Census Date and Schedule Changes

Census Date and Adding/Dropping Courses

Your financial aid award is based on your anticipated full-time enrollment at SDSU (e.g. 12 units or more per semester as an undergraduate or teaching credential student or 9 units or more per semester as a graduate student). If your enrollment drops below full-time, your financial aid awards will be adjusted downward, and if you have already received financial aid, you will have to repay a proportional amount of the funds disbursed to you.

SDSU adjusts awards each semester, as required by federal law, based on your enrollment as of the university’s official census date. If you receive a Pell Grant or Cal Grant, your final award will be based on the number of units in which you are enrolled as of the SDSU Census Date for that semester:

SDSU San Diego and Imperial Valley Campuses

For Fall 2023 - Monday, September 18, 2023.
For Spring 2024 - Tuesday, February 13, 2024.
For Summer 2024 - Tuesday, July 16, 2024.

SDSU Global Campus

For Fall 2023 - Monday, October 16, 2023
For Spring 2024 - Thursday, March 14, 2024
For Summer 2024 - Monday, July 1, 2024

Global Campus students registered in only the first module of a semester will have their aid adjusted at the earlier University Census Date for that semester.

Units added after the SDSU Census Date (petitions for late add) will NOT increase your aid eligibility.

NOTE: If you initially enroll for the semester after the SDSU Census Date for that semester, your financial aid eligibility will be determined as of the date you first enroll.

Reasons to plan your classes carefully and pay attention to the Census Date

Maximum Financial Award: To ensure that you receive the maximum Pell and Cal Grants for which you are eligible, and to avoid having to repay funds that were already posted to your account, we STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU to finalize your course schedule no later than each semester's Census Date.

Dropping Classes Before the Census Date: A Pell or Cal Grant payment made at the beginning of the semester is based on your enrollment at that time. If you drop any classes between the time of the initial payment and the Census Date for that semester, your Pell or Cal Grant may be reduced or canceled.

Adding Classes After the Financial Aid Census Date: If you add a class after the Census Date for the semester, your Pell or Cal Grant will not be increased. Classes added after the Census Date will not be counted towards Pell or Cal Grant enrollment, although they may still be counted for Federal Direct Loan eligibility purposes.

Enrollment Adjustments

Students are sometimes dropped from a course at the start of the semester for not successfully passing a prerequisite course or a class may be canceled. If this occurs, You may need to register for a different class required for your program. It is your responsibility to maintain the appropriate number of credit hours to remain eligible for the financial aid for which you have been awarded.