Disbursement Requirements
Many grants and loans have award-specific requirements that must be met before the award can disburse to your student account. The most common awards and their requirements are explained below. Review the list of financial aid awards in your Award Summary in Self Service to determine if any of them have award-specific requirements.
Disbursement Requirements for Specific Awards
Grants
Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG)
ACG awards will be prorated for attendance in less than 12 units each semester. If you will be enrolled in less than 12 units, refer to the Changes in Enrollment Affecting Your Award Amount segment in the Enrollment section of the Help Book for award adjustments. You must also be a Federal Pell Grant recipient and be in the 1st or 2nd year of your undergraduate program to receive payment. Recipients in their second academic year must have achieved at least a 3.0 GPA at the end of their first academic year.
Cal Grants
If a Cal Grant is included in your award offer, we must confirm your eligibility prior to disbursement. If you do not meet all eligibility requirements, we will remove the Cal Grant from your award offer and send you a modified award offer email notification.
Cal Grant A, B, and TCP fee awards are restricted to the amount of your State University Fee. Your award will be adjusted whenever your State University Fee changes. If you have limited remaining eligibility for the Cal Grant program, your award may be less than the State University Fee.
You are not eligible for a Cal Grant if you register for or drop down to less than 6 units in a semester.
Cal Grant B Access (Stipend) awards are prorated for enrollment of less than 12 units. See Changes in Enrollment Affecting Your Award Amount in the Enrollment section of the Help Book for the prorated amounts.
Graduate Equity Fellowship
Full-time enrollment is required as a condition of the fellowship.
Pell Grant for Credential Students
Only students pursuing their initial credential (not a clear or professional credential) are eligible to receive a Pell Grant. The School of Education determines which students are pursuing an initial credential.
If you are a credential student with a Pell Grant included in your award offer, we assume you will take at least 12 units of coursework required for your initial credential each semester.
Only courses required as part of the eligible initial credential program will count toward your enrollment status in determining the amount of your Pell Grant each semester. The School of Education determines which courses are required for each eligible initial credential program. These requirements apply to all students in the same program.
Only credential students enrolled in 6 or more required units each semester will receive a Pell Grant disbursement. If you take less than 6 required units in a semester, your Pell Grant amount will be $0 for that semester.
The School of Education informs us of your required units after the Add/Drop period each semester. This means disbursement of your Pell Grant will occur approximately four weeks after the first day of classes.
Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (SMART)
SMART awards will be prorated for attendance in less than 12 units each semester. If you will be enrolled in less than 12 units, refer to the Changes in Enrollment Affecting Your Award Amount segment in the Enrollment section of the Help Book for award adjustments. You must also be a Federal Pell Grant recipient and be in the 3rd or 4th academic year of your undergraduate program, maintain at least a 3.0 GPA, have declared an eligible major designated by the federal Department of Education, and be confirmed to be enrolled in at least one course required for the eligible major each term.
SMART Grants are disbursed after the end of add/drop to ensure students maintain full-time enrollment. This means disbursement of your SMART Grant will occur approximately mid-semester.
State University Grant (SUG) Access
This award is for undergraduates and initial credential candidates and will be prorated for attendance in less than 12 units each semester. If you are enrolled in less than 12 units, review the Changes in Enrollment Affecting Your Award Amount in the Enrollment section of the Help Book for award adjustments.
Loans
Direct Student Loans (Subsidized and/or Unsubsidized)
If you are interested in receiving a Direct Student Loan (subsidized or unsubsidized), you MUST use SSU Online Services to access Self Service to accept the loan offer. For complete instructions on accepting your Direct Loan, see our Viewing and Accepting Your Aid Offer page.
Be sure to complete Entrance Counseling online. This is a one-time process for new first-time borrowers or transfer students borrowing for the first time at SSU. First-time borrowers also need to sign an electronic Master Promissory Note (e-MPN). We will notify you by email when your e-MPN is available, generally in mid-July for students starting at SSU in the Fall semester. You will sign your e-MPN electronically at the Direct Loan Master Promissory Note web site. Entrance Counseling and signing the e-MPN are generally one-time processes at SSU.
Seniors graduating at the end of one semester attendance are subject to proration of their Direct Loan eligibility based on their registered units.
You are not eligible for a Direct Loan disbursement if you are not enrolled in or fail to begin attendance in at least 6 units. Classified and conditionally classified graduate students meet this requirement with 4 units.
Direct Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS)
The Direct Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) is only available to the parent or step-parent of a dependent student. Parents or step-parents who would like to accept the PLUS loan will need to download and complete the PLUS loan application for the appropriate financial aid year located at the PLUS Loan Application page and submit it to the FAO. We will process the application and notify the PLUS loan applicant if it was approved or denied, generally in mid-July for students starting SSU in the Fall semester.
If approved, we will send instructions on completing the electronic Master Promissory Note (e-MPN). Completing the e-MPN is generally a one-time process. However, if a PLUS loan was approved with an endorser, the Master Promissory Note is only valid for that particular loan. Although the e-MPN is a one-time process, the PLUS loan application needs to be submitted each academic year for which the applicant wishes to borrow.
If denied, the student may request additional Direct Unsubsidized Loan funding. To request these additional funds, the student must download and complete a Supplemental Loan Request form located at the Other Items page of our web site for the appropriate financial aid year and submit it to the FAO.
In each subsequent year, a student must re-file the FAFSA to be offered a PLUS loan for that year. After the student receives an award offer, the parent may apply for the PLUS loan by filling out a PLUS loan application for that year.
The student must be enrolled in and begin attendance in at least 6 units for the loan to disburse.
Perkins Loan
The Perkins Loan requires a separate promissory note and/or other forms that will be mailed to you by the Financial Services Office.