Leave of absence
Students who have received financial aid and are considering a leave of absence are required to schedule an appointment with a Financial Aid Officer to review the financial aid consequences of a leave.
WSU School of Medicine has a formal policy regarding leave of absence (LOA). For financial aid purposes all leaves of absence are treated as a withdrawal effective the first day of the leave and a return calculation will be performed. A return calculation could result in having to repay all or a portion of your financial aid back to Wayne State University. Review the Return of Title IV Aid Policy.
Required exit loan counseling
All federal loan recipients are required to complete Exit Loan counseling when they cease to attend school or enroll less than half time.
To complete the REQUIRED Exit Counseling process, login at studentaid.gov. When you login, you will see your student loan history, including a summary of your federal loans, information concerning your loan servicer(s) and materials on debt management and loan repayment.
Federal Perkins, Health Professions and Institutional loan fund recipients may review the loan repayment and exit requirements at wayne.edu/bursar/loan-repayment.
Loan repayment
Grace periods on federal student loans range from 0-9 months depending on the loan. If you are unable to make payments, you have other options, which include the following modified repayment plans, deferment, forbearance and loan consolidation. If you select an income driven repayment your payment could be as low as $0 per month depending on your income and family size. You are encouraged to make payments while you are on leave. Making payments will reduce the interest accumulation and overall loan debt. Contact your loan servicer with any questions about your loans. The WSU Financial Aid Office is available if you have questions.
Tuition adjustments
Tuition and fee charges are sometimes reduced when you withdraw. If this creates a credit balance, you may request cancelation of this portion of your student loans to reduce your outstanding loan debt. The written request must be within 120 days of the disbursement date. Contact the School of Medicine Enrollment Management Service Center if you have questions about your tuition charges related to a withdrawal.
Returning from a leave
No financial aid disbursements will occur while on a leave of absence. If you return during the same semester, your aid eligibility will be reviewed and could be reduced based on your remaining courses for the semester.
Satisfactory academic progress (SAP) appeal is required
Satisfactory academic progress (SAP) policy requires that you complete all coursework with a passing grade. Withdrawal from courses, even if due to a leave of absence, will negatively impact your satisfactory academic progress. In order to be considered for aid when you return from a leave you must submit a SAP Appeal.
If you repeat a course, credit hours for each registration will be added to your attempted credit hours total. However, only the most recent grade received in the course will be included in the calculation of your qualitative measure. Note: Federal financial aid will pay for only one repeat of a previously passed course.
File the annual FAFSA
You must complete a FAFSA every academic year if you want to receive financial aid.