UMass Amherst Financial Aid Withdrawal Policy (R2T4)
Students intending to withdraw from all classes must complete a Withdrawal Form. Visit the Dean of Students Office website for more information on the types of withdrawals and a list of FAQs regarding the withdrawal process. Once the form is completed and submitted, the student is considered “officially withdrawn.”
How a full withdrawal affects federal financial aid
Title IV Federal financial aid is awarded to students under the assumption that a student will attend the institution for the entire enrollment period (semester) in which the aid is awarded. When a student withdraws from all courses, for any reason, including medical reasons, the student may not be eligible for the full amount of federal aid originally awarded. Students who receive federal financial aid and do not complete their classes during a semester could be responsible for repaying a portion of the aid they received. Students that did not begin attendance must repay all financial aid disbursed for the term.
How the federal financial aid adjustment is calculated
Students “earn” their Title IV federal financial aid by attending classes they are enrolled in during the term. The amount of “earned” aid is based on the percentage of the term the student attended. Once UMass is notified that the student has withdrawn, the earned percentage is calculated by dividing the number of calendar days in the semester (less any scheduled breaks of 5 days or longer) by the number of days attended. If the earned percentage is 60% or more, the student is considered to have earned all aid and no federal aid adjustment is necessary.
The adjustment calculation uses the last day the student attended classes or the Last Date of Attendance.
The date that the student submits the withdrawal form or otherwise notifies UMass of his/her withdrawal is known as the Withdrawal Date. Any adjustments to financial aid will be completed within 45 days of the withdrawal date.
The percentage reduction in financial aid does not necessarily correspond to the percentage of charges refunded. Financial aid will be reduced by 100% only when all charges are canceled.
All aid that has been disbursed or could have been disbursed prior to the last date of attendance would be considered in the adjustment calculation when a student completely withdraws from the University after attending some portion of the term. UMass Amherst will return all portions of unearned aid to the Department of Education.
An updated Financial Aid Award Notification and a Federal Direct Loan Disbursement Notification Letter will be emailed to the student when the adjustments are completed and funds are returned to the Department of Education.
Students must continue to check their account balance after withdrawing and settle any unpaid balances.
Treatment of unearned federal aid
The amount of “unearned” federal aid (100% minus the earned aid percentage) is returned to federal programs in the following order:
- Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loan
- Subsidized Federal Direct Loan
- Graduate Federal Direct PLUS Loan
- Parent Federal Direct PLUS Loan
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal SEOG Grant
- Federal TEACH Grant
- Other Title IV programs, as applicable
Federal Work-Study earned compensation will not need to be repaid. Students may not continue to work in a work-study position once they cease attendance or drop below six (6) credits.
Unofficial Withdrawal
Unofficial withdrawal from the university occurs when the student registers for courses for a term and either never attends any classes or stops attending all courses at some point during the semester without completing and submitting the withdrawal form. If you are receiving federal financial aid, the university is required to adjust the aid in the same manner as an official withdrawal.
