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Summer 2013 Financial Aid

Students who enroll at least half time (i.e., six credit hours for undergraduates and five credit hours for graduates) for summer 2013 in an approved program of study at James Madison University may qualify for summer financial aid. You must complete two applications to receive consideration. First, you must file a 2013-2014 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is available online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/. Next, you will need to complete JMU's 2013 summer financial aid application, which you can access on our website beginning March 18, 2013. The Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships will use the information from these two forms to determine your eligibility for Federal Pell Grant, Federal Direct Loan, Federal Grad PLUS Direct Loan, and Federal Parent PLUS Direct Loan funding during the summer. If you anticipate receiving the Federal Pell Grant, you should complete the summer aid application regardless of enrollment level. In some cases a Pell Grant eligible student enrolled less than half-time time can receive a grant.

Fiscal Year Shutdown

JMU’s fiscal year runs from July 1st—June 30th. Every summer JMU implements a “disbursement freeze” around the middle of June until shortly after July 1st to reconcile the current business year and open processing for the next. We are unable to disburse any financial aid funds during the reconciliation period. Additionally, the University Business Office is unable to generate any refunds during this period.

As a result of this, it is possible for some summer school students not to receive their financial aid disbursements or refunds until sometime in July or August. This is not a new process, but something JMU experiences every summer. As in prior summers, we will process your financial aid as quickly as possible, but please be aware there may be some unavoidable delays due to the fiscal year reconciliation process.

Summer Hold

As a result of federal regulations governing aid eligibility in modular terms (i.e., summer mini-sessions), it is possible to receive a passing grade in one summer course, withdraw from another, and have part of your financial aid immediately retracted. This is just one of many scenarios.

After you have been awarded aid for the summer term, any adjustment to your summer schedule, which includes reducing the number of hours you are taking, reducing the number of weeks you are enrolled, and/or withdrawing or dropping from classes, could lead to a reduction or cancellation of your aid for the entire summer term.

As a result of these regulations, ALL students who apply for summer aid will have a REGISTRATION HOLD placed on their account. You will NOT be able to adjust your summer school registration without first consulting the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships. This hold will NOT impact your ability to register for the fall term. It ONLY affects your ability to make changes to your summer registration.

This hold is being placed in order to protect you, as it necessitates a discussion with the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships prior to changing your registration. This provides our office the opportunity to advise you of how the potential changes can impact your aid so you are not surprised with a bill later in the summer if/when aid is reduced.

For these reasons, please make sure your registration is FINAL prior to submitting your JMU 2013 Summer School Financial Aid Application and before the first day of the summer term (May 13, 2013). Otherwise, you WILL experience delays in being able to adjust your schedule.

Summer Instructions

This link becomes active in mid-March.

Summer FAQ