Undergraduate Financial Aid

Outside scholarships are also used to meet unmet need or to replace self-help. If your outside scholarship is greater than your unmet need and/or the amount of awarded self-help, the gift aid must be reduced in order to comply with federal and state regulations. If you receive notification of an outside scholarship, please let us know as soon as possible. This will allow us to make adjustments and notify you of those changes.

The Federal Pell Grant is available to undergraduate students with the highest level of need (based on FAFSA data). The amount a student receives is also determined by the expected family contribution and the student’s enrollment status. Effective July 1, 2012, the maximum number of equivalent full-time semesters a student is eligible to receive a Pell Grant will drop from 18 to 12 semesters for all students, including those close to completion.

The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant is available to students who qualify for the maximum Pell Grant. Funds are limited and are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

To be considered for the Tuition Equalization Grant, students must be Texas residents, demonstrate financial need and be enrolled full time. These funds are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

Sponsored by St. Mary’s University, the Financial Aid Grant is available to undergraduate students. These limited funds are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

The U.S. Department of Education offers low-interest loans to eligible students to help cover the cost of college. You may be eligible to receive subsidized and unsubsidized loans based on your financial need.

Federal Direct Loans may be subsidized, which means the government pays the interest while you are in school, or unsubsidized, which means the interest accrues while you are in school. The eligibility for the Federal Direct Loan is determined by the completion of the Free Application of Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Students must submit a FAFSA, meet federal eligibility requirements and enroll at least half-time in a degree-seeking program. For more information, including repayment options and interest rates on Federal Direct loans, go to www.StudentAid.gov.

Students who demonstrate financial need are awarded the Direct Subsidized Stafford Loan, while those with less financial need may be eligible for only part of the Subsidized Stafford Loan and may borrow Unsubsidized Stafford Loans up to the academic year limit.

The following charts show the annual and aggregate limits for subsidized and unsubsidized loans.

Annual Loan Limits

*Dependent students whose parents are unable to obtain a PLUS loan fall into the independent loan limits.

Aggregate loan limits

The graduate aggregate limit includes all federal loans received for undergraduate study.

If you are a first-time borrower on or after July 1, 2013, there is a limit on the maximum period of time (measured in academic years) that you can receive Direct Subsidized Loans. This time limit does not apply to Direct Unsubsidized Loans or Direct PLUS Loans. If this limit applies to you, you may not receive Direct Subsidized Loans for more than 150 percent of the published length of your program. This is called your “maximum eligibility period.” Your maximum eligibility period is based on the published length of your current program. You can usually find the published length of any program of study in the school’s catalog.

For example, if you are enrolled in a four-year bachelor’s degree program, the maximum period for which you can receive Direct Subsidized Loans is six years (150 percent of 4 years = 6 years). If you are enrolled in a two-year associate degree program, the maximum period for which you can receive Direct Subsidized Loans is three years (150 percent of 2 years = 3 years).

Because your maximum eligibility period is based on the length of your current program of study, your maximum eligibility period can change if you change to a program that has a different length. Also, if you receive Direct Subsidized Loans for one program and then change to another program, the Direct Subsidized Loans you received for the earlier program will generally count toward your new maximum eligibility period.

Certain types of enrollment may cause you to become responsible for the interest that accrues on your Direct Subsidized Loans when the U.S. Department of Education usually would have paid it. These enrollment patterns are described below.

If entering the Armed Forces, Peace Corps, VISTA or other volunteer public service work, your loan servicer may grant you a forbearance. With forbearance, you may be able to stop making payments or reduce your monthly payment for up to 12 months. Interest will continue to accrue on your subsidized and unsubsidized loans (including all PLUS loans).

The Federal Direct Loan for Parents is available to creditworthy parents who want to borrow a portion or all of the annual cost of education minus other financial assistance offered. Repayment is generally set at small payments on a 10-year plan and begins 60 days after the loan has been fully disbursed to the institution.

The maximum loan amount you can borrow is the cost of attendance (determined by the school) minus any other financial assistance received. For more information, including repayment options and interest rates on Federal Direct loans, go to www.StudentAid.gov.

College Access Loan (CAL) is available to Texas resident students who are credit-worthy or who have credit-worthy cosigners. The loan cannot be greater than the Cost of Attendance (COA) less all other aid.

Effective September 1, 2023, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is required to calculate the final loan amount based on a student’s “manageable debt” for the borrower’s program of study (see amounts) on College Access Loan (CAL) applications (see TAC, Section 22.49(c)).

For more information on the CAL including interest rates, terms of repayment and the application process, visit www.HHLoans.com. You can also find information and apply for the loan at www.ElmSelect.com.  

The FORWARD Loan is available to Texas resident students who are creditworthy or who have a creditworthy cosigner. The loan cannot be greater than the Cost of Attendance (COA) less all other aid.

The FORWARD Loan Program is a low-interest loan designed for students enrolled in programs aligned with high value credentials and high demand occupations. This program is limited to students enrolled in specific programs within the fields of Nursing/Patient Care, Teaching, Technology, Transportation/Logistics, and Energy. To see if your program is eligible, refer to the full list here. Eligible credentials are reassessed annually. To qualify, you must also be able to complete this program within two years or less. 

For more information on the FORWARD Loan, including interest rates, terms of repayment, and the application process, go to www.HHLoans.com. You can also find information and apply for the loan at www.ElmSelect.com. 

Alternative loans are private loans available through lending institutions, which offer competitive interest rates, flexible repayment schedules and differing cosigner requirements. Students should pursue all possibilities for scholarships, grants, work-study and federal loan programs before borrowing from an alternative loan program. Most financial institutions have alternative loan programs.

Find loans with ELMSelect.

The National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) is the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED’s) central database for student aid. NSLDS receives data from schools, guaranty agencies, the Direct Loan program, and other Department of ED programs. NSLDS Student Access provides a centralized, integrated view of Title IV loans and grants so that recipients of Title IV Aid can access and inquire about their Title IV loans and/or grant data. All loan information will be submitted to NSLDS and accessible by authorized agencies, lenders, and institutions.

Getting started with work study is easy! Below are the steps you must take:

Accept your Work-Study on Gateway.
Financial Assistance Office will email the ApplicantPro work-study job vacancy listing to eligible students.
Submit the I-9, W-4 and Policy Acknowledgement forms to St. Mary’s Office of Human Resources.