Leave of Absence and Withdrawals
LMU’s policy on taking a leave of absence or withdrawing from LMU is available on the Registrar's website.
If at all possible, students are advised to determine how tuition and other charges will be adjusted prior to withdrawal or taking a leave of absence as well as how financial aid awards will be adjusted.
When adjusting financial aid, the beginning of the leave of absence or date of withdrawal will be determined as the earliest date that an official at LMU became aware that the student stopped attending all classes.
Adjustment to Charges
Tuition
A percentage tuition charges are refunded based on the date of the leave or withdrawal. Loyola Marymount University’s refund policy is published by the Office of Student Financial Services in the the Student Accounts page along with the percentage of tuition that will be refunded by date for each term.
LMU Housing
Housing charges are prorated upon leave of absence or withdrawal depending on when the student leaves student's housing. Contact Housing at 310-338-2963 to determine how your housing charges will be adjusted.
Meal Plans and Fees
Meal plans and fees charged are non-refundable.
Adjustment to Financial Aid Awards
Federal Funds
Financial aid programs created by the federal government are called ‘‘Title IV Funds’’ and include the Pell grant, Supplemental (SEOG) grant, Academic Competitiveness Grant, National SMART Grant, TEACH Grant, Perkins Loan, Stafford Loans, and Graduate Plus Loans.
Title IV funds are awarded with the understanding that the student will attend school for the entire period for which the assistance was offered. However, should a student need to take a leave of absence or withdraw*, they may no longer be eligible for the full amount of Title IV funds awarded in the Award Letter.
Federal law requires that the Financial Aid Office determine at what point Title IV funds will cease to be made available once the student's enrollment has ended, and any unearned funds will be returned to the federal financial aid program. There is no relationship between this process and how LMU determines what will be charged when the student takes a leave of absence or withdraw.
The federal government provides financial aid offices with a schedule that is used to determine how much of Title IV funds a student has earned if deciding to take a leave of absence or withdraw.
The federal government requires that refunds be returned in the following order:
1. Unsubsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loans.
2. Subsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loans.
3. Federal Direct Graduate Plus Loan.
4. Federal TEACH Grant.
LMU, State, and Private Funds
We determine how much LMU-funded financial aid a student has earned in accordance with Loyola Marymount University's refund policy as published on the Office of Student Financial Services website on the Student Accounts page.
Cal Grants
Cal Grant policies state that if a student is charged tuition that meets or exceeds the Cal Grant award, the cal grant does not need to be adjusted based on a withdrawal of leave of absence. However, cal grant recipients may want to rescind their Cal Grant and notify the California Student Aid Commission of their leave or withdrawal in order to preserve their eligibility for a future term. Students can process a leave of absence request with the California Student Aid Commission online at www.csac.ca.gov and click the link "WebGrants4Students". In this case, the student would be responsible for covering the tuition balance on their student account.
Alternative (Private) Loans
Based on the date you give official notice of your leave of absence or withdrawal from the University, the Financial Aid Office will first determine what amount of your federal and/or state financial aid (if any) will be returned to the appropriate federal and/or state aid program. You are not entitled to keep, or receive a refund of, any alternative loan funds that exceed tuition and fees charged for the term after your leave of absence or withdrawal is officially processed and any applicable federal aid or state aid funds are returned. Any portion of your alternative (private) loan that exceeds charges assessed by the university will be cancelled and returned to your lender.