Financial Aid

Financial Aid

Understanding Your Award Letter and Award Information

term defined in Glossary =defined in Glossary

How Your Awards Are Determined

The Financial Aid Office determines your awards from the information that you and your family supplied to the Federal Processor on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Award priority is given to:

  • Early applicants
  • The lowest to highest family incomes
  • All programs are offered based on eligibility and the availability of funds

To determine the types and amounts of awards for which you may be eligible, WMU considers the following:

Residency Status

Your residency status for establishing the type of aid for which you are eligible (some aid programs are limited to Michigan residents only) is determined by the information indicated on the FAFSA. To be eligible for aid from the State of Michigan, you (and your parents if you are a dependent student) must have been a Michigan residence since July 1 or before of the year prior to the current financial aid year (i.e., if applying for aid in 2007-2008, you must have been a resident since at least July 1, 2006).

Your WMU residency status for determining whether or not you will pay resident or nonresident tuition and fees and for establishing your estimated cost of attendance for financial aid purposes is determined by the pdf document requires Acrobat Reader to view WMU residency policy. If you have appealed to have your residency status changed from nonresident to resident and it is approved, your financial aid awards may be adjusted at the same time as your tuition and fee charges are adjusted.

Dependency Status

Your dependency status for financial aid purposes is determined by how you answered the questions in Step 3 of the FAFSA. If you answered "Yes" to one or more of the questions, you are considered "Independent." If you answered "No" to all of the questions, you are considered "Dependent." Your dependency status determines the maximum Federal Direct loan limits for which you are eligible and whether or not you are eligible for a Federal Direct Parent Loan (PLUS). If you have answered "No" to all the questions in Step 3 and you have extenuating circumstances which prohibit you from obtaining parental data requested on the FAFSA, you can complete a Dependency Override Appeal and submit it to the Financial Aid Office for consideration.

If your dependency status is changed from Independent to Dependent based upon corrections made to your FAFSA information in Step 3 by you or a school, your FAFSA may be considered "Rejected" until parental information is provided to the Federal Processor. If you were awarded prior to the correction, your awards may be adjusted after the parental information is received.

Class Level and Admission Status

Your class level and admission status determines the maximum Federal Direct loan limits for which you are eligible and your eligibility for grants & scholarships, work study and a Federal Perkins Loan. The different categories of class level/admission status are: undergraduate degree/no prior degree, second bachelor degree/permanent certification, graduate degree and not admitted into a degree granting program.

Undergraduate Degree/No Prior Degree

Your class level as an undergraduate student admitted into a degree granting program with no prior degree (i.e., freshman, sophomore, junior, senior) is determined by the number of credit hours you have completed as indicated below:

Freshman: 0 - 25 credit hours
Sophomore: 26 - 55 credit hours
Junior: 56 - 87 credit hours
Senior: 88+ credit hours

Second Bachelor's Degree/Permanent Teacher Certification

If you have a bachelor's degree and you have been admitted into a different undergraduate degree granting program or you are taking courses to obtain your permanent teacher certification from the State, then you are considered at the junior/senior level for maximum Federal Direct loan limits and your dependency status is dependent upon how you answer the questions in Step 3 of the FAFSA. You are no longer eligible for Federal and State grants or scholarships.

Graduate Degree

If you have completed a bachelor's degree and you are admitted into a Master's, Specialist or Doctoral graduate degree program, you are considered a "graduate student" for maximum Federal Direct loan limits and you are considered "Independent." You are no longer eligible for Federal or State grants and scholarships.

If you are not admitted into a degree granting program at WMU then you are not eligible for Federal or State financial aid. You are considered not admitted into a degree granting program for financial aid purposes for the following situations:

  • Guest (admitted at another educational institution and taking one or more courses at WMU);
  • Degree status of: NDA, GNA or GCP (No degree awarded or a Graduate Certificate Program) Note: If your degree status is Professional Certification whereby you are completing hours for State Permanent Teacher Certification- you are eligible for Federal Direct Loans at the undergraduate level.
  • Taking additional courses after graduation and not admitted into a different degree granting program with a different major (although WMU allows registration for additional courses after you have graduated for up to one year without being admitted into a different degree granting program, you are no longer eligible for financial aid);
  • Adding a minor after obtaining your undergraduate degree.

Planned Enrollment

The semesters for which you are enrolled and your enrollment status (full-time versus less than-full-time) affect the aid programs for which you are eligible and your estimated cost of attendance. WMU assumes full-time enrollment for fall and spring when estimating financial aid awards. See term defined in Glossary Enrollment Status Table.

Your award amounts may be affected if you are

Enrolled Less Than Full Time

If you will be enrolled less than full time in any term, your awards may be reduced or cancelled depending upon your actual enrollment at the time of disbursement and the eligibility criteria for each of the aid programs.

Enrolled Less Than Half Time

If you will be enrolled less than half time, you may not be eligible for any financial aid awarded to you (except for the Federal Pell Grant, Michigan Adult Part-time Grant, Michigan Indian Tuition Waiver, WMU National Guard Grant and the WMU Nontraditional Student Scholarship). In addition, if you have received Federal Subsidized, Federal Unsubsidized or Federal Perkins Loan in the past, your loan(s) may go into repayment. For details, click on the Enrolled Less Than Half Time Loan Repayment fact sheet for details.

