Leave of Absence and Withdrawals

Institutional Aid Refund Policy

If a student withdraws, drops out, is dismissed or takes a leave of absence prior to the fifth week of instruction of a given term, The Office of Financial Aid will adjust the student’s institutional awards (scholarships and/or grants). This adjustment in institutional awards will match the adjustment applied to the student’s tuition charges for the term. Effective with the Fall 2024 semester, this is the institutional aid adjustment schedule:

Official Drop Date Percent of Institutional Aid Eligibility Retatined 
Within first two weeks 0% 
During third week 25% 
During fourth week 50% 
During fifth week 75% 
After fifth week 100% 

Details on adjustments to charges can be found here: https://finance.rpi.edu/bursar/fees-and-tuition-adjustments 

Title IV Refund Policy

The Office of Financial Aid (OFA) is required by federal statute to recalculate federal financial aid eligibility for students who withdraw, drop out, are dismissed, or take a leave of absence prior to completing 60% of a payment period or term. The federal Title IV financial aid programs must be recalculated in these situations.

If a student leaves the institution prior to completing 60% of a payment period or term, the OFA recalculates eligibility for Title IV funds. Recalculation is based on the percentage of earned aid using the following Federal Return of Title IV funds formula: Percentage of payment period or term completed = the number of days completed up to the withdrawal date divided by the total days in the payment period or term. (Any break of five days or more is not counted as part of the days in the term.) This percentage is also the percentage of earned aid.

Title IV Refund Process

Funds are returned to the appropriate federal program based on the percentage of unearned aid using the following formula:

Aid to be returned = (100% of the aid that could be disbursed minus the percentage of earned aid) multiplied by the total amount of aid that could have been disbursed during the payment period or term.

If a student earned less aid than was disbursed, the institution would be required to return a portion of the funds and the student would be required to return a portion of the funds. Keep in mind that when Title IV funds are returned, the student borrower may owe a debit balance to the institution.

If a student earned more aid than was disbursed to him/her, the institution would owe the student a post-withdrawal disbursement which must be paid within 120 days of the student's withdrawal. The institution must return the amount of Title IV funds for which it is responsible no later than 45 days after the date of the determination of the date of the student’s withdrawal. Refunds are allocated in the following order:

  • Unsubsidized Direct Loans (other than PLUS loans)
  • Subsidized Direct Loans
  • Federal Perkins Loans
  • Direct PLUS Loans
  • Federal Pell Grants for which a Return of funds is required
  • Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grants for which a Return of funds is required
Back to top