How many semester hours is full time

A student must be enrolled at least half-time to qualify for federal student loans and other student aid and financial assistance. Similar to federal student aid, some state financial aid programs, such as free tuition programs, require students to be enrolled on a full-time basis.

Half-time enrollment requires at least six credits. Recommended Articles. How to Increase Your Chances of Qualifying. Complete Guide to Refinancing Student Loans in Unlock Printing Already have an account? Essentially, if you are trying to complete 15 credit hours per semester, you would likely need to enroll and complete five classes for that semester. If you have a science class with a lab, you might receive four credit hours for the class, three credits for in-class lectures, and one credit for the lab component.

Now you know that these two terms are the same. The most important thing to know is how many credit hours you need to graduate. And, of course, whether the classes you take are credited towards your degree program.

By doing so, you will stay focused and on schedule for your graduation and degree. Updated November 9, Whether or not you are classified as a full-time student can affect different aspects of your education — including any impact it might have on your taxes. For example, you may qualify for certain tax credits and deductions as a full-time student that you would not be eligible for as a part-time student.

As we saw above, sometimes this status question is school specific. Keep in mind, the five months do not need to be consecutive or full.

If you are counting on certain deductions, then you should check with your tax advisor before taking any action such as dropping a class that might affect your enrollment status. These tax implications also apply if your parents or guardians claim you as a dependent. To do so, you the student must be under the age of 24 and be a full-time student. Most importantly, financial aid packages and student loans are influenced by whether your status is a full-time or part-time student.

Often times, academic scholarships require a certain grade point average and the maintenance of a certain enrollment status — think full-time vs part-time enrollment.

Check with your financial aid office when considering the shift from full-time to part-time to better understand the cost impact to not only your college provided aid but federal aid as well. If you are a full-time student with private student loans and have selected deferment payment plan while in school , you do not have to begin paying back many student loans until you drop below full-time status and often times 6 months after that due to a grace period.

This is designed to allow students to make it through their college career and find employment prior to paying off their student debt. If you change your status you may trigger the commencement of your student loan payments sooner. If in doubt call your lender to get clarifications on your individual scenario. That could be a strain and it might have you thinking about scaling back your class load. Keep in mind, you may not be eligible to compete if you fall below specified enrollment requirements.