Financial Aid and Scholarships for the Winter Session
Learn about winter session and how financial aid and scholarships apply to winter session courses. Review the important information below to help you make informed decisions about your winter session enrollment.
General Information
Learn more about winter session, including course offerings, registration, dates, and other important information.
View Winter Session Information
Financial Aid
Which FAFSA needs to be completed for the winter session?
Students must complete the FAFSA for the academic year that includes the winter session to be considered for federal financial aid. For example, for the winter session 2026, students must complete the 2026-27 FAFSA.
How does financial aid for the winter session work with the spring semester?
For financial aid purposes, the winter session will be merged with the regular spring semester. Therefore, winter session credit hours will be combined with the spring term credit hours for financial aid awarding.
Can I receive federal financial aid for the winter session if I am already enrolled in 12 or more hours for the spring semester?
Winter session students who are also enrolled in 12 or more credit hours for the spring term may not have additional federal financial aid available for the winter session.
Can I receive federal financial aid whole only being enrolled during the winter session?
Students who are enrolled in the winter session may on be eligible for federal financial aid if they apply and meet all other eligibility requirements, including taking the minimum number of credit hours. Please note that the amount of any offered federal student aid may be adjusted based on actual number of credit hours enrolled.
How does the Pell Grant work during the winter session?
Enrollment for the winter session and the spring semester combine to determine a student's Pell Grant eligibility.
If a student is enrolled in only the winter session, those hours will be used to determine the Pell Grant award.
Students who drop a winter session class will not receive Pell Grant for that class.
Students who receive an "F" grade for a winter session class they completed and have attended the class until the end of the winter session can receive Pell Grant for that class.
Students who receive an "F" grade for a winter session class that they never attended or stopped attending cannot receive Pell Grant for that class. These students may owe a balance to the university if they are not enrolled in 12 or more credit hours by the Pell Census Date.
Student enrollment for the combined winter session and spring semester and for the winter session only will be rechecked on the Pell Census Date. The final Pell Grant award will be based on the combined enrolled checked hours for the winter and spring semesters, but we will exclude any withdrawn hours for the winter session or any "F" grades for the winter session where the student stopped attending.
What happens to my financial aid if I were to withdraw from a winter session course?
Students who drop a winter session class and receive a "W" grade because they never attended or stopped attending a class during the winter session will not receive federal grants for that class. These students may owe a balance to the university if the federal grant is reduced.
Students who drop a winter session class and receive a "W" grade will not receive loans for that class.
What happens to my financial aid if I were to fail a winter session class?
Students who receive an "F" grade for a winter session class they completed and have attended the class until the end of the winter session can receive Pell Grant for that class.
Students who receive an "F" grade for a winter session class that they never attended or stopped attending cannot receive federal grants for that class. These students may owe a balance to the university if they are not enrolled in 12 or more credit hours by the Pell Census Date.
Are students who are Mississippi residents eligible for state aid during the winter session?
State of Mississippi financial aid is not available to students enrolled only for winter session. However, a student’s credit hours for winter session will be combined with their spring semester credit hours to determine eligibility for state aid. If a student withdraws from a winter session class, those hours will not count towards the required 12 credit hours.
Scholarships
Can I receive scholarships for the winter session if I amalready enrolled in 12 or more hours for the spring semester?
Winter session students who are also enrolled in 12 or more credit hours for the spring semester will have incurred the full amount of their scholarships during the spring semester. Scholarships will not be adjusted for the additional winter session charges.
Can I receive scholarships while only being enrolled during the winter session?
If a student is enrolled for the winter session only, they cannot receive scholarships for the winter session.
Can I use a semester of scholarship eligibility towards the winter session?
No. A semester of scholarship eligibility cannot be moved to the winter session since it is part of the overall spring semester.
Can credit hours in the winter session and spring semester be combined to reach the minimum scholarship hour requirements?
Yes. A student may combine the winter session with the spring semester credit hours to reach the required minimum of 12 hours.