended.
FAFSA Not Required: Students are not required to submit a FAFSA in order to receive both initial and renewal Bright Futures eligibility.
Reporting Grades and Hours: Yes. Grade and hours information will be reported for all students funded during the summer. If a student took transient hours, the grades and hours earned at the other institution must be reported to UCF by August 12 in order to be reported systematically. If a student has an opportunity to restore the Bright Futures award, the grades from the summer term may be used to meet restoration requirements.
Renewal Eligibility: Renewal eligibility is an automatic process that occurs at the end of the spring term for those students who received funding during the previous year. Renewal students must earn the GPA and the required hours on all college coursework attempted, including transient enrollment hours.
Repayment Requirements:
- UCF Repayment Deadline: See Academic Calendar for the specific term.
- OSFA Repayment Deadline: Students must pay UCF before the end of the spring term to be reported automatically.
- A student with a verifiable illness or some other emergency beyond the student’s control may appeal the repayment requirement by completing the State Programs and Scholarships Appeal Form and submitting it with supporting documentation. Repayment for withdrawn courses appeals may be submitted after courses are withdrawn but must be submitted no later than April 30th.
- If you do not meet the renewal GPA and/or required hours due to a verifiable illness or other emergencies, you may file a State Programs and Scholarships Appeal Form with our office. The medical or emergency circumstances that affected the semester/s in question must be documented.
Exceptions:
- Eligible students who need less than 6 credit hours to graduate must submit a letter (on official letterhead) from their student success coach.
- Graduate level hours may be approved by the student’s student success coach if the graduate level hours will count toward the undergraduate degree completion requirements. These students must submit a letter (on official letterhead) from their student success coach.
- Students whose major requires 124 or more hours may receive a one-term extension (Double majors and minors are not considered).

Additional Scholarship Opportunities

Besides the primary financial aid options, UCF students can explore additional scholarship opportunities:

Pegasus Scholarship Program: The Pegasus Scholarship Program includes National Merit, National Achievement, National Recognition Program and the Pegasus Scholarships. These scholarships are awarded to entering high school graduates by Undergraduate Admissions to recognize outstanding academic performance. There is no separate application for this scholarship program.
Transfer Scholarships: There are several Transfer Scholarships that are awarded based on high academic achievement. They include the Ralph C. Transfer Scholarships are only available for students graduating with an AA degree from a Florida public state college who transfer directly to UCF for the fall semester. There is a separate application for this scholarship program. Students can obtain an application at any Florida public state college.
Out-of-State Scholarships: These scholarships are awarded to entering out of state high school graduates by Undergraduate Admissions to recognize outstanding academic performance. There is no separate application for this scholarship program. As an out of state student your scholarship is comprised of two portions, a scholarship portion and a waiver portion. The scholarship portion of your award will serve for deferment purposes, and your waiver will be applied directly towards your tuition, but will not serve as a deferment. Only students who are enrolled full-time will receive the waiver. The waiver will be applied the week after the add/drop period has ended. The only exception to the full-time enrollment requirement is granted to students during their graduating semester. If you are enrolled in less than six UCF hours during your graduating semester the exception must be approved by the Office of Student Financial Assistance Scholarship Committee. It is recommended that you submit your request at least two months prior to the beginning of your graduating semester to have a decision rendered before the beginning of the semester.
External Scholarships: There are many different ways to begin searching for scholarships such as online search engines like FastWeb.com.

Maintaining Scholarship Eligibility

Maintaining scholarship eligibility requires adherence to specific academic standards and enrollment requirements:

National Merit Scholarship: As a National Merit Scholarship recipient, you are required to complete at least 24 UCF credit hours and earn a UCF G.P.A. of at least a 3.2 at the end of the spring semester.
Taking Time Away from UCF: Possibly. You must submit a Scholarship Appeal and letter stating the reason(s) that you need the time away from UCF. The appeal must be submitted prior to the term(s) that you plan to be away from UCF. The UCF Scholarship Committee will review your request and render a decision. If you leave UCF without asking for the time off, you will not be reinstated to the scholarship program upon your return.

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- A maximum of 8 terms or until graduation, whichever is less.
- Students whose major requires 124 or more hours may receive a one-term extension (double majors and minors are not considered). A letter from the department verifying the number of hours required must be submitted to the Office of Student Financial Assistance prior to the 9th term.
Co-Ops and Internships: Yes. If you want to Co-Op or intern, you must let us know in writing which term you plan to Co-Op or intern prior to that term.

Scholarship Appeals and Extenuating Circumstances

Students facing extenuating circumstances that affect their scholarship eligibility have the option to submit an appeal:

Extenuating Circumstances: Extenuating circumstances are the exception. You must submit a letter describing in detail the circumstances supporting your appeal. Your written statement must include a description of the problem/incident indicating dates and time period involved, as well as the impact on your academic performance. The FAFSA for the academic year you are requesting reinstatement must be on file at the time your appeal is submitted.
Scholarship Committee: The Scholarship Committee is chaired by the Executive Director of the Office of Student Financial Assistance. You must submit your appeal, along with documentation, in sufficient time for the appeal to be reviewed before the next scheduled meeting. Incomplete applications and requests for additional documentation will cause delays. Please plan accordingly in case you experience a delay in your scholarship appeal. The scholarship committee is scheduled to meet the second week of each month. Meeting dates are subject to change as deemed necessary by the committee chair.
Supporting Documentation: Supporting Documentation includes, but is not limited to, divorce decrees, death certificates, and letters from doctors, counselors, advisors etc. Written statements from a professional should reference your name, diagnosis, dates of treatment and length of time for healing. Include any statements (on company letterhead) from third-party persons (e.g. clergy, employers, medical professionals, etc.) who can verify your extenuating circumstances. Report of incident/s, such as a police report, insurance damage report, and bill/s for services related to emergency, obituary, etc.

Florida Prepaid

Florida Prepaid is handled through the Student Accounts Office and is applied directly to the student’s account. When the Bright Futures is disbursed, it will be applied to any institutional charges on the student account, and any left-over credit will be refunded to the student.

Additional Information

Cost of Attendance (COA): The cost of attendance is determined each year by the Office of Student Financial Assistance. The cost of attendance (COA) includes expenses that a student can anticipate incurring as a student, such as tuition and fees, room and board, books, transportation, and miscellaneous/personal expenses. Because the summer term is a shorter semester, the costs reflected in the COA will be a prorated (i.e.
Financial Aid Disbursement: Financial aid disbursements will begin the week following Drop/Swap & Add and continue each week throughout the semester, as students complete and meet all eligibility requirements.
Changes in Funding: Financial aid is provided based on your eligibility and the availability of funding. In the event there are changes in funding levels, awards may be reduced or canceled.
Donor Requirements: If your donor requires financial need verification, please submit the documents to our department in order for your information to be verified and returned to the donor.

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