Alora Geiser-Cseh, a senior majoring in biological sciences as well as pursuing a master’s degree in translational biotechnology, visited the financial aid office in March looking for guidance on her progressive degree in translational biotechnology. Instead, she learned her entire course plan could be in jeopardy.

Geiser-Cseh visited the office knowing she was close to the 144-unit cap as an undergraduate student and having read online that she may be able to get high school credits taken off her transcript. At first, financial aid advisors dismissed her questions, telling her there was nothing they could do.

Geiser-Cseh refused to take no for an answer. She kept going back to the office. In April, she found out that the University was changing undergraduate classification for Progressive Degree Program students. The changes meant the general unit cap would be replaced with a requirement for PDP students to take undergraduate classes full time every semester to be considered an undergraduate student.

She immediately went to the financial aid website looking for more information, but could not find any updates or indication of the policy change.

“I was looking to see if people on Reddit had received any of this information, maybe were talking about it online, and it seemed like none of this was accessible anywhere,” Geiser-Cseh said in an interview with the Daily Trojan in May. “That was really shocking to me, because this information is really important, and there was nothing for me to be able to reference online to be able to make sure that I’m planning accordingly moving forward.”

USC’s PDP program allows undergraduate students to begin graduate-level classes for a master’s degree while completing their undergraduate degree. The option also maintains their eligibility for undergraduate federal grants and loans, as well as USC Merit Scholarships and University grants.

Sometime over the summer, without an official statement, USC’s PDP landing page changed its language to state that a student would remain an undergraduate student only if they were enrolled in at least 12 units in a semester toward their undergraduate degree. The website previously stated students needed to stay under a general 144-unit threshold, without noting semester-specific unit requirements.

The change is notable because it determines students’ access to undergraduate financial aid.

Once classified as a graduate student, PDP students are no longer eligible for federal, state or University need-based grants and have tighter restrictions on federal loans.

“As a low-income student … we join [PDP] because of the promise of the opportunity to get our master’s degrees without having to worry about taking out extensive loans [and] going into debt,” Geiser-Cseh said. “It feels like we’re being punished for trying to pursue this opportunity that we thought was available to us.”

Geiser-Cseh said she knew the change had happened by late June when her financial aid application hadn’t been processed yet because of a request for a satisfactory academic progress appeal. After she submitted the appeal and got her package, she was only covered for the fall semester, the last semester she would be enrolled as a full-time undergraduate student.

In July, federal loans for graduate students became stricter when changes to loan programs, as outlined in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, went into effect. The changes specifically affect new graduate student borrowers and place heavily restricted borrowing caps on loans.

Student left in the dark about changes

At the time of publication, the University has not officially communicated the change to PDP students through email, according to students who spoke with the Daily Trojan, despite the website updates outlining the change that has gone into effect.

In May, before the website was updated, the Daily Trojan reached out twice to confirm whether these changes would take effect.

“The Progressive Degree Program is not changing,” a University statement on May 20 read. “As always, participating students must meet unit enrollment requirements to maintain eligibility for federal student aid (FSA). Once a student has satisfied all the requirements for an undergraduate degree, they are expected to graduate, and financial aid eligibility will then be determined based on graduate student status.”

The Daily Trojan then asked for the University to clarify whether the unit enrollment requirements were changing.

“There are currently no plans to change unit enrollment requirements on July 1st,” a University statement on May 26 read. “Future changes, if any, will be communicated to impacted students first and explained on the PDP website once effective.”

Chris Kuizon, a junior majoring in computer science business administration and pursuing a master’s in computer science, said he found out about the changes from a Reddit thread. He has not been able to get more information since.

“I haven’t even been able to schedule a meeting with my advisor,” Kuizon said. “It’s almost impossible to schedule an appointment and get information.”

One PDP student only learned about the change during an interview with the Daily Trojan.

“I had no idea about it, and I’m still kind of unsure what the new changes are, [or] where it’s been posted,” said Siena Oh, a junior majoring in public relations and advertising as well as pursuing a master’s degree in biopharmaceutical marketing.

New requirements make course planning ‘impossible’

Geiser-Cseh said PDP students are required to meet with an undergraduate academic advisor and an advisor for the master’s program they want to join before being admitted into the program. The intention is to create a course plan outlining the units between both degrees the student will take each semester.

“They both have to sign off on [the course plan], and with the guidelines that all PDP students have historically had to work with, there is a really big balancing act for students who rely on undergraduate student financial aid to afford going to school here or paying their rent or groceries,” Geiser-Cseh said in May.

Kuizon said he made his course plan three semesters ago.

“[It’s] kind of concerning to me because … after this semester, I only have two more semesters and only have five undergraduate courses [left], which means that one semester I can only [take] two undergraduate courses, which makes it impossible for me to even be a full-time student,” Kuizon said.

Geiser-Cseh said she purposely spaced out her undergraduate units across her remaining semesters to stay under the previous 144-unit cap.

“To be able to take 12 undergraduate units each semester, it’s just not possible,” Geiser-Cseh said in May.

Meeting with advisors has been difficult
This semester, students across USC have reported hours-long waits to speak with a financial aid officer. PDP students trying to meet with an advisor to see if they’ll be affected by the change are waiting in these lines for an answer.

Geiser-Cseh said the University isn’t trying to offer support, given the lack of clear communication and the difficulty meeting with an advisor.

“I don’t get any help from them trying to figure out what steps I can take to keep myself afloat,” Geiser-Cseh said in a September interview. “I just want students who are thinking about joining this program, or [are] already in this program, to try and talk to their academic advisors or faculty members in their programs, because it seems as though the University itself is not trying to offer any support at this time.”

To remain eligible for financial aid this semester, Geiser-Cseh is taking 18 units on top of the two work-study jobs she currently has. Next semester, she will only have nine graduate units left to finish her PDP and undergraduate degree. She will have to take out private loans to pay for these remaining units, as a result of federal loan changes made by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

According to Geiser-Cseh, a financial aid advisor told her there was nothing the school could do, and her best choice was to “put her best foot forward.” She said if she had known she would graduate with debt, she would have never declared a PDP.

“My remaining graduate units are going to be for the spring semester because they haven’t even … listed my spring semester in my financial aid package,” Geiser-Cseh said. “I’m trying to save as much money as I can in the meantime, expecting that I will not be receiving [any aid] in the spring.”

The Daily Trojan reached out for comment from the University for a third time in September about why it initially denied the changes and how it would be supporting affected students.

“Our Progressive Degree Programs are structured to meet federal enrollment requirements related to financial aid eligibility,” the statement read. “Students with questions about their classification or aid eligibility should contact the Office of Financial Aid, which is working with PDP students individually.”