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Financial Aid Determination Date

Students receiving Federal and University Aid are subject to a Financial Aid Determination Date (FADD) for each semester aid is received. The Financial Aid Office determines the student’s official registration as of 11:59 pm MT on the student’s FADD. This measurement is an automatic process. Students who are not registered at this time are not eligible for Federal or University Aid.

For full semester and 1st block classes, the FADD is normally the end of the 23rd day of the semester or when it is determined the student has a valid FAFSA, whichever is later.

For students who are taking only 2nd block classes, the 2nd block FADD applies. However, students taking 2nd block classes in addition to full semester and/or 1st block classes are subject to the full-semester FADD for ALL classes.

Semester-specific full semester, 1st block, and 2nd block FADDs can be found on the Dates and Deadlines page.

**University Aid is subject to the full-semester FADD only, even when students are only enrolled in all 2nd block classes.

FADD and Program Applicability

Students will only receive federal financial aid for courses required for their declared Program.

A Program is a student's declared major in an eligible catalog year, along with all other required components (emphasis, minor, cluster). These requirements are determined by Academic Advising. If you have questions about the applicability of your particular classes, meet with an Academic Advisor as soon as possible. Courses must be program applicable before FADD to be eligible for aid.

Students can view their enrolled program applicable courses by viewing the Program Applicability Tool (PAT).

  • Federal Aid will not disburse for classes that are substituted and become program applicable after the FADD deadline. Substitutions can take up to 1-2 weeks to process depending on the department of the major. Students will need to coordinate with academic advising and the Department Chair of their major to ensure their classes are eligible for aid by the Financial Aid Determination Date.

Dropping Classes Before or on the FADD

Students who completely withdraw from classes:

  • University Scholarships, Pell Grants, and Direct Student Loans will be evaluated to determine how much the student is required to repay.

Students who drop one or more (but not all classes) on or before 11:59 pm MT of the student’s FADD:

  • University Scholarships (including the BYU-Idaho Scholarship) may be prorated down or canceled completely depending on the change in credits.
  • Pell Grants may be prorated down or canceled completely depending on the change in program applicable credits.
  • Direct Student Loans (Subsidized and Unsubsidized) will not be returned if the funds have already been disbursed to the student’s account. Undisbursed loans may be prorated down or canceled completely depending on the change in program applicable credits.

NOTE: Students enrolled in a full semester and/or 1st block classes must be registered for 2nd block classes by the full semester FADD for their total credits to count toward their financial aid. Waitlisted or audited classes do NOT count.

Dropping Classes After the FADD

  • Students who completely withdraw or reduce their credits after the full semester FADD will not be required to return University Scholarships.
  • Students who reduce their credits after their FADD will not be required to return their Pell Grant as long as they participated in the course(s) they dropped.
  • Students who completely withdraw after their FADD will have their Pell Grant and Direct Student Loans evaluated to determine how much they are required to repay. Their courses will be checked for participation.
  • Students who stop participating in but do not drop their classes (receive all “UW” grades) will be checked for participation and may be required to return all or a portion of their semester federal funds to the university.
  • Students who drop any or all their semester classes after the FADD will receive "W" grades on their transcript. Withdrawing from classes after FADD can negatively impact a student’s Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) status, potentially making them ineligible for future Federal Aid.
  • Federal and University Aid will not disburse for classes that are re-instated after the FADD deadline. If a student drops a class and is required to return aid, they must reinstate themselves back into the same class they dropped by the FADD deadline.

Submitting a FAFSA After the Priority Deadline

Students who submit their FAFSA after the priority deadline are at risk of having a different FADD than the date advertised on the Academic Deadlines calendar. If a student’s FAFSA is processed after the semester’s advertised FADD, that student’s FADD is the date their FAFSA is processed and awards will be set for the credits enrolled in on that date.

Example: If a student registers for 6 program applicable credits but is late to receive their loan offers because the student’s FAFSA is still being processed, the student is at risk of having a different FADD than the date advertised on the Academic Deadlines calendar. For example, the student drops to 5 credits the day after the advertised FADD and the student’s FAFSA completes processing a week later, the student’s awards will be based on those 5 credits, not the credits enrolled in on the advertised FADD. If this student were to re-enroll in 6 or more program applicable credits, loans may be offered, but not Pell Grants.

Example: A student is registered for 12 program applicable credits, but the student’s FAFSA is still being verified. If the student drops to 3 program applicable credits the day after the advertised FADD date and the student’s FAFSA does not complete verification until 4 weeks after the advertised FADD date, the student will only receive the awards they qualify to receive for being enrolled in 3 program applicable credits. Even though the student was in 12 credits on the advertised FADD date, the student’s actual FADD date is the day the student’s FAFSA completed processing.