We know navigating the financial aid process can lead to many questions. We hope this page can serve as a solid start to answering some of your most common questions and concerns. If you still need additional assistance, please contact the Student Financial Aid office.
Student Financial Aid
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5337 USA
(269) 387-6000
Financial aid and eligibility
- Parents of dependent, undergraduate students can apply for the federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan. If the parent applying for the federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan is denied, the student may be eligible to increase their federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan by completing the student financial aid adjustment form located on .
- Graduate students can apply for the federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan.
- Students can apply for private alternative loans.
- Students can apply for scholarships (provided the deadlines have not passed).
Please note: Students can only be awarded up to the cost of attendance for each semester.
Please ensure you:
- Have completed all financial aid requirements.
- Are in a degree-seeking program or an eligible certificate program.
- Have completed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the current academic year. All federal aid, some state aid and some University-level aid require a FAFSA for the current year.
- Are enrolled in the required number of credit hours for the offer:
- Fall and spring
- Undergraduate
- Full time: 12+ credit hours
- 3/4 time: 9-11 credit hours
- 1/2 time: 6-8 credit hours
- Less than 1/2 time: 5 or less credit hours
- Graduate
- Full time: 6 credit hours
- 3/4 time: 4-5 credit hours
- 1/2 time: 3 credit hours
- Less than 1/2 time: 2 or less credit hours
- Undergraduate
- Summer I and II
- Undergraduate
- Full time: 6+ credit hours
- 3/4 time: 4-5 credit hours
- 1/2 time: 3 credit hours
- Less than 1/2 time: 2 or less credit hours
- Graduate
- Full time: 3 credit hours
- 1/2 time: 2 credit hours
- Less than 1/2 time: 1 credit hour
- Undergraduate
- Fall and spring
- Are meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) as indicated by the policy.
- Are not in default on a federal student loan.
Please visit Bronco Express or contact us at (269) 387-6000 or @email if you are meeting the above guidelines or your reason is not listed here.
- Federal loans can be increased or transferred via the student on Self-Service. They can only be increased if you have not been offered up to the yearly and overall aggregates (see loan limits) and if you have not been offered up to the cost of attendance.
- Federal Pell Grants, 51福利社 grants and federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG) cannot be increased above the offered amounts.
- If your financial aid amounts decreased between now and previous years, you could have reached the limit for certain types of financial aid such as federal loans or the federal Pell Grant. It could also change due to changes in your financial aid and household data on your FAFSA.
Student Financial Aid鈥檚 Types of Aid webpage displays some but not all scholarships that are available. Other scholarships may be available through your department or externally.
Please review our Financial Aid Eligibility webpage to review requirements to receive aid.
Loans
- Parents of dependent, undergraduate students can apply for the federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan. If the parent applying for the federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan is denied, the student may be eligible to increase their federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan by completing the student financial aid adjustment form located on .
- Graduate students can apply for the federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan.
- Students can apply for private alternative loans.
Once a private loan is certified, all lenders have a right-to-cancel period that must pass before they will send the funds. Please check with your lender to determine when they will send the funds to the school. If the funds are sent electronically, it could take 3-5 business days before we receive and apply them. If the funds are sent via check, it depends on the U.S. postal service as to when they deliver the check. You should allow 7-10 business days for a mailed check to arrive at 51福利社. If the check requires you to sign for it, we will send you an email notification advising you to come into the financial aid office and sign for it before it is applied to the bill.
Additionally, ensure you are meeting your lender鈥檚 terms for the loan. Some lenders require a student to be enrolled at least half time, meet Satisfactory Academic Progress and be in a degree-seeking program; others do not. Guest students receiving private loans should contact Bronco Express if loans are not applied.
You can review your loan history in the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) by visiting and logging in with your FSA ID and password. Every federal student loan you have received will be listed on this website in the order they were disbursed.
All federal loans are assigned a loan servicer. You can review their information on NSLDS by clicking the number to the left of each loan and scrolling down. You will contact the servicer with billing inquiries on your loans, including deferment and forbearance requests.
You must get your loan servicer鈥檚 deferment form and provide it to the Registrar's Office for completion. Your servicer鈥檚 contact information should be included with the form, including their name, phone number and mailing address; a fax number is optional but recommended. If your servicer does not have their own form, you must reach out to the Registrar's Office and request they send verification of your enrollment to your servicer and provide their contact information. Loan deferment forms are not accepted or processed at Bronco Express or Student Financial Aid.
