Juris Doctor

The Enrollment Services office combines  the traditional offices of financial aid and bursar in one convenient location. The office is located in the Lower Level of D'Amour Library. 

The first bill for the upcoming academic year shows estimated tuition and fees. Any adjustments of tuition and fees due to changes in status will be posted in the next bill after classes commence.

Why is there a Health Insurance charge?
Per Massachusetts law, any student who registers for more than an established minimum of credits must carry health insurance. The University, by default, will provide health insurance and charge the student on the first bill of the academic year. Students are given an interval during which they can waive the University's coverage and avoid the charge. To waive the insurance, you must go online at the Center for Health and Wellness health insurance link.

Once the waiving period is over on August 1 and University coverage is initiated, the health insurance charges cannot be reversed.

How do we arrive at the Estimated Pending Financial Aid that shows on the bill?
The bill reflects aid that the University has awarded and other external scholarships or loans of which we are aware. The University's award may be tentative pending receipt of required documentation and may change prior to the start of the semester. Actual disbursement of the University's award depends on completion of a number of steps, including signed award letters, completed promissory notes, loan counseling, and other requested documentation. Students will receive notices from our office detailing any missing items.

What needs to be paid, and when?
The net balance due, after Estimated Pending Aid, is due by the due date noted on the bill, unless the bill reflects a Prepayment Plan. Bills for Plan participants indicate the monthly amount due. After the due dates, that portion of charges not covered by aid and loans is subject to a monthly finance charge of 1 percent.

What is the billing schedule?
Bills that reflect anticipated charges for the fall semester are available online July 1. Prepayment Plan participants are billed on a monthly basis thereafter. Bills for the spring semester are available online December 1.

When will financial aid be posted to the account?
All financial aid and federal loans are posted once classes begin. The first bill generated after classes start should reflect all aid and loans posted to the account. These items will not appear in the Pending Aid section after posting to the account. Private loans are disbursed the week prior to classes beginning.

When will refunds be available?
Click here for a discussion of refunds.

What if the aid does not post to the account after classes start and disappears from the Estimated Pending Aid section of the bill?
If aid did not post, and the Pending Aid section is now blank, this indicates that the financial aid application process is incomplete or a required step in a particular aid item is missing. In this case, the University's awarded aid is suspended until the problem is corrected. Any portion of the bill not covered by a University Payment Plan is past due by the second bill, and may be subject to finance charges. Call the Enrollment Services office to determine what must be done.

Are there other payment options?
The Payment Plan spreads a semester's balance over 5 months. Use this link to Payment Plans for more information. If you need to finance a portion of the balance due, there are private loan options beyond the award letter. Remember that you need to plan for the entire year's charges, not just a semester's.

Withdrawal Tuition Refund Policy

Once a student commences a semester, there are non-refundable charges. Click here for a discussion of the tuition and fee refund policy and schedule.

If you need to speak to an Enrollment Services Coordinator about financing issues, please call 413-796-2080 or 800-325-1122 ext. 2080.

Grad PLUS and Private Loans

Students may borrow the remainder of their financial aid budget with the credit based Grad Plus or private loans. The main features to compare are:

1. APR% which balances fees and interest rates.
2. Repayment Period.
3. Interest rate capitalization frequency.
4. Deferability.

Eligibility and Loan Amounts
Private loans are available for all students, some even for those taking fewer than 6 credits. Grad Plus loans are only offered to those taking 6 credits or more per semester. You may borrow up to your cost of attendance, minus any other aid. Students who are in default on any loan or in bankruptcy are typically ineligible for these loans.

The federal Grad PLUS Loan is credit based with no debt to income test. Repayment is deferred until 6 months after the end of enrollment. The website for completing the application and promissory note can be accessed by clicking here. 

Private Loans- Visit ELM Select for a listing and easier comparison of the loans listed below. Note that almost all private loans offer better rates if approved with a credit-worthy co-signer.

