The following information applies only to undergraduate and graduate students at Loyola Marymount University. Loyola Law students should visit the Policies and Procedures page for Law students to review details related to leave of absence or withdrawals.
The university policy on taking a leave of absence or withdrawing from LMU is available on the Registrar’s website. All students wishing to take a leave of absence or withdrawal from the university are encouraged to complete the appropriate form to file a leave of absence or withdraw with the Office of the Registrar.
Students who stop attending classes without notifying the Office of the Registrar will be considered to have “unofficially withdrawn.” When this happens, a review will be performed, in conjunction with the student’s faculty member(s) for the term, to determine the last date of attendance. If the last date of attendance cannot be determined, federal financial aid will be returned based on the 50% point of the enrollment period in accordance with federal and institutional regulations. For additional information regarding a leave of absence and withdrawal, please review the University Bulletin.
Students are advised to determine how tuition and other charges will be adjusted prior to withdrawal or taking a leave of absence, in addition to how financial aid awards will be adjusted.
When adjusting financial aid, the beginning of the leave of absence or date of withdrawal will be used as the earliest date that an official at LMU became aware that the student stopped attending all classes. That date will be used when determining refunds and prorating tuition charges.
Law School Students please visit this section for additional information.
Q. How does withdrawing from all of my classes affect my financial aid?
LMU Financial Aid will review the date of your withdrawal and use it to determine whether any federal aid must be returned. Each student’s federal financial aid is “earned” in proportion to the length of time the student is enrolled for the semester. If a student completely withdraws from their courses prior to the end of the semester, a calculation is performed to determine the percentage of federal financial aid that was “earned” prior to the withdrawal. Any “unearned” funds are then returned to the federal financial aid program(s).
The amount of earned and unearned financial aid is determined by LMU Financial Aid using the “Return to Title IV” (R2T4) calculation that is required by the U.S. Department of Education.
If you have taken out federal loans, you must complete exit loan counseling. Be advised that your loans will go into repayment. Contact your loan servicer to let them know you have withdrawn from all classes, and whether/when you plan to re-enroll. Your servicer may be able to defer your loan repayment.
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Tuition Refunds
The tuition refund for students who withdraw or take a leave of absence on or after the first day of classes is calculated in accordance with the University’s refund policy, as published by the Student Accounts Department.
Please note that the University’s refund policy does not follow the same schedule for federal aid and that the tuition proration applies to students who are not federal aid recipients. It also applies to the return of institutional aid, institutional loans, and Cal Grants. Federal loans and grants are calculated and adjusted based on federal policies and procedures. For more information regarding federal aid prorations, please visit the Return of Title IV aid section of our website.
LMU Housing and Meal Plans
For resident students, the official withdrawal date from the Office of the Registrar is the date used to determine Housing refunds. Meal Plans are non-refundable.
Students should complete the Withdrawal or Leave of Absence form in the Office of the Registrar and, if a resident student, notify the Student Housing Office. Housing charges are prorated upon leave of absence or withdrawal depending on when the student leaves student housing. To determine how your housing charges will be adjusted, visit the Housing Cancellation section of the Housing Office webpage or contact the Housing office by calling 310-338-2963.
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Federal Aid
Financial Aid programs created by the federal government are called ‘‘Title IV Funds’’ and include the Pell Grant, Supplemental (SEOG) Grant, TEACH Grant, Federal Direct Loan, and Graduate and Parent 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. Details on the return of Title IV funds calculation is available on the Return of Title IV Funds section of our website.
LMU Institutional Awards
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.
The calendars below apply to institutional grants, institutional loans, institutional scholarships, and Cal Grants. For federal aid, including Federal Direct Loans, Parent PLUS, Graduate PLUS, Pell Grants, and SEOG Grants, visit the Return of Title IV aid section of our website.
Fall 2023
Percentage Earned If you withdraw from: To: 0% Aug 28, 2023 Sept 1, 2023 50% Sept 2, 2023 Sept 15, 2023 75% Sept 16, 2023 Oct 20, 2023 100% Oct 21, 2023 Dec 15, 2023
Spring 2024Percentage Earned If you withdraw from: To: 0% Jan 8, 2024 Jan 12, 2024 50% Jan 13, 2024 Jan 26, 2024 75% Jan 27, 2024 Mar 2, 2024 100% Mar 3, 2024 May 3, 2024 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 canceled and returned to your lender.