Financial aid is awarded with the expectation that you will attend school for the entire period for which it was intended.  Withdrawing from classes can have both short-term and long-range effects on your eligibility to receive the financial aid payments you applied for.

For example, you may discover after withdrawing from a class that your tuition charges remain the same but your financial aid is reduced or eliminated.  Or you may be asked to pay back money you received in a financial aid payment because you subsequently withdrew from your classes.  Then again, you might find that you are not eligible to receive a payment in the current semester because you had too many withdrawals in past semesters.  These situations can leave you having to pay tuition bills and other school expenses out of your own pocket.

You may wish to factor the information provided here into any decision to withdraw from a class or classes. We do suggest that you speak with your professors and an academic advisor if you think you have to withdraw from a class. Decisions related to your academic program should not be based solely on financial considerations, and an advisor can perhaps lead you to a better solution -- one that doesn't require you to withdraw.

NEW YORK STATE TUITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Short Term Effect
If you meet the TAP definition of full-time between the first day of classes and the end of the add/drop period and have been charged for each of those classes, you keep your TAP award for that term even if you withdraw from your classes. Your original award amount may be adjusted to reflect recalculated tuition.

Long Range Effect
To continue receiving TAP or other New York State awards, you must meet the State's academic performance requirements every semester you receive a payment. Excessive numbers of withdrawals in any TAP-supported semester may negatively affect your ability to meet the academic performance requirements and endanger your ability to continue receiving TAP in subsequent semesters.

FEDERAL PELL GRANT
Short Term Effects
Pell award amounts are based on whether you are enrolled full-time (12 or more equated credits), 3/4 time (9-11 equated credits), half-time (6-8 equated credits), or less than half-time (1-5 equated credits) at the time your award is disbursed. For example, if you enroll as full-time at registration but withdraw to half-time before the date of the Pell Grant distribution, your Pell award will be adjusted downward to reflect half-time enrollment status. Go to the Pell Award Schedule page to calculate how a change in your enrollment status might affect your Pell Grant award this term.

If you completely withdraw from classes before the semester is over, the College must determine how much of your Pell Grant you are entitled to under the Department of Education's return of federal student aid regulations. If you withdraw from all your classes after your Pell Grant has been disbursed to you, the College must determine if you have to repay any portion of these award monies under this same policy. In general, you have to attend your classes for more than 60% of the term to be entitled to 100% of your Pell.

Remember: To qualify for any federal financial aid payments, you must complete the College's registration and bill payment process and begin attending your classes. The College uses your instructors' records of attendance to determine whether or not you have actually begun attendance. If you receive a financial aid payment for a class or classes you have never attended, you must return that payment immediately to the College.

Long Range Effect
All course withdrawals recorded on your permanent record may affect your eligibility to meet federal satisfactory academic performance requirements and could result in a loss of Pell Grant eligibility in some future semester.

FEDERAL WORK-STUDY, FSEOG, FEDERAL PERKINS AND FEDERAL DIRECT LOANS
Short Term Effect
You must maintain at least half-time enrollment to receive these grants and loans. If you fall below half-time status due to withdrawing from classes, you may not receive disbursements of these funds.

If you completely withdraw from school before the end of the term, the College must calculate whether any federal aid (except FWS) must be returned according to the return of federal aid regulations.

If you are working in the FWS program, you must stop working from the day you cease to be enrolled at least half-time. You do not have to repay any monies you have already earned.

If you are in receipt of a federal loan, your grace period will begin from the day you cease to be enrolled at least half-time. If you have not returned to school on at least a half-time basis before your grace period has expired, your loan will enter repayment.

Long Range Effect
All withdrawals recorded on your permanent record may affect your ability to meet federal satisfactory academic progress requirements, and, consequently, endanger your eligibility for continued federal financial aid payments in future semesters.

COLLEGE DISCOVERY
You must be enrolled full-time to be eligible for College Discovery funds, unless you are in your graduating semester.

If you fall below full-time enrollment during a term, but remain enrolled in at least 9 credits, you may continue to receive CD awards as long as you have the permission of your CD counselor.

If you fall below 9 credits, you lose your eligibility for any CD monies that have not yet been disbursed for that term.

HELPFUL HINTS
You may wish to review the College's tuition refund policy where you will find information on how you may be financially responsible for courses you withdraw from once school begins.

You may also wish to review the College's academic grading policy to better understand how the "WU" grade may negatively impact your academic record.

Finally, you may want to learn more about how academic performance may affect your eligibility for financial aid. A good place to start is to explore Academic Performance and Financial Aid Eligibility on this website.