Western New England University participates in the Federal Direct Loan program, which allows the University to receive loan funds directly from the U.S. Department of Education and to disburse them to eligible students. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form is your application for this program and can be completed on-line at http://www.fafsa.gov/. Please use the IRS Data Retrieval Process when filing the FAFSA. If filing the FAFSA before completing federal income tax forms, update the FAFSA using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool at least two weeks after the tax returns have been filed.

Federal Direct Loans are government-funded loans. Up to $20,500 can be borrowed per year. After July 1, 2012, all Federal Direct Loans for law students are Unsubsidized loans. Subsidized loan eligibility for graduate and professional students has been eliminated. Actual Direct Loan disbursements are reduced by origination fees of 1.05% which are retained by the government.  For example, total maximum disbursements for the year are $20,286, or $10,143 per semester.

Eligibility and Loan Amounts
You must be enrolled at least half-time in a degree program to receive Federal Direct student loan funds.  Students must be U.S. citizens, eligible non-citizens, or permanent residents to receive Federal Direct Loans. They must also not be in default on a prior student loan and not declared bankruptcy in the last seven (7) years.

Repayment Requirements
Repayment begins six months after enrollment ceases to be at least half-time. The maximum payback period is 25 years.

Sample Loan Repayment Schedule
Sample repayment calculators are found on most lender sites, private and federal. The federal site is studentaid.gov.

Massachusetts Bar Foundation Emergency Loan Fund
The School of Law occasionally loans small amounts of money to students on a short-term basis. These loans do not exceed $500 and the interest rate is 12 percent annually. Contact the Associate Dean for Law Student Affairs for an application.

The promissory notes for the Federal Direct Unsubsidized loans, as well as the Grad PLUS loan, are electronically signed at studentaid.gov. Sign in using your FSA ID.

You must complete your Federal Direct Unsubsidized or Grad PLUS Loan Entrance Counseling online. The University cannot disburse loan proceeds until the required counseling has been completed at studentaid.gov. Sign in using your FSA ID.

Exit Counseling is also required upon graduation, when a student leaves Western New England University, or when a student is enrolled in less than half-time status.

Loan repayment plans and loan forgiveness may be available. See studentaid.gov.   

Our refund policy is based on the fact that the University makes commitments in advance to our teaching staff and others who provide vital services to students and the University. Your enrollment may have prevented another student from registering for a course or may have kept us from canceling a course with low enrollment. We must cover the costs of these services to you and other students.

Financial aid recipients, please note:  The University is required to cancel aid and loans using a prescribed formula. Even if charges are covered by financial aid prior to withdrawal, after withdrawal and cancellation of aid there is a good chance that there will be a balance due to the University.

Fees, including room and board, are nonrefundable and tuition payments are not transferable. For a full discussion of withdrawal and refunding issues, click here to view the University catalogue.

15 Week Classes (Typical Traditional Student): Refund period is for four weeks.

• 100% prior to first class meeting.
• 75% during first week of classes.
• 66 2/3% during second week of classes.
• 33 1/3% during third week of classes.
• 25% during fourth week of classes.
• No refunds after the 4th week of classes.

11 Week Classes: Refund period is for three weeks.

• 100% prior to first class meeting.
• 75% during first week of classes.
• 50% during 2nd week of classes.
• 25% during 3rd week of classes.
• No refunds after the 3rd week of classes.

8 Week Classes: Refund period is for two weeks.

• 100% prior to 1st class meeting.
• 75% through the 3rd day of term.
• 50% through the 6th day of term.
• 25% through the 10th day of term.
• No refunds after the 10th day of term.

6 Week Classes: Refund period is for one week

• 100% prior to 1st class meeting.
• 75% through 1st day of term.
• 50% through 3rd day of term.
• 25% through 5th day of term.
• No refunds after 5th day of term.

Two Week Winterim: Refund period is for three days

• 100% prior to 1st class meeting.
• 75% through 1st day of term.
• 50% through 2nd day of term.
• 25% through 3rd day of term.
• No refunds after 3rd day of term.