Join Our Discovery Weekends on April 25th & 26th, at Hayward, CA Campus | May 16th, 2025 at Bellevue, NE Campus
Join Our Discovery Weekends on April 25th & 26th, at Hayward, CA Campus | May 16th, 2025 at Bellevue, NE Campus
Most Life West students use federal aid in order to finance their education. You might be wondering how that works. Here are the basics:
In order to be eligible for the Federal Programs at Life West you will need to consider the following:
*Federal Financial Aid can only pay for core classes and the two required electives. Federal Aid cannot pay for classes not required for a student’s degree. A student registering for an additional elective beyond the required two will be notified that federal aid cannot pay for the class and a cash payment would be required. The only exception is if a student is already full-time and then adds a non-required elective, as he or she is already paying full-time tuition for 12 or more credits. In that scenario, there is not any additional charge.
Financial need is the difference between a student’s (spouse if applicable) resources and allowable college expenses (student budget). An established needs analysis formula (FAFSA) is used to determine your financial need. This formula is based on tax year data and has budget restrictions. The federal student loan programs are considered non-need based federal aid and therefore do not have income/asset restrictions. The federal work study program is a need-based aid program and eligibility is based on your FAFSA form.
The Life Chiropractic College financial aid office has some discretion in these areas. For example, after careful consideration, a decision could be made that expected year earnings (earnings made during the school year) more accurately reflects a student’s contribution potential (rather than tax year).
In addition, there are provisions along with the budget restrictions to assist students who are married with dependents and have low incomes. If you have daycare expenses inform your financial aid advisor.
Graduate level – $33000 Direct Unsubsidized per academic year. The overall aggregate maximum is $224,000 (including undergraduate loans). Note: the Direct Subsidized loan has an overall aggregate of $65,500.
The total amount graduate students may borrow under the Federal Stafford Loan program is $33,000/9 months or $44,000/12 months (all monies will be unsubsidized).
Effective 7/1/26 for new borrowers – annual loan limits increase to $50,000 per academic year (or $66,666 per 12 months) with a lower lifetime maximum of $200,000. Please refer to the following link for more information on loan program changes effective 7/1/26:
Federal student loan rates are linked to the Federal 10-year Treasury rate, plus a small margin. The interest rates are fixed for the life of the loan. The rates for new loans will change annually, based on the current market.
The law continues to authorize the Department of Education to offer interest rate reductions to Direct Loan borrowers who agree to have electronic payments automatically debited from a bank account.
The government charges an origination fee percentage of the loan amount. This fee is subject to change by the government. In the past few years, it has ranged from 1.059 to 1.069.
Repayment begins six months (grace period) after the month in which you cease attending school at least half-time. The standard repayment period is 10 years and an extended plan of up to 25 years are available to students. During repayment, a variety of plans will be available to assist borrowers in meeting repayment obligations, including: Income-Driven Repayment (IDR), graduated repayment, and standard plan.
Please review upcoming loan programs changes effective 7/1/26
This loan is based on being credit-ready; therefore, your income, debt, credit score and assets are not factors for approval; however, negative credits items are grounds for denial (tax lien, charge off, delinquent accounts, etc.). An option is available to obtain a co-signer/endorser if the loan is denied.
Up to the cost of attendance less any awarded aid (i.e. other loans, scholarships and federal work-study) per academic year.
Federal student loan rates are linked to the Federal 10-year Treasury rate, plus a small margin. The interest rates are fixed for the life of the loan. The rates for new loans will change annually, based on the current market.
The law continues to authorize the Department of Education to offer interest rate reductions to Direct Loan borrowers who agree to have electronic payments automatically debited from a bank account.
The government charges an origination fee percentage of the loan amount. This fee is subject to change by the government. In the past few years it has ranged from 4.236 to 4.276.
Repayment commences within 60 days following the last disbursement. Graduate/professional students will automatically receive an in school deferment until enrollment drops below half-time status or at graduation. The standard repayment period is 10 years; however, for balances above $30,000 the repayment period may be extended to 25 years.
Contact Financial Aid
Email: finaid@lifewest.edu
