Use our Net Price Calculator to get an estimate for annual and term costs and how much aid you may be able to qualify for.
To review your financial aid and accept your federal loans, you will need to access your Financial Aid Portal. This is separate from your student portal but can be accessed by:
Use the link below to directly access your financial aid portal if you have a Cleary student email:
Financial Aid Portal with Cleary Email Access
If you do not have access to your student email, you will be sent an email to gain access using this link:
Financial Aid Portal without Cleary Email Access
When a student takes out a Federal Direct Loan, the money doesn’t go straight to them. Instead, the U.S. Department of Education sends the loan funds directly to the school in multiple disbursements. The school first applies the money to tuition, fees, and any on-campus housing or meal plans.
If there’s money left over after these charges are covered, the school refunds the remaining balance to the student, which they can use for other education-related expenses like books, supplies, or living costs.
Before the first loan disbursement, students must complete Entrance Counseling (which explains loan responsibilities) and sign a Master Promissory Note (MPN) (a legal agreement to repay the loan). If a student decides they don’t need the full amount, they can cancel part or all of the loan within a certain time frame.
It’s important to remember that loans must be repaid, with interest, after the student leaves school or drops below half-time enrollment.
Scholarships will be automatically determined based on GPA. Students must be enrolled full-time in a degree-seeking program.
| Academic Year Level | Dependent Student (1) | Independent Student (2) |
| First-Year Undergraduate (0-29 Credits) | $5,500 ($3,500) |
$9,500 ($3,500) |
|
Second-Year Undergraduate (30-59 Credits) |
$6,500 ($4,500) | $10,500 ($4,500) |
| Third- and Fourth-Year Undergraduate (60+ Credits) | $7,500 ($5,500) | $12,500 ($5,500) |
| Graduate/Professional | Not Applicable | $20,500 |
Below are the aggregate (total) limits for Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans:
General Institutional Information
Drop/Add Period
The drop/add period begins on the first day of the semester (which is a Monday, Day 1) and ends one week later on the following Monday (Day 8) at 12:00 p.m. Eastern. During this period, students may drop or add a course to their schedule, working closely with their admissions representative (for new students) or academic advisor (for continuing students). In addition, dual enrollment students must receive permission from the appropriate dean to drop or add a course.
Students should consult with a financial aid representative to understand the financial impact of adding a course. Student athletes should also consult with an athletic department representative to understand the impact of adding or dropping a course on their athletic eligibility.
If a student adds a course after the beginning of the semester, it is the student’s responsibility to contact the faculty member of the added course to ensure that any work that was missed prior to the student adding the course is completed within a time period determined by the faculty member.
A course that is dropped during this period will not be displayed on the student’s transcript and is not factored into any cumulative grade point average calculation.
A drop/add period exists during the first week of the Session B or Session C during a semester only for those new students who begin their first Cleary course during that session.
Withdrawal Period
The withdrawal period begins on Day 8 at 12:01 p.m. Eastern and ends on the first day of the last week of the semester or course session (which is Monday prior to the last day of the semester or course session) at 12:00 p.m. Eastern. During this period, students may withdraw from a course to their schedule, working closely with their admissions representative (for new students) or academic advisor (for continuing students).
Students should consult with a financial aid representative to understand the financial impact of withdrawing from a course. Student athletes should also consult with an athletic department representative to understand the impact of withdrawing from a course on their athletic eligibility.
A course that is withdrawn during this period will be displayed on the student’s transcript and is not factored into any cumulative grade point average calculation.
During the Withdrawal period, if a student does not physically attend any of their scheduled on-campus classes for a course, does not physically attend any of their scheduled hybrid classes for a course, does not log into their hybrid or online classes for a course, and does not respond to contact attempts by University faculty and staff members for a period of 3 weeks (for 6, 7, and 8 week courses) or 6 weeks (for 12, 16, or 18 week courses) since the student’s last date of class attendance, class activity, or successful contact attempts, the student may be academically withdrawn from the course with no refund of associated tuition and fees.
International Students Status
International students must be enrolled for a full-time course load during the Fall and Spring semesters. Students may enroll for the Summer semester but it is optional and a full-time course load is not required. Undergraduate students must enroll in a minimum of 12 credits. Graduate students must enroll in a minimum of six credits.
International students who drop/add or withdraw from classes must first speak with their academic advisor to make sure they are complying with their F-1 student visa status and regulations.
Refund Procedure
When a student’s account is placed into a credit balance status, a refund will be issued. Depending on what puts the student into a credit balance will determine when the funds are refunded. All Title IV funds will be returned within fourteen days of placing the student’s account into a credit balance. Institutional aid will be refunded 45 days after placing the student’s account into a credit balance. Institutional aid will only be refunded if the student is in good standing with the University.
All fees charged are non-refundable.
Technology Accessibility Policy
The purpose of these guidelines is to provide guidance to campus business units and individuals employed by Cleary University for fulfilling Cleary University’s commitment to equal access to information. Following the guidelines helps to ensure that people with disabilities have access to the same services and content that are available to people without disabilities, including services and content made available through the use of information technology. Information technology procured, developed, maintained, and used by Cleary University should provide substantially similar functionality, experience, and information access to individuals with disabilities as it provides to others.
