Planning to Take Summer Classes?

Are you planning to take courses during the summer semester at MSU? We encourage you to review the information below regarding financial aid and scholarships for the summer semester.

To be considered for financial aid for the summer 2026 semester, you must:

• Register for summer classes
• Ensure that we have received your 2025–26 FAFSA 

Pre-Registration: Begins April 7

Students will be reviewed for summer aid eligibility based on when they enroll in summer classes. Enroll early to ensure maximum aid consideration, based on eligibility. You will be awarded based on the number of enrolled credit hours at the time of review.

Important: Try to avoid adjusting your schedule after being awarded. Changes in enrollment can delay your aid disbursement. If you change your enrolled hours after being awarded, your financial aid will not disburse until after the last day to add a class for each summer session.

Awarding Process

• Students are reviewed and awarded in the order they enroll for summer classes, starting with the earliest enrollment dates
• Award notifications will be sent to your MSU email account
• You can also check your award status in your myState portal

As the summer semester is the final term of the financial aid year, available funds are limited. Enroll as soon as possible to be considered for all eligible aid.

Accepting Your Aid

If you are awarded, you must accept or decline your awards online through your myState portal.

Additional steps may be required before your aid can be disbursed. To check your eligibility requirements, Click Here.

If you are a first-time student at MSU, a temporary monitoring hold may delay your disbursement. Please check your MSU email and myState regularly for updates and requirements.

Loan Options

If the awards offered do not meet your needs or are not available, the following credit-based educational loans may be options:

• Federal Parent PLUS Loan – for eligible parents of dependent students
• Federal Graduate PLUS Loan – for eligible independent graduate students
• Alternative (Private) Loans – for both dependent and independent students

These loan programs are not guaranteed and are subject to credit approval. For instructions on how to apply, Click Here.

In addition to federal and private loans, MSU offers two institutional loan programs during the summer:

Forbes Loan – Available to undergraduate students pursuing their first bachelor's degree who meet the following criteria:

• Minimum 3.0 GPA
• Enrolled in at least 6 credit hours
• Successfully completed freshman year at MSU

Scribner Loan – Available to undergraduate Mississippi residents pursuing their first bachelor's degree who meet the following criteria:

• Preference given to students who reside north of Highway 82
• Enrolled in at least 6 credit hours
• Have unmet financial need

Both the Forbes and Scribner loans are reviewed for eligibility on a first-come, first-served basis, based on your summer enrollment date.

Scholarships for Summer

Academic scholarships do not automatically apply towards the summer semester. MSU students may request to use a semester of their academic scholarship eligibility towards a summer semester. However, we do not encourage students to do this unless they meet one of the criteria below:

• Have participated in a co-op/internship during a fall or spring semester and are using a summer semester to catch up on coursework
• Will be graduating early (or before their allotted number of scholarship semesters is up)
• ***Is a non-resident student with an Alumni Non-Resident Tuition Scholarship

Applying your scholarship(s) for a summer term will expend one semester of your academic scholarship eligibility. Please note that this will make you responsible for covering any costs incurred after your final semester of academic scholarship eligibility.

Students wishing to use a semester of their academic scholarship eligibility towards the summer semester must contact the scholarship office to obtain the Scholarship Summer Request Form and all instructions on how to go through this process. Should you have questions regarding this process, contact the scholarship office at 662-325-3076, or by email at scholarships@msstate.edu. 

The Scholarship Summer Request Form only applies to academic scholarships. It does not include financial aid, state aid, private, or departmental awards. 

***Non-resident students may request to use only their Alumni Non-Resident Tuition Scholarship towards a summer semester with no effect to their remaining semesters of academic scholarship eligibility.