Requirements and processing
Please review your financial aid requirements in .
Please read the email in its entirety and follow any instructions indicated. If it is still unclear what must be done, you may contact Bronco Express:
- In person: Please bring your Bronco Card and either print the email or be able to pull up the email electronically for explanation by a Bronco Express team member.
- By phone: Please have your WIN ready and be able to read the email to the phone representative.
- By email: Forward the email to @email with your WIN included.
Please check your financial aid requirements on . Submitted paperwork generally appears there within 2-3 business days. In addition, standard processing time is typically 1-2 weeks and can be extended during peak times.
Please check your requirements and ensure nothing is marked "Incomplete" or "Requested, Not Received" on your financial aid requirements. If "Requested, Not Received," please submit the requested documents. If "Incomplete" or all documents are on hold, please contact Bronco Express to see if anything additional is needed.
This means you have financial aid requirements to complete before your financial aid can be disbursed. Please check your financial aid requirements on . Review the following table for what each requirement status means:
Status | Meaning and action |
---|---|
Pending Final Review | The requirement is currently under review or in the queue to be reviewed by our office. No further action is needed at this time. |
Received Incomplete, Returned | The submitted document is missing required information or documents. If it is a document, it will be returned to you via mail with a letter indicating why it is incomplete. Contact Bronco Express to determine what is needed if necessary. |
Unable to Process | We are unable to process the document. This could be because we are missing information, we have conflicting information, you do not meet the guidelines to process the document or another reason. Please contact Bronco Express for more information. |
On Hold, Unable to Process | We have received the document and are holding it until we are able to process it. This status could indicate we are waiting for additional information. Please contact Bronco Express for more information. |
Endowed Scholarship Application Pending | Your endowed scholarship application is awaiting decision. There is nothing additional that you need to do. |
Please allow up to 2-3 business days for requirements to appear on . Ensure you have submitted the correct documents and they are complete. After 2-3 days, contact Bronco Express to determine if your documents were received or if you need to resubmit.
Most documents can be submitted electronically. Please visit our Forms webpage to find your specific form and send accordingly. Some forms will need to be printed, signed by hand and then turned into Bronco Express.
Please visit our Financial Aid Resources webpage to learn how to check your financial aid status, submit forms and use federal resources.
Email notifications are sent to notify you of important information. If you are no longer affiliated with 51福利社 and are still receiving emails, please contact Bronco Express at (269) 387-6000 to determine the cause of the email and request they be stopped.
Standard processing time for most documents is 5-10 business days (1-2 weeks) from when they are received by our processing office (when they appear on ). Some documents, such as appeals, can take longer, and processing time as a whole can increase during peak times.
Federal work-study
More information regarding federal work-study eligibility is available through Student Financial Aid. Please keep in mind that even if you meet the eligibility requirements, federal work-study is not guaranteed due to limited funding.
Please visit the Career and Student Employment Services webpage.
Billing and refunds
Acounts Receivable houses information regarding refunds, billing and signing up for the payment plan. Please note: Parents cannot sign up for eRefunds. Any refunds from a parent loan will be mailed to the address indicated on the parent loan application, and any refunds from a credit card overpayment will be returned directly to the card.
If you do not pay your account balance on time, a hold may be placed on your account, which may prevent you from registering for classes or obtaining a transcript or diploma. You may also be subject to service charges of 1.5% monthly (1% annually). If your account is sent to a third-party collection agency for non-payment, you will be responsible for any collection fees, which may be based on a percentage at a maximum of 39% of the debt, and all costs and expenses, including reasonable attorney's fees, we incur in such collection efforts.
Since there are many variables that could affect your balance鈥攍ike taking courses on the main campus, online, class or lab fees, etc.鈥攚e would only be able to provide an estimate at best. You can view the following costs online or use the 51福利社 Cost Calculator.
Other
There are two systems for Authorized Users:
- , which includes financial aid and academic information. This is managed by the Registrar's Office.
- Payment and account information, which includes billing and payment information. This is managed by Accounts Receivable.
You can find your WIN:
- On your acceptance letter to the University.
- On the back of your Bronco Card.
More information about the 1098-T form is available through Accounts Receivable.
Contact us
Still have a question about financial aid? Fill out our brief form and let us know!