Payment & Refund Policy
Program Costs
To participate in a Living and Learning program, each applicant is required to pay the following:
Non-refundable application fee ($75)
Program Cost of the selected program which includes Tuition, Room, and Board
Students will also be required to budget for and pay the following:
Refundable housing security deposit
Essential and discretionary spending for items not covered by the Program Cost
Study Tours and Missions Trips: travelers participating in a custom Living and Learning faculty-led or group program in partnership with their school, college, university, or church come under different payment guidelines. Please contact the group leader from your home institution.
Application Fee—All applications must be submitted with a $75 online application fee. Your application is not considered complete without the application fee.
Program Cost—Program costs include tuition, room, and board. Please check the program page at https://landli.org/ for current program costs. Program costs are subject to change without notice. Applicants will be subject to the price listed on the L&LI website at the time a student’s application is received. You must abide by all L&LI application and confirmation policies/deadlines to keep your application active. Students who miss an L&LI deadline may be subject to a higher price. Applicants who request to change their program are subject to the current prices listed on the L&LI website at the time the student’s program change request is approved.
Housing Security Deposit—All applicants, excluding those participating in virtual programs and Study Tours, are required to pay a $50 housing security deposit. The security deposit is not included in the Program Cost. Please bring $50 to your program location. It will be collected during your housing check-in. The security deposit is used to pay for any charges that may be incurred during the program, including but not limited to, broken furniture, floor damage, lost keys, excessive cleaning, utility usage in excess of the allotted monthly amount, etc.
Should the cost of damages or charges incurred during the program exceed the security deposit, students will be invoiced for any additional costs.
The $50 is eligible to be refunded at the end of the program:
After room review is complete
The Living and Learning Home Office and program staff have verified there are no other outstanding damages or payment issues.
Student has paid all outstanding balances.
Living and Learning reserves the right to hold a student’s security deposit and transcript until all utility bills and any outstanding costs have been reviewed, assessed, and paid.
Student Budgeting—For each program, there is essential and discretionary spending for things that are not covered by the Program Cost. Students are responsible for all costs not covered by the Program Cost. Students are expected to pay for the following additional expenses: travel to the program’s location, travel from the program’s location, fees for passports, tourist cards, and identification cards, pre-program medical expenses (ie: inoculations, vaccinations, and prescription medications), covid testing and medical expenses while a part of the program, local travel expenses apart from program activities and trips, expenses for student books and supplies, postage, gifts, food, and meals outside of the meals provided by the program, and all other such personal expenses. Additional costs include fines for damages and additional fees charged by the student’s home institution or institution from which the student receives credit.
A projected budget is provided to students for their program location during Pre-Departure Onboarding. This budget is intended to serve as a helpful resource but serves as a reference only since individual students have varying spending behavior. See your program page for the list of items that are covered by the Program Cost.
Payment Timeline and Refund Policy
The Payment Timeline and Refund Policy is calculated in calendar days from your Program Start Date. Please refer to your program page at https://landli.org/ for your Program Start Date.
60 Days prior to a Program Start Date - Detailed invoices outlining tuition, room, board, and any other fees are sent to you or your home university depending on the Billing Agreement. *See the School Billing section below.
30 Days prior to a Program Start Date - Full payment is due (excluding those enrolled in an L&LI Custom Payment Plan). Up until and on this date, if you withdraw, regardless of reason, L&LI will provide a full refund minus the non-refundable application fee.
29-1 Day(s) prior to a Program Start Date - If you withdraw, regardless of reason, L&LI will provide a 75% refund of the total Program Cost.
On and after the Program Start Date - If you voluntarily withdraw or are dismissed from your program on or after the Program Start Date you may be eligible for a partial refund of tuition only outlined below. Room and Board costs are non-refundable after the program start date.
0-14 Day(s) After the Program Start Date - If you withdraw, regardless of reason, L&LI will provide a 50% refund of tuition only. For summer internships a 50% refund of the total Program Cost will be given.
15-30 Days After the Program Start Date - If you withdraw, regardless of reason, L&LI will provide a 25% refund of tuition only. For summer internships a 50% refund of the total Program Cost will be given.
31 or more Days After the Program Start Date - If you withdraw, regardless of the reason, no refund will be given.
If a student’s withdrawal or dismissal from the program requires a return or reduction of applicable federal or institutional aid or loans, the student is responsible for the Living and Learning Program Costs that were covered by these funds based on the amounts due outlined in this timeline.
*The $75 Application Fee is always non-refundable.
