Admissions and Financial Aid

Last Day to Accept a Loan for the Summer Semester: August 13, 2026

asterli5 — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 18:32:10 +0000

Last Day to Accept a Loan for the Summer Semester: August 13, 2026 asterli5 Thu, 07/23/2026 - 14:32

The last day the Office of Student Financial Aid processes summer semester direct loans is August 14, 2026. Students who want them must accept them by 11:59 p.m. on August 13, 2026.

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Financial Aid

Federal financial aid rules are changing. Here's what you need to know.

jnicho9 — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 19:47:47 +0000

Federal financial aid rules are changing. Here's what you need to know. jnicho9 Wed, 06/24/2026 - 15:47

On July 1, 2026, several significant changes to federal financial aid included in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, also referred to as the OBBBA or Working Families Tax Cuts Act, go into effect. These changes affect current and prospective students at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels.

91��’s Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) has developed a centralized webpage for students, faculty, and staff to review these changes, and office staff are available for students who require assistance or additional information related to their specific situations.

What’s changing?

As required by the new law, George Mason’s OSFA is actively implementing changes in the following areas:

Pell eligibility

Students with a Student Aid Index (SAI) greater than twice the maximum Pell Grant are no longer eligible for a Federal Pell Grant. The current maximum Pell Grant is $7,395, so any student with a SAI of $14,790 or higher is now ineligible.

Students whose scholarships and aid fully cover their Cost of Attendance (COA) are also no longer eligible for a Pell Grant. COA includes total estimated yearly costs for the following categories: tuition and fees, food and housing, books and supplies, transportation, personal expenses, and loan fees (if applicable).

Enrollment and loan eligibility

Federal loan eligibility is now tied directly to how many credits students take, which means that taking less than a full-time courseload reduces loan eligibility.

Students must be enrolled at least half-time to receive federal loan funding, and they must be enrolled full-time for the entire academic year to receive the full annual maximum amount of their federal loans based on their academic level.

The table below shows the full-time, half-time, and academic year totals for credits at each student level, per federal guidelines:

Student Type	Full-time Credits (per semester)	Academic Year Total	Half-time credits (per semester)
Undergraduate	12 credits	24 credits	6 credits
Graduate	9 credits	18 credits	4.5 credits
Law	10 credits	20 credits	4.5 credits

Because of these new requirements, students need to be aware of their current enrollment status and how changes to their courseload may affect their eligibility. Dropping or withdrawing from classes may reduce their aid, trigger recalculations of their aid, or create unexpected account balances.

Federal loan limits and legacy provisions

The law introduces limits on the amount of federal loans borrowers can receive. However, there are legacy provisions for some existing student loan borrowers.

New Limits

Student Type	Annual Limit	Aggregate Limit
Graduate	$20,500	$100,000
Professional (JD Law*)	$50,000	$200,000

*JD Law is the only degree program at 91�� that meets the new definition for Professional Degree established by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

Lifetime Borrowing Limit	$257,500 (undergraduate + graduate loans) not including Parent PLUS loans

Loan Type	Annual Limit	Aggregate Limit
Parent PLUS Loans**	$20,000 per dependent student	$65,000 per dependent student

**The $65,000 aggregate PLUS loan limit is the maximum amount to borrow without regard to previously forgiven, repaid, canceled, or discharged loans. These restricted limits may affect how much students need to borrow or how families manage other aid.

Additionally, Graduate PLUS Loans will no longer be available for students beginning a new graduate or professional program on or after July 1, 2026.

Legacy provisions for existing loans

Legacy (grandfathering ) is a provision that exempts existing borrowers from the new, stricter lending rules, limits, or requirements. Graduate PLUS loans and Parent PLUS loans are still available for currently enrolled borrowers who have borrowed prior to July 1, 2026.

In order to hold legacy status, students:

Must be actively enrolled at 91�� in an eligible credential program prior to July 1, 2026, and
Must have received at least one federal loan disbursement for that same program of study before July 1, 2026.

