Maintaining awards and loan eligibility

Maintaining your student loan eligibility

To continue being eligible for student loans, you must meet all of the following requirements:

You are enrolled in an eligible program of study.
You are making academic progress and achieving satisfactory scholastic standing in each period of post-secondary study.
You are maintaining full-time student status. This means you are enrolled in and attending a minimum percentage of a full course load. Consult the Course Load Guide for more details.

Maintaining your awards eligibility

Your awards will be affected if you haven’t taken the minimum 24 credits that are graded on a percentage scale, also known as percentage-graded credits. If you take a course for Credit/D/Fail grading, your eligibility for UBC scholarships and awards will also be impacted.

Scholarships, prizes, and other academic awards are normally awarded to undergraduate students who have achieved all of the following:

Registered in at least 24 percentage-graded credits, although there are some exceptions to the 24 credits rule
Obtained a standing in the top 10% of their year and faculty, or an average of 75% or higher
Received a passing grade in all courses
Completed all courses (e.g., no missing grades or standing deferred courses)

Undergraduate scholarships and academic awards

These awards are given out at the beginning of or during the Winter Session. Your highest 24 percentage-graded credits in the previous Winter Session determine your eligibility for these awards for the upcoming Winter Session.

Awards granted at the end of the academic year

The highest 24 percentage-graded credits you completed during the Winter Session that just ended determines your eligibility for awards and prizes awarded at the end of the academic year, usually in May or June.

Calculating academic averages for scholarships and awards

Courses taken for Credit/D/Fail grading will be counted towards the 24-credit minimum requirement to maintain a scholarship or academic award. They will not be used to determine your eligibility for new or renewable UBC scholarships and awards—these are based on the weighted average of the 24 percentage-graded courses only.

Taking courses for Credit/D/Fail grading does not affect your eligibility for student loans and bursaries.

Example scenarios of eligibility for scholarships and awards

Hussein registers for too few graded credits.

Hussein is currently enrolled in a full-time credit load of 27 credits. 6 of these credits are for Credit/D/Fail grading. As a result, he is only registered in 21 percentage-graded credits, which means:

He will not qualify for UBC scholarships and academic awards in the next Winter Session, as he would have needed to register in a minimum of 24 percentage graded credits in the current Winter Session.
He will not qualify for year-end awards for the current Winter Session, as his eligibility is based on the highest 24 percentage-graded credits completed during the current Winter Session.

Maia registers for sufficient graded credits.

Maia completed 27 credits in the previous Winter Session. 3 of her credits were for Credit/D/Fail grading. In the current Winter Session, she is enrolled in 27 credits, three of which are for Credit/D/Fail grading.

This means:

She is eligible to be considered for scholarships and academic awards for the current Winter Session, since she completed a minimum of 24 percentage-graded credits in the previous Winter Session and is currently registered in the minimum credit load of 24 credits required to maintain a scholarship or academic award.
She is eligible for year-end awards within the current Winter Session, since she is registered in at least 24 percentage-graded credits in the current Winter Session.

Leela registers for enough credits to maintain an award but is not eligible for year-end awards.

Leela completed 24 percentage-graded credits in the previous Winter Session. In the current Winter Session, she is enrolled in 24 credits, 3 of which are for Credit/D/Fail grading.