Start your Financial Aid process by completing your FAFSA!

Half-time Enrollment

Students must be enrolled at least in a half-time load of financial aid-eligible classes to receive a Federal Direct Loan in any given semester. The minimum number of credits per semester to be considered half-time is:

• Undergraduates: 6 credit hours

Loan Amount

• A student can receive the full annual Federal Direct Loan amount as long as their financial aid eligibility allows them to do so.

Award Calculation

• Cost of Attendance (COA)−Gift Aid(grants/scholarships)−Federal Work Study=Remaining eligibility for loans

Full-Time Academic Year Definition  To be considered full-time for the academic year

• Undergraduate students: Must take 24 credit hours over the course of the fall, spring and summer terms.

Half-time Enrollment (No change from the current rules):  Students must be enrolled for at least a half-time load of financial aid-eligible classes to receive a Federal Direct Loan in any given semester. The minimum number of credits per semester to be considered half-time is:

• Undergraduates:  6 credit hours

Less than Full-Time Enrollment: Starting with the 2026–27 award year, which begins with the Fall 2026 term at TSTC, Direct Loan amounts for students who are not full-time for the full academic year or term will need to be adjusted. This is called a Schedule of Reduction, or SOR change. Full-time enrollment is determined by term and by the academic year, whereas, prior to this, the rules were limited to enrollment in a single term. The examples below outline how this works.

Award Calculation:

• Cost of Attendance (COA)−Gift Aid(grants/scholarships)−Federal Work Study=Remaining eligibility for loans
• From here, multiply the less-than-full-time percentage by the full-time annual loan eligibility to determine the less-than-full-time loan amount.

• Less than full-time formula for loan eligibility:
   (Number of credit hours enrolled for academic year ÷ Number of credit hours considered full time for that academic year for the program of study)×100=Reduced Annual Loan Limit Percentage

This adjustment rule applies to all undergraduate student Direct Loan borrowers, utilizing Direct Subsidized Loans, Direct Unsubsidized Loans. Even those considered legacy borrowers who have borrowed from any of these loan programs prior to July 1, 2026 are subject to this rule. 

Since this rule only impacts student borrowing, the Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan is not subject to these adjustments for less-than-full-time study.

Some students who currently receive Pell Grants may no longer qualify.

• Students with a Student Aid Index (SAI) of 14,790 or higher will not be eligible for a Pell Grant.
• Students whose full cost of attendance is covered by non-federal aid (such as institutional, state, or private scholarships) will not be eligible for a Pell Grant.

This change may affect:

• Students whose scholarships cover all educational costs
• Other students whose aid covers all educational costs

Pell Grants will become available for certain short-term career training programs.

Eligible programs must:

• Be 150–600 clock hours
• Last 8–15 weeks
• Meet state and employer workforce needs
• Have strong completion and job placement outcomes

Not all short-term programs will qualify. TSTC has submitted three programs for approval: Industrial Maintenance, Airframe & Powerplant, and Maritime Welding. We are currently waiting for approval decisions.

Parent PLUS Loan Limits

New Parent PLUS borrowers will be limited to:

• $20,000 per year per dependent student
• $65,000 total per dependent student

Previously, parents could borrow up to the student’s full cost of attendance, including tuition, fees, and living expenses.

New Federal Loan Lifetime Cap

• Total federal student borrowing will be capped at $257,500 across all federal student loans (excluding Parent PLUS Loans).

Reduced Loan Eligibility for Part-Time Students

Federal Direct Loans are reduced for students enrolled less than full-time. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OB3), loan amounts are prorated based on enrollment level, but students must still be enrolled at least half-time to qualify for a loan. 

Key Details & Rules

• Eligibility Minimum: You must be enrolled at least half-time (typically 6 credits) to qualify for any Direct Loan funds. 
• Full-Time Threshold: Full-time status is generally 12 credits per semester (or 36 credits across an academic year) 
• Proportional Calculation: If you enroll in fewer than full-time credits, your maximum annual loan limit is reduced by that same fraction.

Student Loan Repayment Changes

Repayment options will be simplified to:

• A standard repayment plan
• A new income-based plan called the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP)

Current income-driven repayment plans will be phased out by 2028.

• Some current Pell Grant recipients may lose eligibility beginning in 2026–27.
• Federal loans may no longer cover the full cost of attendance.
• Students and families may need to explore additional funding options.
• Financial planning and borrowing decisions will become increasingly important.

Example Student Award Offer:

Let’s say you’re a Dependent student (use parent information on FAFSA) who can borrow up to $5,500 (typically $3,500 in subsidized and $2,000 unsubsidized) in student loans for the school year. You plan to take 12 credit hours in the fall and 12 credit hours in the spring and 12 credit hours in the summer, which makes you a full-time student (full-time = at least 12 credits each term).

That means:

• Your loan normally comes in three equal payments:
  • Fall: $1,833 ($1,166 subsidized + $666 unsubsidized)
  • Spring: $1,833 ($1,166 subsidized + $666 unsubsidized)
  • Summer: $1,834 ($1,168 subsidized + $668 unsubsidized)

This means a student in this category cannot receive more than these loan amounts for the entire academic year, including fall, spring and summer (in that order). In the past, students could take as few as six credits per term and still receive the full loan amount in the summer. Now, loan eligibility is adjusted based on a student’s scheduled enrollment (SOR).

What Happens When You Drop a Class

If you drop from 12 credits to 8 credits in the fall before your loan is disbursed, your loans must be reduced.  The fall loan must be reduced because there are actually two calculations – one for the year and one for the term.

Your New Plan for the Year

• Fall:8 credits
• Spring (expected):12 credits
• Summer (expected): 12 credits

Originally, full-time for the term was 12 credits, but now you’ll only have 8 credits.

Percent of Full-Time You’re Completing

(8 ÷ 12) x 100 = 67% (rounded to the nearest whole percent, if needed)

This means you are scheduled to complete 67% of the credits needed to be considered full-time for fall. 

How This Affects Your Loan

Since you’re only completing 67% of the needed credits, you can only receive 67% of your Fall loans:

• $1,167 x 67% = $782 subsidized
• $667 x 67% = $447 unsubsidized

Student received full loan disbursement for fall then student dropped to 8 credit hours:

(8 ÷ 12)x100 =67%

If $1167 subsidized and $667 unsubsidized have been disbursed, the student drops to 8 credit hours leaving the student eligible for $782 and $447, respectively.  Financial aid will have to adjust the spring loan amount.