If a student changes their major but stays within the same type of degree (or certificate), they are still considered to be in the same program of study.

Additional legacy conditions:

Legacy eligibility is time-limited to a maximum of three academic years, or the remaining time required for the student to complete their current program of study, whichever is shorter.
Students must continue enrollment in the same type of degree and remain enrolled at 91�� to retain eligibility.
Changing degree types or transferring to another institution will result in loss of legacy eligibility.
Any break in enrollment, program change that constitutes a new program of study, or institutional transfer, will terminate legacy eligibility.
Transfer students will lose legacy provisions if they change schools. A student must remain at the same institution, in the same degree type, to remain eligible for the legacy provisions.

What should students do to prepare?

George Mason is encouraging students who receive federal financial aid to take the following actions as these changes go into effect:

Review their enrollment plans and financial aid packages carefully in Patriot Web.
- This will help them determine if they meet the credit limits for loan eligibility, as well as whether their SAI makes them ineligible for a Federal Pell Grant.
Contact OSFA before making any schedule changes that may affect their aid eligibility.
Keep an eye on their inboxes and bookmark our OBBBA information page, as OSFA will continue sharing guidance and resources through these channels.

Learn more at Financial Aid Services

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Financial Aid

Campus News

SAP Appeal Deadline for Summer 2026: July 30, 2026

asterli5 — Thu, 28 May 2026 13:23:57 +0000

SAP Appeal Deadline for Summer 2026: July 30, 2026 asterli5 Thu, 05/28/2026 - 09:23

Students submitting a Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) appeal for summer 2026 must do so by July 30, 2026. Appeals are reviewed first come, first served; late appeals will be considered for fall 2026.

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Financial Aid

Last Day to Accept a Loan for the Spring Semester: May 12, 2026

asterli5 — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 16:06:01 +0000

Last Day to Accept a Loan for the Spring Semester: May 12, 2026 asterli5 Thu, 02/26/2026 - 11:06

The last day the Office of Student Financial Aid processes spring semester direct loans is May 13, 2026. Students who want them must accept them by 11:59 p.m. on May 12, 2026.

Topics

Financial Aid

The Enrollment Freeze for Spring 2026 is February 10

asterli5 — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 16:24:08 +0000

The Enrollment Freeze for Spring 2026 is February 10 asterli5 Wed, 01/14/2026 - 11:24

The enrollment freeze date for the Spring 2026 semester is February 10, 2026. After this date, no adjustments or increases will be made to your financial aid unless it is to correct an over award situation and all financial aid payments will be final, with the exception of any Part of Term classes that begin later in the semester. Dropping a Part of Term course that begins later may result in a reduction of your aid. If you completely drop or withdraw from all your classes at ANY point, the Financial Aid Office will determine how much aid you can keep and how much has to be returned to the US Department of Education. This is called a Return to Title IV calculation.

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Financial Aid

SAP Appeal Deadline for Spring 2026: April 13, 2026

asterli5 — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 16:22:10 +0000

SAP Appeal Deadline for Spring 2026: April 13, 2026 asterli5 Wed, 01/14/2026 - 11:22

Students who wish to submit a Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) appeal for the spring 2026 term must do so by April 13, 2026. Appeals will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis. Appeals received after that deadline will be considered for the summer 2026 semester instead.

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Financial Aid

Last Day to Accept a Loan for the Fall Semester: December 16

asterli5 — Thu, 13 Nov 2025 15:10:01 +0000

Last Day to Accept a Loan for the Fall Semester: December 16 asterli5 Thu, 11/13/2025 - 10:10

The last day the Office of Student Financial Aid processes loans for the fall semester is December 17, 2025. Students who want to receive direct loans should accept them by 11:59 p.m. on December 16, 2025.

