Student Financial Aid

A college education is an investment in your future. It is an investment that will pay increasing dividends in earning power in future careers and in the quality of your life. The basic premise underlying student financial aid is that the primary responsibility for a student’s education rests with his or her family. When the resources of the family are not sufficient to meet college costs, the student may be eligible to receive financial assistance. This aid may come in the form of scholarships, grants, work-study programs and/or student loans.

If you feel you may need financial help to pay for college expenses, you should apply for financial aid to determine your eligibility. The following information will explain the application process and answer questions about costs to attend and financial aid at UNM–Los Alamos. To maximize your opportunity for funding, your application must be received by March 1. You must also respond to any request for additional information in a timely fashion. Pell Grants and Direct Student Loans remain available to eligible students who submit applications after the March 1 priority date.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used to apply for all types of federal and state need-based aid. Students apply for financial aid on the web at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov. UNM–Los Alamos’ Federal School Code is 002663. All prospective students must be admitted to UNM–Los Alamos to receive an offer of financial aid.

The costs of attending UNM–Los Alamos include: 1) tuition and fees; 2) room and board; 3) books and supplies; 4) transportation; 5) personal expenses; and 6) child care costs, if applicable.

To be considered for financial aid, students must apply every year. The deadline for Federal grants is March 1.

For additional information regarding costs and financial aid at The University of New Mexico–Los Alamos, please access our web page at http://losalamos.unm.edu.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

To retain eligibility for financial aid, students must reestablish their need for funds by submitting the FAFSA application each year, and they must meet a minimum standard of academic performance in their course work and progression toward a degree. All students will have their academic progress monitored each semester to determine continued eligibility for assistance. There are three major components to UNM–Los Alamos’ Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy:

Grade Point Average. Students are required to maintain a grade point average consistent with graduation requirements for their major as follows:

• While completing the first 30 credit hours as an undergraduate, a student must attain a minimum 1.7 GPA.
• Students with more than 30 credit hours must sustain a minimum 2.0 GPA.
• Graduate students must sustain a minimum 3.0 GPA.

Completion rate. Students must successfully complete at least 67% of the total credit hours they attempt. Classes in which grades of A, B, C, D or CR are earned will be considered completed. Repeated courses were already counted as completed, and will not be counted twice. All attempted credit hours from any college (including non-degree hours) are counted whether or not financial aid was received. This calculation includes all hours in which a student is registered at the time of withdrawal. Remedial classes and English as a Second Language (ESL) classes are also counted as attempted credit hours. Courses taken for AUDIT are not counted in the student’s total course load for purposes of financial aid eligibility. For graduate students, 100- and 200-level classes count as hours attempted, but not hours earned, because they will not count toward the completion of a graduate degree.

Maximum time frame. Undergraduate students must complete their program of study within 150% of the published length of the program, measured in credit hours attempted. Example: if the published length of the academic program is 66 credits, the maximum time frame for completion is 99 attempted credits. All attempted credit hours from any college, including non-degree hours, and hours attempted in completing a prior certificate or degree will count toward the maximum allowable credits regardless of whether financial aid was received. Courses with assigned grades of F, WF, W, WP, I, NC and “repeated” courses all count as attempted credit hours. In addition, remedial classes and ESL classes are counted in this calculation, even though these classes do not count toward the student’s graduation requirements. To receive financial aid, graduate students must complete their degree within the maximum time frame allowed by their graduate program.

Enrollment Requirements for Financial Aid

To receive financial aid, students must generally be enrolled at least half-time as a regular student in an eligible program. Scholarships generally require full-time enrollment. Courses taken as audit are not included toward financial aid enrollment requirements. Award amounts are generally prorated according to enrollment status. 

The student is responsible for meeting minimum enrollment requirements. Students knowingly receiving aid to which they are not entitled may be in violation of University policy and state or federal laws. If you have any questions please contact the Financial Aid Office.

Enrollment Requirements

Undergraduate Students

Full-time 12 hours

Half-time 6 hours

Non-resident Students

The student is responsible for obtaining the correct residency classification prior to the end of the second week of the semester. A student not classified as a New Mexico resident will be charged tuition as a non-resident. Please refer to the Residency section in this catalog.

Federal Student Loans

The main loan program offered at UNM is the William D. Ford Direct Loan program. Students wishing to receive loans must have a current FAFSA, a complete financial aid file, and submit a loan request form to the UNM–LA Financial Aid Office. Please see the Financial Aid officer for more information.

Typical Sources of Financial Aid

*Conditions apply
**Subject to change

PLUS Loans (Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students) : Cost of Education minus financial aid awarded

Student Employment

Students seeking part-time employment while attending UNM–Los Alamos may apply for a work-study position. Students must first complete a FAFSA online and indicate their interest in work-study. Then visit http://www.unm.edu/jobs/ to see what positions are available. Students must submit all applications online.

Payment by Financial Aid

Financial Aid disbursement is done during the first week of class, unless otherwise specified in the financial aid section of the UNM–LA website. Registered students should use LoboWeb to obtain information as to the required payment and anticipated financial aid.

• Student charges for any services, sales or fines will be collected from the first available source of financial aid (grants, scholarships or loans) even if due date is later than aid release date.
• Students must be registered full time prior to receiving aid or have Financial Aid adjust required number of hours to be eligible for aid. It is your responsibility to visit the Financial Aid Office to be certain your aid will be available, and you will not be disenrolled.

If a delay in receipt of your financial aid occurs, you may wish to pay the first installment and any processing fees at the Cashier’s Office to avoid disenrollment. Work-Study awards will not be considered in arranging for payment. Refer to the academic calendar for the applicable Disenrollment date.

If your tuition has been deferred based on financial aid, and you decide not to attend the University of New Mexico-Los Alamos, you must officially withdraw through http://unm.edu/~unmreg/ prior to the 100% refund deadlines online in the Schedule of Classes at http://losalamos.unm.edu. If you drop or disenroll after this date, you may owe aid back to UNM.

Crediting Financial Assistance to a Student’s Account

Students who are receiving financial assistance through programs detailed below will have their awards automatically credited to their accounts beginning on the Friday before classes if financial aid has been approved and awarded.

These programs include

1. PELL Grant
2. Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
3. State Student Incentive Grant (SSIG)
4. Federal Perkins Loan
5. Other Grants and Scholarships
6. FFELP Loans/LINK Loans
7. Federal Direct Loans

Financial assistance awards will not be credited to a student’s account until the student has registered for the required number of hours and has met all respective financial assistance source program requirements. Students will receive any remaining balance after deductions of current and past due charges through Direct Deposit by visiting http://my.unm.edu. If not signed up for Direct Deposit students will receive funds in a refund check sent to his or her mailing address of record. Students who are eligible for and will be receiving funds from external scholarships will not have those funds automatically credited to their accounts but must visit the Financial Aid Office to have scholarships applied to their account and/or receive any surplus funding.