Wintermester

Baylor's Wintermester is an intersession term offered between the Fall and Spring semesters where students can complete an accelerated course at a discounted rate.

Wintermester is an additional tuition charge added to the Spring 2026 semester bill and is not included in the flat-rate tuition amount for the Spring term.            

Important Notice Regarding Drops, Withdrawals, and Cancellations: 

• Cancellation - Cancelling (removing) a Wintermester class before the 1st day of classes. 

• Dropping a Class - If you are only dropping the Wintermester class but will continue with your Spring courses, this page and refund policy applies to you. 

• Withdrawal - If you are discontinuing all your courses and will not be enrolled in any classes for the term, this is considered a Withdrawal. Note, if you are only enrolled in one course and drop that course, this is also considered a Withdrawal. 

Tuition & Fees 

Wintermester tuition and fee rates can be found on the Tuition and Fees webpage. Remember, Wintermester tuition will be a separate charge on your Spring 2026 bill and not part of the Spring flat rate tuition. 

If a student will be attending the Spring semester full time (12 or more hours) and will also be taking a Wintermester course, the student can submit a Cost of Attendance Adjustment appeal to request an increase in their spring cost of attendance to allow for additional loan and outside scholarship resources to be applied.   

Books for Wintermester 

Students will need to use personal resources to purchase books for Wintermester because Spring aid will not disburse until after Wintermester ends. Pell eligible students can contact Baylor One Stop before 4:00pm on Thursday, December 18 to discuss options if you are unable to purchase your Wintermester books. One Stop is also available by phone during regular office hours at 254-710-2611. 

Financial Aid Resources 

Federal Aid (Grants, Work-Study, Loans) 

• Students must be enrolled at least half-time (Wintermester + Spring semester credit hours) to be eligible for federal loans. Check here to see what half-time means for you. 

• Students must complete the 2025-2026 FAFSA and complete all unsatisfied requirements in the Financial Aid Dashboard (if applicable). 

Baylor Aid (Scholarships, Grants, Assistantships, etc.) 

• Baylor aid will be applied to the Spring bill based on a students enrollment in Wintermester hours plus Spring credit hours. To check the aid requirements, you can log into BearWeb > Financial Aid Dashboard > Offer, then click on the name of a listed fund. 

• No additional Baylor scholarships or need based grants are awarded for Wintermester enrollment.

Alternative Loans (State or Private Lender Loans)

• Loans may be available depending on the lender’s terms and conditions but may be subject to credit worthiness. Learn more about state or private loan options here. 

NOTE: If you drop a class during the Wintermester, your Spring semester total enrollment hours must meet any minimum requirements to maintain financial aid. The combination of credit hours from Wintermester and Spring are used to determine enrollment level for financial aid. 

Disbursement (When Your Financial Aid Is Applied to Your Bill) 

The Wintermester is an add-on to the Spring semester so any aid associated with the Wintermester term will be disbursed with Spring semester aid. Spring semester aid will disburse up to 10 days before the start of the Spring semester. Wintermester charges and any aid applied to Wintermester will be viewed on the Spring billing statement.

Note: All verification and/or outstanding hold items must be resolved prior to aid disbursing. Check your Financial Aid Dashboard to confirm you have no unsatisfied requirements so that your disbursement is not delayed. 

Enrollment Information 

Students can enroll in one course of study during the Wintermester. Generally, these courses will have 3 or 4 credit hours. You may review the course schedule here or speak with your academic advisor. Wintermester courses should have a "WM" displayed in the course number. 

The credit hours completed during the Wintermester will be counted as part of the Spring semester credit load. University policy does not allow for concurrent enrollment during the Fall or Spring term (i.e. you may not concurrently enroll at Baylor and another institution during Wintermester). A student can contact their academic dean’s office about petitioning for an exception to allow for this. 

Example: If you are an undergraduate student with a merit-based scholarship, you must be enrolled full time (12+ credit hours). If you enroll in 3 credit hours during Wintermester and 9 credit hours in the Spring, you will be considered full time. However, if you drop the Wintermester course, you would be at 9 credit hours and would become ineligible for your merit-based scholarship. In order to be considered full time this student would need to add a 3 credit course for the Spring term.

Graduation and Wintermester 

If you are a graduating senior and the course taken during Wintermester completes your academic requirements, your graduation term will be Spring, with graduation in May.  

Veteran Benefits  

Planning to receive VA benefit payments for both the Wintermester and the regular Spring semester? Enrolling in the Wintermester will not count toward your registered Spring semester hours for VA benefit purposes. To be considered full time as a VA beneficiary for both the Wintermester and Spring semester, you will need to register for at least 3 degree applicable hours for the Wintermester and for at least 12 degree applicable hours for the regular Spring semester.  

The VA considers these sessions as separate from one another. For example, registering for 3 hours during the Wintermester and 10 hours during the Spring semester will not be considered full time for the Spring semester for VA purposes. For additional questions, contact VA_Benefits@baylor.edu.