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Financial Aid

SAP Appeal Deadline for Fall 2025: November 17, 2025

asterli5 — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 14:58:10 +0000

SAP Appeal Deadline for Fall 2025: November 17, 2025 asterli5 Mon, 11/10/2025 - 09:58

Students who wish to submit a Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) appeal for the fall 2025 term must do so by November 17, 2025. Appeals will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis. Appeals received after that deadline will be considered for the spring 2026 semester instead.

Topics

Financial Aid

Mason Student Services Center expands locations, partnerships to improve student access

jnicho9 — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 15:41:43 +0000

Mason Student Services Center expands locations, partnerships to improve student access jnicho9 Wed, 08/20/2025 - 11:41

91��'s Mason Student Services Center (MSSC), the comprehensive solution for student assistance, is expanding operations through new locations and partnerships in the 2025-26 academic year.

Since it was established in 2019, the MSSC has served as a convenient hub where students can access help with financial aid, billing, registration, and academic records.

The interior of Fuse, where Mason Square students will now be able to access MSSC services in Suite 1200. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

Now students at Mason Square will have access to a fuller range of MSSC services. In July, the MSSC’s Arlington team moved into Suite 1200 of the new Fuse building, adding additional capacity for staff and breakout rooms for consultations that have already resulted in increased traffic for the center. This office joins the continued operation of the primary location on the ground floor of SUB I on the Fairfax Campus.

The MSSC will also add Housing and Residence Life as a partner office this year, beginning with email communications in October and phone and virtual services in the spring and summer.

“With these expansions, we’re bringing even more resources together in one centralized, convenient location—making it easier for our students to take care of the ‘business’ of being a student,” said MSSC Director Kim Shumadine. “This is just the beginning, and we’re excited for what the future holds as we continue to expand and evolve in response to student needs."

The center has achieved major engagement and assistance milestones.

In the 2024–25 academic year, the MSSC resolved more than 211,000 student cases, bringing its all-time total to more than 630,000 resolved. When including work with its current partner offices—the Office of Admissions, Student Financial Aid, the Registrar, and Student Accounts—that number now exceeds 1 million cases.

The center also maintains a comprehensive Knowledge Community, a database of frequently asked questions that provides students detailed answers and links to further resources.

Last year the center also saw improvements to case resolution times across all formats. In-person visits averaged three minutes per case, down from seven the year before, while virtual inquiries were resolved in an average of three hours, an improvement from the prior five-hour average. All together, more than 91% of all cases were resolved without escalation to another office, and most were closed within 24 hours.

With its track record of rapid service and upcoming improvements, the MSSC is setting the standard for student support at George Mason.

Check out virtual services from MSSC

Last Day to Apply for Summer Aid: August 13

jnicho9 — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 11:56:23 +0000

Last Day to Apply for Summer Aid: August 13 jnicho9 Wed, 08/13/2025 - 07:56

The last day to apply for summer 2025 financial aid is August 13.

Topics

Financial Aid

Admissions and Financial Aid

Last Day to Accept a Loan for the Summer Semester: August 13, 2026

Topics

Federal financial aid rules are changing. Here's what you need to know.

What’s changing?

Pell eligibility

Enrollment and loan eligibility

Federal loan limits and legacy provisions

New Limits

Legacy provisions for existing loans

What should students do to prepare?

Related News

Topics

SAP Appeal Deadline for Summer 2026: July 30, 2026

Topics

Last Day to Accept a Loan for the Spring Semester: May 12, 2026

Topics

The Enrollment Freeze for Spring 2026 is February 10

Topics

SAP Appeal Deadline for Spring 2026: April 13, 2026

Topics

Last Day to Accept a Loan for the Fall Semester: December 16

Topics

SAP Appeal Deadline for Fall 2025: November 17, 2025

Topics

Mason Student Services Center expands locations, partnerships to improve student access

Related News

Last Day to Apply for Summer Aid: August 13

Topics