Taking Summer Classes?
If you plan to use financial aid for your summer coursework, complete the steps below so we can prepare your summer financial aid award.
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Complete a 2024–2025 FAFSA, using Hawkeye's FAFSA code 004595, if you have not done so already.
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Verify and finalize any pending financial aid documents by checking Self-Service > Financial Aid.
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Register for summer classes. You must be enrolled in at least six credit hours to be eligible for Federal Direct Loans and Federal Direct Parent (PLUS) loans.
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As eligibility is determined you will be notified via your Hawkeye email beginning mid April.
You must be a degree-seeking student at Hawkeye Community College to receive financial aid. Guest Students are not eligible for financial aid at Hawkeye.
Your Summer Financial Aid Award
Starting mid-April, the Financial Aid office will begin reviewing student files for summer awards. Awards will be based on your registered summer classes. Once you've registered for summer classes, the Financial Aid office will automatically be notified. When your award letter is ready or if there are any changes to your financial aid eligibility, you will receive notification to your Hawkeye email. Please allow 1–2 weeks after you've made changes in summer enrollment for the changes to be reflected on your summer financial aid award.
Summer awards are subject to change. All attempts to determine eligibility for grants and loans will be made, however, you may receive multiple award notifications as eligibility criteria is updated for the summer. If you do not receive a notification prior to the start of your summer classes and do not have any outstanding documents, contact the Financial Aid office. Check Self-Service > Financial Aid.
Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards (SAP) must be maintained or you will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension and your summer awards will be cancelled.
If you were eligible to receive the Pell Grant during the Fall 2024/Spring 2025 semesters, you may be eligible to receive Pell Grant funding during summer term if:
- You did not enroll full-time (12+ credit hours) during both semesters. You may be eligible for any remaining Federal Pell Grant that was not used.
- You were enrolled full-time (12+ credit hours) during both semesters and are registered for at least 6 credits for the summer. You may be eligible for additional Federal Pell Grant funds for the summer.
See Year Round Pell Grant.
Eligibility for Federal SEOG and State Grant funds will be determined in accordance with the appropriate regulations. Summer awards of State Grant funds including Future Ready Iowa Last-Dollar Scholarship could be delayed until the Iowa Department of Education determines funding each spring.
Hawkeye scholarships are not awarded for summer semester.
Referring to the table below, if you received the maximum 2nd year amount during the fall/spring semesters according to your dependency status, then you would not have loan eligibility remaining for the summer semester. The exception is if the student becomes a second year student after the spring semester (has earned at least 30 cumulative credits), only received maximum 1st year loan amount in fall/spring loans, & is enrolled in an Associates Degree. Then, it could be possible for the financial aid office to award up to an additional $1,000 in the summer semester if the student is enrolled in at least 6 credits. If a student did not take the maximum amount of Federal loans during the fall/spring semesters, the student may have remaining Federal loan eligibility in the summer if the student is enrolled in at least 6 credits.
Federal Loan Eligibility Amounts Dependency Status
per FAFSA | Maximum 1st year
Loan Amount | Maximum 2nd year Amount
(Earned 30 or more credits) | Lifetime
Maximum |
| Dependent Student | $5,000 | $6,500 | $31,000 |
| Independent Student | $9,500 | $10,500 | $57,500 |
When determining total loans accepted for the prior fall and spring semesters you would need to add Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized amounts together regardless of whether you received the loans at Hawkeye Community College or a different school.
A student cannot be awarded above the Lifetime Maximums even if the student has remaining loan eligibility for the academic year.
Must be in a 2-year program to be eligible for 2nd year loan amount.
If you have exhausted all of your financial aid eligibility during the fall and spring semesters, you may not receive an award for summer financial aid and will be responsible for full tuition payment unless you drop the classes for which you have registered before the tuition refund deadline.
What If My Course Schedule Changes?
Any changes made to your summer schedule could drastically affect your financial aid award even after you have received an award letter notification for your summer eligibility. It is your responsibility to notify the Financial Aid office.
You may also want to refer to the Financial Aid Impact when Withdrawing from Classes if you withdraw from a class after the summer financial aid lock date.