For how long is financial aid available?

In an institute of higher education your maximum eligibility period for financial aid is determined by reference to how long obtaining a degree in your line of study is normally considered to take. For each year of study (consisting of 60 credits), you are entitled to 9 months of aid, and for each semester of study, to 5 months of aid. The maximum period of eligibility is equal to the number of years the degree is normally considered to take plus 10 months of aid. For instance, the target completion time for a polytechnic/university of applied sciences degree comprising 210 credits is 3.5 academic years, and the maximum period for which financial is available is 42 months.

If you are enrolled in a 300-credit programme leading first to a Bachelor's and then to a Master's level degree, the maximum period of eligibility for aid is 55 months. Financial aid for university-level studies begun in academic year 2011–2012 is granted in two steps, first for the Bachelor's degree and then the Master's degree. You can use up a maximum of 37 months of aid for the Bachelor's degree and up to 28 months for the Master's degree, for a total maximum of 55 months.

After you complete a degree, you qualify for additional months of aid, which you can use for post-graduate or other academic studies (along with any months you may have left over from your first degree). This option is not available for Bachelor's-level studies if you are accepted to complete both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree. For studies in an institute of higher education, financial aid is available for up to 70 months.

If you drop out and then begin a new course of study, the months for which you have already received financial assistance are deducted from your entitlement for the new degree. Financial aid you may have received for secondary-level education is not deducted from your financial aid entitlement for higher education.

If you are in vocational education, the duration of financial aid depends on the extent of your studies. If you are studying at an upper secondary school, financial aid is granted for the first three school years (for a mature student completing a dual degree, aid is only granted for one academic year at a time). After this period of financial aid you may apply for additional aid for one academic year at a time, if you are a full-time student.

After the end of the normal course of study, financial aid may be granted for a period of time not exceeding 12 months. The normal course of study for completing the upper secondary school curriculum is 4 years. For completing a basic vocational degree, the normal course of study is the time corresponding to the extent of the studies plus one year.

Upper secondary school students are not usually eligible for aid during the summer months. Students in vocational education can get aid for any summer months in which they attend school.

You can get financial aid for any number secondary education degrees.

Updated 04/30/13