Thinking About Making Schedule Changes?
Withdrawing from classes or changing your program or major can negatively impact your financial aid eligibility—and could leave you with a bill or require you to pay back unearned aid.
What Happens If I Withdraw?
- A Balance on Your Student Account: You only earn financial aid for the time you attend class. If you withdraw or stop attending before completing a semester, you may owe a balance on your account. Federal regulations require a Return of Title IV (R2T4) calculation to determine the aid you’ve earned.
- Financial Aid Warning or Suspension: Withdrawing could put you on financial aid warning or suspension due to Financial Aid Satisfactory Progress guidelines.
- Your Loans Entering Repayment: If you fall below six credit hours or withdraw completely, your federal loans will go into repayment.
Before you withdraw from a class, connect with Financial Aid to understand how it will affect your current and future aid.
What Happens If I Change My Program or Major?
Changing your program or major can impact your financial aid in several ways:
- Eligibility for Aid: Some scholarships or grants are tied to specific programs. Switching programs could make you ineligible for certain funding. Also, if changing your program causes you to take fewer or more credits, it could impact your Pell Grant amount or other need-based aid.
- Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP): Financial aid requires you to meet SAP standards, including completing your degree within a maximum timeframe. Changing your program might mean taking extra classes, which could put you at risk of exceeding this limit and could put you on financial aid warning or suspension.
- Loan Limits: Federal student loans have annual and lifetime borrowing limits. Extending your time in school due to a program change could mean running out of loan eligibility before you finish.
Before changing your program, it’s a good idea to check with the Financial Aid office to understand how it will affect your specific aid package and/or future financial aid eligibility.
Also see Reasons Why Your Offer May Be Adjusted