Cleary University has adopted the definition of “accessible” used by the U.S. Department of Education in resolutions with postsecondary institutions regarding civil rights complaints about the inaccessibility of their IT. “Accessible” means a person with a disability is “afforded the opportunity cleary.edu to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services as a person without a disability in an equally effective and equally integrated manner, with substantially equivalent ease of use.” The person with a disability must be able to obtain the information as fully, equally, and independently as a person without a disability.
Information and media covered by the guidelines supports administrative, research, and academic applications, including the following examples: websites, video and audio content, electronic documents, desktop, mobile, and cloud-based applications, content and learning management systems, email and calendars, library resources, computers and peripherals, information kiosks, telephones, digital signs and other electronic equipment, and classroom technologies.
Technologies and standards evolve at a rapid pace. Cleary University looks to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) for guidance in meeting its accessibility commitments. WCAG 2.0 provides success criteria for measuring web accessibility and provides useful metrics for products and services that are not specifically web based. Where an IT product cannot be brought into compliance, campus units are responsible for providing an individual with a disability-equivalent access.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
Cleary University strives to provide people with disabilities equal access to the services and content that are available to people without disabilities, including services and content made available through the use of information technology (IT). IT procured, developed, maintained, and used by Cleary University should provide similar functionality, experience, and information access to individuals with disabilities as it provides to others.
The Policy aligns with:
Social Media Guidelines
Social network sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube are exciting channels for sharing knowledge and accomplishments, expressing creativity, and connecting with others. Cleary University supports participation in these online communities to further our branding messages. This policy addresses best practice guidelines to help employees and students use these forums effectively, protect personal and professional reputations, and adhere to university policies.
When posting as an individual, faculty, staff, student, and alumni of Cleary University should:
When posting on behalf of Cleary University, faculty, staff, and students should:
Students found to be in violation of these guidelines may be subject to disciplinary action including, but not limited to, suspension or expulsion.
Forms
Links
Verification 2024-2025
Verification 2025-2026
The sooner you fill out the FAFSA, the better. The application is free, and it’s not just a way to determine how much federal student aid you’ll receive. State governments, and some colleges and universities use information from the FAFSA to determine what state and institutional aid you qualify for. But state agencies and individual schools also have different deadlines to qualify for aid — so keep track of all of the deadlines, and get a head start. Even if your household income is too high for you to qualify for federal grants or work-study funds, the FAFSA is also used to determine federal student loan eligibility. There’s no harm in applying, and on average, it only takes 15 minutes to fill out the FAFSA. Please note, beginning with the 2024-25 school year, an FSA ID is required for individuals associated with the application.
If your financial aid covers more than what you owe for the semester, you are entitled to a refund of those funds. Once your loans have been disbursed by the Department of Education and added to your account, the business office will post a refund to your account. From the date of posting they then have 14 days to send those funds back to you.
If your refund is not because of a federal loan but from Institutional aid or an outside alternate loan, our Business Office May take 30-45 days to process your refund.
Setting up a direct deposit will make this process faster, if you do not have direct deposit setup then your check will be sent via mail. See our Direct Deposit Form in the forms above for instructions on setting up direct deposit with Cleary University.
In addition to federal grants, loans, and other types of aid (such as Pell Grants, Direct Loans, and the Federal Work-Study Program), students can receive financial aid from state agencies and other independent sources, through community organizations, churches, and private organizations, that award financial aid to students. Use our link to find options for scholarships here: Outside Scholarships
If you have exhausted all your outside scholarship opportunities and still need additional aid to cover costs, you may also be able to use private student loans. We have partnered with Elm Select to allow students to compare many loan options and choose what will work best for their financial situation and needs. Follow this link for more information: ElmSelect
Financial need is determined by subtracting the Student Aid Index (SAI) from the Cost of Attendance (COA) at a school. COA includes tuition, fees, housing, books, and other expenses, while SAI is calculated from FAFSA data like income, assets, and family size. A lower SAI increases eligibility for need-based aid (e.g., Pell Grants, Work-Study, and subsidized loans), while a higher SAI may limit need-based aid but still allow for merit-based scholarships or other funding options.
There are several different repayment plans for student loan borrowers. The best way to set yourself up for success is to pick the repayment plan that’s best for you to avoid falling into default. Once you graduate, drop below half-time enrollment, or leave school, your federal student loan goes into repayment. However, for most federal student loan types, you have a 6-month grace period before you are required to start making regular payments.
Note: Not all federal student loans have an automatic grace period, and it helps to know which loans accrue interest during the grace-period. When your loan enters repayment, your servicer will automatically place you on the Standard Repayment Plan, but you can request a different repayment plan at any time. If you aren’t sure which repayment plan best fits your needs, visit studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment for more information. It’s also important to communicate with your student loan servicer and let them know if you need help in repayment. You can find out who your servicer is through the National Student Loan Data System for Students by selecting “Financial Aid Review.” or by logging into your studentaid.gov account they should be noted on your home dashboard.
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