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, Iraq and Afghanistan Service, 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
• Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
• Federal TEACH Grants

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 financialaid@uconn.edu if you need an estimate.

Federal Financial Aid Withdrawal Estimator

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.

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

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.