Study Away Financial Aid
Financial aid may be available on a limited basis for a summer “Study Away” trip.
Students should schedule an appointment with a financial aid counselor by calling
616.259.1112 or emailing [email protected] as soon as possible to discuss their personal options. Please allow one half hour
for this meeting.
Trip Costs:
Financial aid refunds from the fall and spring semesters may be used to help pay for
trip costs. Students/parents may borrow financial aid loans up to the Cost of Attendance
for the fall/spring semesters. Most of these loans are subject to a credit check evaluation
by the lending institution. Please allow 2-6 weeks processing time.
Cost of Attendance - Current Financial Aid = Unmet Cost of Attendance budget
- $20,000 - $12,000 = $ 8,000
Example: The student/parent would have $8,000 in additional loan eligibility to borrow.
Any outstanding tuition due for the fall/spring semesters will be deducted first from
the loans. Any leftover money will be refunded to the student/parent to help pay for
trip costs.
Tuition Costs:
To be considered for Summer financial aid, students must register at least half-time
for Summer classes and have a valid FAFSA on file. You may combine credits for the
Summer 1 and Summer 2 mini-semesters. For example, 3 credits in Summer 1 + 3 credits
in Summer 2 = half-time enrollment, which is the same as for any other semester.
For undergraduate students, half-time is six credit hours. For graduate level students,
half-time is five credit hours.
The Financial Aid Office will review each student’s eligibility for aid and email
each student either a notification of an award or a message explaining that they are
not eligible for aid. Summer awarding typically begins the first week of April. Because
Summer awarding is a manual process, please allow 2-3 weeks from the date you enroll
in at least six credit hours for an award notification.
Pell Grant recipients who attend school full-time in the Fall AND Spring semesters
may have Pell Grant eligibility for Summer if they attend at least half-time during
the summer. Pell Grant recipients who do not attend full-time in either the Fall OR
Spring semester may have limited Pell Grant eligibility left over for the summer at
less than half-time enrollment.
Students who use their full Federal student loan eligibility in the Fall and Spring
semesters will not have any Federal student loan eligibility for summer. Exceptions
would be for those students who change grade levels from freshman to sophomore, or
sophomore to junior status.
KCAD may have some Study Away scholarships available on a limited basis. Information
will be emailed to your Ferris email address if you qualify. There may be additional
instructions included in that email.
If you plan to attend classes during a Summer semester, it is recommended that you
plan your finances well in advance. Funding for Summer is extremely limited and many
students must rely on alternative loan options to attend Summer classes.
