What is Census?
The Census Date is the point at which your enrollment is locked for financial aid purposes. During the fall and spring terms, the census coincides with the last date you can drop classes for a full tuition refund at WSU. At this point in the term, credit hours are locked and financial aid for the term is adjusted to reflect the student’s official enrolled credits.
How Does Census Affect Financial Aid?
WSU’s census date is the 10th day of the semester. On this day, we will take a “snapshot” of your enrollment for the semester. This snapshot determines what financial aid you will receive for the term.
It is extremely important that you finalize your class schedule by 11:59 PM (PST) on the tenth day of the semester. This will allow us to ensure that your award is accurate. Also, you will be unable to access your myWSU account to make any changes while census is in progress. Your financial aid will be recalculated if you are less than full-time on this date.
How Census Works
- Your aid will be recalculated for enrollment changes based on or before the census date.
- Federal loans require at least half-time status (Undergraduate: 6 credits, Graduate: 5 credits). Loans will automatically disburse for students enrolled half time.
- Pell Grants, Washington College Grant, Institutional Grants, Cougar Commitment Grant, and the College Bound Promise are reduced/pro-rated for students in fewer than 12 credits, based on enrollment level.
- If you are enrolled less than full-time, we will adjust your grants based on your credit level and will deliver these monies after the census date. No action is required on your part. You will be notified by your WSU email when this is done.
- If you are enrolled full time, no action is required on your part and there is no impact to your financial aid offer.
Census Dates
| Term | Census Dates |
|---|---|
| Fall Semester 2025 | August 29, 2025 |
| Spring Semester 2026 | January 23, 2026 |
Undergraduate Enrollment and Awards
Use the following charts to estimate your financial aid disbursement based on your initial award offer and your actual credit enrollment.
| Award | 12+Credits | 11 Credits | 10 Credits | 9 Credits | 8 Credits | 7 Credits | 6 Credits | 5 Credits | 4 Credits | 3 Credits | 2 Credits | 1 Credit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pell Grant | Not Adjusted | 92% | 83% | 75% | 67% | 58% | 50% | 42% | 33% | 25% | 17% | 8% |
| Washington College Grant | Not Adjusted | 92% | 83% | 75% | 67% | 58% | 50% | 42% | 33% | 25% | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| College Bound | Not Adjusted | 92% | 83% | 75% | 67% | 58% | 50% | 42% | 33% | 25% | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| Award | 12-18 Credits | 9-11 Credits | 6-8 Credits | 3-5 Credits | 0-2 Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEOG Grant | Not Adjusted | Not Adjusted | Not Adjusted | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| Cougar Commitment Grant | Not Adjusted | 75% | 50% | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| Institutional Grant | Not Adjusted | 75% | 50% | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| Institutional Grant Plus | Not Adjusted | 75% | 50% | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| Direct Loans/Nursing Loan | Not Adjusted | Not Adjusted | Not Adjusted | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| Work Study | Not Adjusted | Not Adjusted | Not Adjusted | Cancelled | Cancelled |
Grad/Professional & EMBA Enrollment and Awards
| 10+ Credits | 5-9 Credits | 1-4 Credits | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct/Nursing Loans | Not Adjusted | Not Adjusted | Cancelled |
| Work Study | Not Adjusted | Not Adjusted | Cancelled |
MBA Enrollment and Awards
| 10+ Credits | 3-9 Credits | 1-2 Credits | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct Loans | Not Adjusted | Not Adjusted | Cancelled |
Census FAQ
WSU does not currently have a Census date for Summer Session. See the “Nonstandard Terms and Enrollment” section of the FAQ for more information about aid disbursement and adjustments during summer semester.
Late credits may be taken into account and some of your aid may be re-awarded to your account. Our office reviews student accounts with late credits periodically and can adjust federal student loans in this way, but not Pell or state grants.
Grants may only be reevaluated in the event that there was an administrator error or situation outside of the student’s control that caused the late enrollment. Please contact our office to have your specific situation assessed.
No.
Scholarships are not part of regular census processing, but they may be affected independently by your enrollment levels.
If you’ll be enrolled less than full time for a semester in which you have a scholarship, please work with your donor/department to determine if you’ll still be eligible to receive those funds.
You may still be eligible for certain grants based on your situation.
However, you will not be eligible for any federal student loans, and any disbursed loans must be returned to the Department of Education. The return of loan funds may create an outstanding balance on your account, but also reduces the outstanding principal balance of the student loan.
There are two main reasons why credits may be excluded from counting toward your aid eligibility:
- Graduate-level credits are not counted for undergraduate federal financial aid eligibility. An exception is made for cases where your academic advisor has contacted us to verify that those graduate-level credits will be counting towards your undergraduate degree.
- Federal aid may only be used to repeat a course one time after a passing grade (D- or better) is received. We are unable to make exceptions even in cases where the grade earned does not meet departmental requirements.
The credit minimum for loans are:
- Undergraduates: 6 credits
- Graduate/Professional/EMBA students: 5 credits
- MBA students: 3 credits
Enrollment below these levels will result in loan offers being cancelled from your account. If you drop below the loan credit requirement after your loans have disbursed, you may owe a bill to the university for the loan amounts you took out. Cancelled or “paid back” loans under these circumstances do not count towards your lifetime eligibility for federal loans.