Academic Advisors: Financial Aid FAQs

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is available every year on October 1st (delayed til December 1st for 2025-2026) prior to upcoming academic year online at studentaid.gov. Students should apply every year before Wichita State's priority date of April 1st. Students can file after this date, but the opportunity to receive some types of aid will be greatly reduced. Eligibility for the Federal Pell Grant and/or Federal Direct Loans are not affected by this priority deadline. A list of final deadlines is available here.

Wichita State's school code: 001950.

Verification is a process that ensures that the information students and families reported on the FAFSA is accurate. Verification selection can be random or because the FAFSA data was incomplete, estimated or inconsistent. At Wichita State, verification must be completed before we will offer and disburse aid.

For eligible undergraduates, students may be considered for scholarships, grants, work study, and loans.

For eligible graduates, students may be considered for scholarships/fellowships, work study, and loans.

ScholarshipUniverse is the scholarship-matching tool for admitted and current Wichita State students. ScholarshipUniverse connects Shockers to millions of dollars in internal and external scholarships. We search; Shockers apply!

Possibly. Refer the student to our office. Our trained financial aid staff can evaluate if the financial aid professional judgment appeal process might be in their best interest.

Global Select is a tuition discount program for qualifying international students at the time of admission. All questions should be directed to international@wichita.edu. Financial Aid does NOT provide advising on Global Select eligibility. For eligibility requirements, estimated scholarship awards, and how to apply for the Global Select rate, visit wichita.edu/GlobalSelect or contact the Office of International Education. 

Yes. The OFA will verify students' required courses through Degree Works and only provide financial aid for eligible courses. If students enroll in courses not included on their degree plan, those courses will not count toward their eligible credit hours for financial aid purposes. This could impact the amount of financial aid for which they qualify.

Degree-bound undergraduate students at Wichita State must declare a major within the first 48 credit hours of enrollment.  Students transferring 48 credit hours or more must declare a financial-aid-eligible, degree-bound major before they will be eligible for their financial aid to be disbursed/paid.  If student have not yet declared a major and have earned more than 48 credit hours, they are not eligible for further financial aid disbursements. 

Once an aid-eligible major is declared, financial aid eligibility will be re-evaluated, as long as students are still meeting all other aid-eligibility requirements.  If students have not yet decided upon a major and they are nearing/have met the 48-hour mark, then they should consider meeting with the WSU Career Development Center or their academic advisor to discuss their degree interests and options. 

Federal financial aid regulations limit the number of times a student may repeat a course and receive financial aid for that course.

Repeated Courses: After a course has been completed with a D- or better grade, future aid for the course is restricted to one additional attempt.  This rule applies regardless of the minimum grade required by the program and regardless of whether or not the student received aid for earlier enrollments in the course.

In most cases, no. The offered Pell grant will prorate and disburse based on a student's enrollment level (full-time, three-quarter-time, half-time, and less-than-half-time). However, in some cases where a student's expected family contribution is higher, the Pell grant may not disburse at lower enrollment levels.

Students must be enrolled at least half-time in order to be eligible for student loans each semester.

Undergraduate students: 6 credit hours; courses must be at the undergraduate level and count toward their degree.

Graduate students: 5 credit hours each during the fall and spring semesters; 3 credit hours during the summer term (if borrowing summer loans); courses must be at the graduate level and count toward their degree.

It depends. Students receiving a merit/academic scholarship through the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarship typically must be enrolled in at least 12 credit hours unless they are in their final semester. Students receiving a scholarship through their college should refer to their original award letter/email for details about enrollment requirements or reach out to their college scholarship coordinator for questions.

Refer to the links below for additional details.

Yes. Eligible students can only receive Pell Grant funds for their first bachelor's degree and for a maximum of 12 full-time semesters or its equivalent (600% lifetime eligibility).  This rule applies to all Pell Grant funds received prior to, on, and after July 1, 2012 and at any college they attended.  Students may log in to studentaid.gov using their FSA ID to review their Pell lifetime eligibility used.

Yes. Loans are limited on both an annual and aggregate basis.

If students have used their annual and/or aggregate loans and need additional resources, they can apply for a private loan. Additional information is available at wichita.edu/altloan. 

Refer the student to our office. Our trained financial aid staff can walk students through any remaining financial aid resources and options that may be available to the student.

Refer the student to our office. Our trained financial aid staff can walk students through any remaining financial aid resources and options that may be available to the student.

Yes. Students should check with financial aid before dropping classes or withdrawing – funds may be owed back as a result of these actions or it may affect the student's ability to renew their scholarship (if applicable). 

Yes. Students should check with financial aid before dropping classes or withdrawing – funds may be owed back as a result of these actions or it may affect the student's financial aid eligibility for subsequent semesters.

Yes. Students should check with financial aid before dropping classes or withdrawing – funds may be owed back as a result of these actions or it may affect the student's financial aid eligibility for subsequent semesters.