Withdrawal Process
Students must notify the L&LI Director of Enrollment in writing if they choose to withdraw prior to the Program Start Date. Students must notify the onsite L&LI Program Director if they wish to withdraw from an active program on or after the Program Start Date. All withdrawal requests must be sent via email and must come directly from the enrolled student. No verbal requests are accepted and no requests may be made on behalf of the student by a third party. L&LI will acknowledge receipt of student requests via email confirmation and provide the student with the L&LI Withdrawal Form. The effective date of withdrawal is the date L&LI receives a signed copy of the Withdrawal Form or the last date of association with the program, whichever is later.
Any costs associated with the earlier departure including airport transfers, flight change fees, etc. are the responsibility of the student.
Non-payment of Fees
Students are expected to pay their tuition, room & board fees in full by the timeline outlined in this policy. If payments are not made on schedule, the student may be administratively withdrawn for non-payment. The L&LI refund policy will apply in such cases.
Students who are withdrawn for non-payment will be removed from all university classes and program housing. The withdrawn student will also forfeit all refundable deposits. In addition, any transcripts will be withheld from the student until any outstanding balance is paid in full.
L&LI Program Cancellation Policy
Cancellation Pre-Departure:
In the event that L&LI needs to cancel or suspend a program prior to the start date, participants can:
Transfer enrollment to an alternative program that has not been canceled (Baltimore, Ecuador, or Italy). There are no change fees however students will be responsible for any difference in Program Cost. When transferring to a less expensive program, participants will receive a refund of the difference.
Postpone their enrollment to a future semester in the same program. There are no fees associated with postponement. Any monies paid will be applied to the future program.
Withdraw entirely from L&LI programs and receive a full refund.
Cancellation During an Active Program:
In the event that L&LI needs to cancel or suspend a program while it is already active, a full refund cannot be guaranteed. However, students can expect the following:
L&LI will make every reasonable effort to recover costs for the canceled portion of the program and refund those monies to the student. However, L&LI pays the bulk of program costs, including but not limited to educational expenses, housing, staffing, safety and security, and administrative costs upfront and before the program start date. These upfront payments are non-recoverable costs and are non-refundable. A partial refund may be issued based on what L&LI is able to recover.
Provide regular and clear communication to students and their home institution as the program cancellation is unfolding.
Where possible, provide alternative options for completing coursework and awarding academic credit.
Change in Program Design
L&LI makes every effort to deliver all programs as published on the web, in print, and in in-person advising. Occasionally, changes in Program Design need to be made due to local or global circumstances.
These changes may include but are not limited to trips and excursions, internship options, staffing, housing, and/or academic course offerings. Changing from in-person instruction to online instruction is considered a Change in Program Design.
As long as Changes in Program Design are similar to the original arrangements, no refund will be given. Determinations of similarity will be made at the sole discretion of L&LI.
Other Financial Matters
School Billing
Living & Learning International (L&LI) maintains special billing relationships with some colleges and universities. These agreements facilitate the use of financial aid to cover the cost of L&LI programs. The terms of the agreements vary by school. It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of their home institution’s current billing policies and agreements.
Payment
Students attending a college or university that has a billing relationship with L&LI will pay their home institution directly for the study abroad program. L&LI will bill the student’s home institution for the L&LI Program Cost which includes tuition, room, and board. Students attending a college or university that does not have a billing relationship with L&LI will pay L&LI directly the full amount listed on the invoice.
Financial Aid
Students wishing to use federal financial aid must apply through the Financial Aid Office at their home college or university. It is the student’s home university that will determine if aid will be transferable to the L&LI program. Students anticipating financial aid will present the L&LI Financial Aid Deferment Form to their home university. This takes place during Pre-Departure Onboarding. This form outlines the financial aid that is to be credited to a student’s account and when those funds will be disbursed to L&LI. Submission of this form is required prior to the 30-day payment deadline
Custom Payment Plan
L&LI desires to make its programs accessible to students. When on occasion paying the full program cost up front is an impediment to attending, L&LI offers a Custom Payment Plan to students. Students must submit the signed application prior to the Payment Due Date (30 days prior to the program start date). Student participation in a Custom Payment Plan is at the sole discretion of L&LI. All Custom Payment Plans require the student to pay 50% of the invoice 30 days before the program start date.
1098-T Form Availability
Living & Learning International is not a Department of Education “eligible” higher education institution, and as such we do not issue 1098-T forms. If the student's home school bills the program fees—specifically the tuition portion of the fees—the home school would be the one to issue the 1098-T form for the student. If the student pays L&LI directly, there is no guarantee that the student will be able to use the L&LI Educational Costs of the program to file for the Education Tax Credits. If a student who paid L&LI directly for their program fees would like a copy of their current account statement to take to a professional Tax Advisor to see whether the statement can be used as documentation of tuition paid, since the credits for the program are being accepted by their home school, they should contact the L&LI Billing Coordinator to request a zero-balance account statement.