LOA and loans

[psipsina]

I've been in the midst of a medical issue for over 6months now. We thought it was almost resolved when I started back as a M2 this semester but it went down hill again and after two more surgeries I am contemplating taking a LOA if I can't get back on track soon. My question is, what happens to the loans they have already dispersed to me for living expenses? Does anyone have any experience with this?

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[Doctor Bagel]

I know someone posted about a similar situation either here or in allo. I'll look for it to see how it worked out. I did a quick search online, and it looks like the school might calculate the percentage of time you were in school before withdrawing. Say you were in school for 20% of the semester, it sounds like you'd get to keep 20% of the financial aid, so you would be stuck having to return money. Here's the site I found --

http://www.financialaid.neu.edu/policies/withdrawal_or_leave_of_absence.php

I know it's not helpful, but I think you'll have to consult your lender and financial aid office for a definitive answer. If you could, it would be really helpful if you could report back with what they tell you so we can pass it on to other people in the same situation.

Sorry you're going through this. It sucks to have to worry about money when you really need to focus on getting better.

Editing to add that EVMS appears to have a useful page about this with a link to the official guidelines. It sounds like you can work out a repayment agreement with your school and still be eligible to receive future aid while making repayments.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

OK, from reading the statements from a couple of medical schools, it appears like there are some variations. Here's Wayne State's page. They say that if you take a leave of absence after school starts, you're eligible for aid already disbursed provided that you return within 180 days or "within the payment period" (not sure what this means).

http://www.med.wayne.edu/student_affairs/financial_aid/policies.asp

So if your school has a policy like this, it's possible you could keep the money provided that you return to school within x period of time.

 

[psipsina]

Thanks so much for your input Dr. Bagel! I'm talking to my dean on Monday but I've had so much anxiety about this. I'll definitely let you know how it turns out if I end up taking the LOA.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Thanks so much for your input Dr. Bagel! I'm talking to my dean on Monday but I've had so much anxiety about this. I'll definitely let you know how it turns out if I end up taking the LOA.

Good luck, and thanks for keeping us posted! I know this issue has to come up all the time, but it seems like it's hard to come up with definitive info about how it works.

And I realized I forgot to post the EVMS link. It seems to have some useful information about how they do it.

http://www.evms.edu/students/fin-aid/leave-policy.html