If you officially withdraw from the University (voluntarily terminate your enrollment for a semester in progress), drop out/stop attending classes, or are dismissed, your financial aid may be impacted. All undergraduate students who withdraw from the University for any reason must secure acknowledgement of their withdrawal and arrange the details of their leaving with the Dean of Students Office (Storrs) or the Regional Student Services Office (Avery Point, Hartford, Stamford, Waterbury).
For more information about the official withdrawal process, please visit Dean of Students for undergraduate students and the Graduate School for graduate students.
Return of Federal Financial Aid
The law specifies how UConn must determine the amount of Federal Title IV program assistance you “earn” if you withdraw from school. The Title IV programs that are covered by this law are Federal Pell, and TEACH grants; Federal Direct Student and Plus loans; and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity grants (FSEOG).
When you withdraw, the following formula is used to determine the percent of unearned aid that has to be returned to the federal government:
The percent of aid earned is equal to the number of calendar days completed up to the withdrawal date, divided by the total calendar days in the payment period (minus any scheduled breaks that are at least 5 days long).
For example, if you complete 30 percent of your semester, you earn 30 percent of the assistance you were originally scheduled to receive. Once you have completed more than 60 percent of the semester, you earn all assistance that you were scheduled to receive for that period.
When you officially withdraw from UConn, the withdrawal date is the date you began the institution’s withdrawal process or officially notified the institution of your intent to withdraw. When you unofficially withdraw (i.e., stop attending without following the process), UConn may use either your last date of attendance at an academically-related activity or the midpoint of the semester as your withdrawal date.
If you received (or if UConn or your parent received on your behalf) less assistance than the amount you earned, you may be able to receive those additional funds. If you received more assistance than you earned, the excess funds must be returned by UConn and/or you.
If you did not receive all of the funds that you earned, you may be due a post-withdrawal disbursement. If the post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, UConn must get your permission before it can disburse them. You may choose to decline some or all of the loan funds so that you do not incur additional debt. UConn may automatically use all or a portion of your post-withdrawal disbursement (including loan funds, if you accept them) for tuition, fees, and housing and food charges as contracted with the school.
You will receive written notification from the Office of Student Financial Aid Services regarding the refund requirements and the return of Federal Title IV Aid amounts.
If UConn is not required to return all of the excess funds, you must return the remaining amount. Any loan funds that you received (or the parent for a PLUS loan) must be repaid in accordance with the terms of the promissory note. That is, you make scheduled payments to the holder of the loan over a period of time.
Any amount of unearned federal grant funds that you must return is called an overpayment. The maximum amount is half of the grant funds you received or were scheduled to receive. You do not have to repay a grant overpayment if the original amount is $50 or less. You must make arrangements with the Office of Student Financial Aid Services or the U.S. Department of Education to return the unearned grants.
The return of Title IV program funds when you withdraw are separate from UConn’s overall Withdrawal Tuition and Fee Adjustment Policy; therefore, you may still owe funds to UConn to cover unpaid institutional charges. For more information, please visit the Bursar's website: https://bursar.uconn.edu/departments/cash-operations/withdrawal-adjustments/
Order of Returned Funds When You Withdraw
All financial aid offers will be canceled for future semesters in the academic year. For example, if you withdraw during the fall semester, your spring financial aid offer will also be canceled.
Federal financial aid funds are returned in the following order per federal guidelines:
- Direct Unsubsidized Loan
- Direct Subsidized Loan
- Direct Graduate PLUS Loan
- Direct Parent PLUS Loan
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
- Federal TEACH Grants
Federal Financial Aid Withdrawal Estimator
This tool provides an estimate of your federal financial aid that may need to be returned if you were to withdraw from UConn. The results of this calculator are an estimate, not guaranteed, and the accuracy is based on the information you provide. This calculator should only be used for undergraduate and graduate students.
Do not use this tool if you did not attend the semester. If you did not attend, all aid will be canceled. For Law, School of Social Work, or UConn Health students, please reach out to onestop@uconn.edu if you need an estimate.
