Eligibility for Financial Aid

If you've received financial aid, such as scholarships, grants, and federal student loans, you'll need to meet certain requirements to stay eligible for those awards. 

The Cal State Monterey Bay catalog has the most up-to-date information about financial aid eligibility, and we've outlined some of those details on this page. 

View Catalog 

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

To maintain financial aid eligibility, you must make satisfactory academic progress toward your degree. 

Students are evaluated on their SAP 30 days after the start of the term:

• The first time a student fails to make satisfactory progress, they will be placed on a financial aid warning. 
• Students who do not meet the minimum requirements at the end of their warning semester will be placed on financial aid probation for the next semester. 

Continued failure to meet the SAP requirements will result in a loss of eligibility for future financial aid. 

View the full policy, including GPA requirements, in the CSUMB catalog.  

Minimum Standard Requirements

The minimum requirements are:

• Maintain a 2.00 GPA as an undergraduate or a 3.00 GPA as a graduate student
• Meet the unit completion requirements for your enrollment status
• Not exceed the maximum timeframe for your program of study

Qualitative Measure (Cumulative GPA)

Undergraduate and credential-seeking students must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.00 (equivalent to a C average) in all college work attempted. Complete grades are A, B, C, D, and CR. 

• Grades of C and above count positively toward progress to degree.
• Grades of C-, D, D+, and D- may count as units earned for the purposes of financial aid, but may not meet academic program requirements.
• Grades of F, I, W, WU, NC, RP, RD, and AU are not considered passing and may affect a student's eligibility for financial aid.

Graduate and post-baccalaureate certificate students must maintain a university and cumulative grade point average of 3.0 (equivalent to a B average) in all college work attempted.

• Complete grades are A, B, C, and CR.
• Grades of B and above count positively toward progress to degree.
• Grades of B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, and D- may count as units earned for the purposes of financial aid, but may not meet academic program requirements.
• Grades of F, I, W, WU, NC, RP, RD, and AU are not considered passing and may affect a student's eligibility for financial aid

Quantitative Measure (Unit Progression)

You must complete at least 67 percent of units attempted each semester to remain on track. 

Unit progression will be based on a cumulative total of attempted units to earned units. For example, a full-time undergraduate student who attempts 24 units in an academic year must complete at least 16 units.

Maximum Timeframe to Complete Degree

The maximum allowable timeframe for receiving aid is equal to 150 percent of the length of your academic program.

If you are a transfer student, your accepted transfer coursework will be counted in the maximum time-frame.

Repeated courses and withdrawals are counted as "units attempted" and will be counted in the maximum timeframe.

Required remedial coursework will not be counted toward your maximum time-frame (up to 30 units).

Enrollment Status

Undergraduate student enrollment status:

• Full-time: 12 or more undergraduate units
• Three-quarter time: 9 to 11 undergraduate units
• Half-time: 6 to 8 undergraduate units
• Less than half-time: 1 to 5 undergraduate units

Graduate student enrollment status: 

• Full-time: 8 or more undergraduate units
• Three-quarter time: 6 to 7 undergraduate units
• Half-time: 4 to 5 undergraduate units
• Less than half-time: 1 to 3 undergraduate units