Enrolled in Summer I or Summer II

If you are planning to enroll in Summer I or Summer II, you must complete a Summer Financial Aid Application.

Awards for Summer I and Summer II may be limited to your Federal Pell Grant and/or Federal Direct Subsidized, Federal Direct Unsubsidized and Federal PLUS loan eligibility if other grants and work study funds are depleted. 

Due to Federal regulations, if you are eligible for the Pell Grant and have not used all of your Pell Grant eligibility prior to Summer I, we must award what you may be eligible for in Summer I based upon your enrollment and remaining eligibility.If you are eligible for a Pell Grant and enroll in Summer II, we have to award Pell Grant to you for Summer II based upon your enrollment and eligibility and may have to reduce the Pell Grant amount awarded to you for a subsequent semester.

You may not be eligible for additional Federal Direct Loans in Summer I if you used your maximum Federal Direct Student loan limits in prior semesters. If you are awarded Federal Direct Loans for Summer II, it may reduce your eligibility for subsequent semesters.

If you need additional funds for Summer I or Summer II, you may be eligible for an alternative loan with the maximum amount based upon what we estimate your Summer I or Summer II costs are minus any other aid awarded to you.

Undergraduate Student Graduating in August or December

If you are an undergraduate student graduating in December and have been awarded Federal Direct Subsidized or Federal Direct Unsubsidized loans for fall and spring, your loans will be adjusted to NOT include spring semester. The amount may also be reduced depending upon the number of credit hours you will be completing during the terms of enrollment.

Undergraduate Becoming a Graduate Student

If you are planning to graduate from WMU and become a graduate student, you will need to notify the financial aid office when you become a graduate student in order to receive financial aid at the graduate level following your graduation. You will no longer be eligible for Federal, State and WMU grants or the Federal Perkins loan awarded to you as an undergraduate student when you become a graduate student. However, your annual loan limit for the Federal Direct Subsidized and Federal Direct Unsubsidized loan programs will increase. See Maximum Federal Direct Student Loan Limits for details.

Estimated Cost of Attendance (COA)

The estimated cost of attendance is used solely for financial aid awarding and includes tuition, fees, room, board, books, supplies, personal expenses, travel and loan fees and is estimated based upon averages for each category and are not reflective of actual or projected costs. Actual tuition, fees, and university housing costs are published each year (generally after July 1) and are subject to Board of Trustees approval. Factors considered are residency status, class level and admission status, planned enrollment, and housing options of on-campus, off-campus or living with parents. Click on one of the following to determine your estimated costs:

Estimated COA Budgets:

Your estimated cost may be increased to allow for school related expenses such as:

  • Commuting
  • Child care expenses
  • Additional fees/costs for specific courses
  • Purchasing a computer

Please contact the Financial Aid Office to discuss possible adjustments to your Cost of Attendance and/or financial aid award.

Expected Family Contribution (EFC)

The information you indicated on the FAFSA and Federal methodology determine your EFC and the types of aid programs for which you are eligible. If a change occurs to your EFC after you have been awarded financial aid, your awards may be adjusted or canceled Your EFC may change due to the term defined in Glossary verification, FAFSA corrections, or an adjustment of family contribution appeal.

Other Resources

The receipt of other resources may affect your eligibility for Federal and State aid and some WMU grant programs. When the financial aid office is notified that the student has received other resources, the federal, state and WMU need-based aid may be reduced or canceled according to federal, state and WMU regulations and policies. If the federal, state or WMU aid has already been paid to the student's account when the notification of other resources is received, the paid aid may be reduced or canceled before the other resources are applied. Other resources include the following:

  • Americorp benefits used to pay for tuition, fees, books and any other allowable educational expenses
  • Grants
  • Michigan Education Trust (MET)
  • Reimbursement or payment of educational costs by a third party (i.e., an employer or some other agency)
  • Residence hall staff "free room and board" benefit or stipends
  • Scholarships
  • Stipends from Assistantships and Fellowships
  • Veteran Benefits

Program Eligibility Requirements

WMU must monitor the program eligibility requirements for all financial aid awarded to students. Your awards may need to be adjusted or canceled if we receive notification of any change in your residency status, dependency status, class level & admission status, planned enrollment, estimated cost of attendance, expected family contribution (EFC), or other resources.

Also, if we determine or are notified that you are not maintaining your eligibility, your awards may be canceled. For detailed eligibility requirements for your awards, please review the information in grants & scholarships, work study, and loans.

If you are receiving other resources, be sure you keep and understand any written information you have received regarding the eligibility criteria for those other resources. If you have not received any information (or you have lost it), contact the appropriate department, agency or donor and request a copy of the eligibility requirements.

 

Student Financial Aid Office
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 5337 USA
(269) 387-6000 | (269) 387-6989 Fax
finaid-info@wmich.edu