Make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
The Financial Aid Office has established guidelines, based on federal regulations, for evaluating the progress of undergraduate and graduate students. You must meet these SAP standards to be eligible for financial aid. SAP standards are not the same as the academic standards of the university or of any department or professional school.
View SAP StandardsView SAP Eligibility Chart
Enroll in a Minimum Number of Hours in Your Program of Study
Eligible applicants who file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) are offered aid based on full-time enrollment status.
Minimum full-time credit hours for most financial aid purposes are:
Full-time Undergraduate study = 12+ credit hours
Full-time Graduate study = 9+ credit hours
These hourly requirements must be met prior to the first day of classes. If not, awards may not credit your student account or appear as anticipated aid until after you enroll in the minimum required credit hours.
If your enrollment at Oswego will be less than these minimums, please notify the Financial Aid Office immediately. You may still be eligible for financial aid, however, a change to part-time enrollment status may lead to a decrease in aid or the cancellation of financial aid programs that require students to maintain full-time enrollment status.
Students may only receive federal and state aid (including federal loans), for courses required for their program of study. Credits for courses not required by a student’s program may not count toward your minimum number of hours.
What courses are considered required?
Adjust Aid
If you drop some classes prior to the first day of class and aid has disbursed, your remaining enrollment status will be evaluated to determine if you meet the criteria for the financial aid you have received. If you do not meet the criteria, your aid will be adjusted or cancelled and you will be required to repay Oswego the amount for which you were ineligible.
In most cases, you are not expected to repay financial aid awards you received for the semester as long as you remain enrolled in at least six hours. However, dropping hours may affect your future eligibility for financial aid. Dropping too many hours over the course of several semesters could negatively affect your Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) status and result in you becoming ineligible for state, federal, and some institutional financial aid programs.
Repay Aid
If you withdraw (drop all classes) prior to the first day of class and aid has disbursed, all financial aid will be cancelled and you will be required to repay SUNY Oswego. If you withdraw after the first day of class, you and the college may be expected to repay some or all of the financial aid you have received for the semester.
The date at which you withdraw determines whether you receive an Oswego refund, the amount of the refund, and the amount you and the university are expected to repay to federal financial aid programs, which The Financial Aid Office is required by law to determine. Therefore, it is not possible to accurately predict how much you must repay until you withdraw.
Find policies on refunds, withdrawals and drops on Student Accounts.
Provide Confirmation of Attendance
A survey will be placed in MyOswego two weeks prior to the start of the semester. You will be required to fill out the survey and confirm the acceptance of the following three statements. Failure to do so will result in de-registration from all your classes.
Confirm your Attendance
- Financial aid will not apply or refund until this has been satisfied.
- If this is not completed prior to the end of the first week of classes you will be de-registered.
Accept your Charges
- Acknowledgement that you are responsible for the charges you incur as a student at SUNY Oswego.
Authorize SUNY Oswego to Use your Title IV Federal Aid
- Your federal aid will cover charges such as book store, parking, student association, alumni fee, arts fee, dorm damage, laundry fee as well as room and board.