Federal Financial Aid Withdrawal Estimator
Return of Institutional Funds and State Funds
If your withdrawal date is the first ten days of the semester (i.e., during add/drop), the following funds will be canceled:
- University Grants
- University Merit Scholarships (https://admissions.uconn.edu/cost-aid/scholarship/ )
- Roberta B Willis Scholarship Program (Need-Merit Scholarship Program and the Need-Based Grant Program)
If your withdrawal date is after the first ten days of classes, you will be considered to have earned the funds and they will remain on your account. For University Merit Scholarships, if you withdraw after the tenth day of classes but before the 60% point of the semester, you may request the scholarship be canceled, should you choose, to retain the future semester eligibility. For example, if your bill is paid without the scholarship, you may elect to cancel the scholarship so that the withdrawal semester does not count toward the four or eight semesters of eligibility, dependent upon program.
Departmental Scholarships and/or Fellowships are awarded through your School or College and adjustments are dependent upon the awarding office. Contact the School or College that awarded the scholarship or fellowship to determine the impact of withdrawing from the University.
Timeframe for the Return of Title IV Funds
Federal regulations state that a school must return unearned funds for which it is responsible as soon as possible, but no later than 45 days from the determination of a student’s withdrawal. A school will be considered to have returned funds in a timely manner if it does one of the following as soon as possible, but no later than 45 days after the date the school determines that the student withdrew:
- Deposits or transfers the funds into the school’s federal funds bank account;
- Initiates an electronic funds transfer (EFT) to an account belonging to the student;
- Initiates an electronic transaction that informs the Department of Education to adjust the borrower’s loan account for the amount returned; or
- Issues a check
How to Handle a Grant Overpayment
Students who owe funds to a grant program are required to make payment of those funds within 45 days of being notified that they owe this overpayment. During the 45 day period students will remain eligible for Title IV funds. The University will notify the U.S. Department of Education of the student’s overpayment situation at the same time it notifies the student. If no positive action has been taken by the student within 45 days, the student will no longer be eligible for Title IV funds until they enter into a repayment plan with the U.S. Department of Education. During the 45 day period, the student can make full payment to the University. We will forward the payment to the U.S. Department of Education and the student will remain eligible for the Title IV funds.
Withdrawal Checklist
Use this checklist as a guide to help you make sure you have not forgotten something important before you leave UConn:
- Contact the Dean of Students (DOS). It is your responsibility to initiate the withdrawal process; non-attendance at classes or non-payment of fees does not constitute a University withdrawal or relieve you of your financial obligations.
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- Graduate students must initiate the withdrawal process utilizing the online Voluntary Separation Notification process by accessing the form here: https://grad.uconn.edu/graduate-students/voluntary-separation/.
- Depending on the date of withdrawal, a withdrawal may affect your financial aid and could result in your owing the University money. Check with our office before leaving the University.
- Pay any remaining tuition, fees, or other charges on your student account at the Bursar’s Office, if applicable. Past due accounts may be referred to a collection agency and result in legal action. Request a refund of any balance due to you.
- Contact Student Health and Wellness if you have questions regarding your school coverage or check with your private insurance carrier regarding your health coverage as some insurance providers discontinue coverage if a student is not enrolled full-time at a college or university.
- Contact Residential Life to request a cancellation of housing and food. Housing contracts are binding for the entire academic year so you should inquire as to the amount of housing or food charges that may remain on your account. Proper checkout procedures must be followed, and all belongings must be removed.
- Contact your on-campus employer if you have a student job on campus.
- If your address is changing, notify the Registrar’s Office or change it in Student Admin.
- If you are receiving financial aid, you may need to contact your loan servicer regarding repayment of loans. Federal Direct Student loans are deferred until six months after the student ceases at least half-time attendance. If you received an alternative loan, you should contact your loan servicer regarding repayment.
- Return any books, equipment, or materials on loan from the University.
- If you have a credit balance on your Husky Bucks Account, contact the One Card Office for a refund.
Where can I find information about the student loans I have received?
Visit “My Aid” to view information about all of the federal student loans and other financial aid you have received and to find contact information for the loan servicer for your loans.