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University of Southern California
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Undergraduate Education

Withdrawal Implications for Recipients of Financial Aid

During the Drop/Add Period

During the university’s published drop/add period, students who withdraw or reduce their enrollment may be eligible for a 100% refund of tuition for classes dropped.

A financial aid recipient must immediately notify the Financial Aid Office in writing when he or she withdraws from one or more classes during the drop/add period if the student’s remaining enrollment differs from the enrollment plans on the student’s current Statement of Financial Aid Eligibility. The same applies if one or more classes are cancelled.

The Financial Aid Office will review the student’s new enrollment and, if appropriate, will send the student a revised Statement of Financial Aid Eligibility based on the new enrollment status.

If a financial aid recipient withdraws from all classes or to less than half-time status during the drop/add period, all financial aid awards must be returned to their respective programs. If the student was given financial aid funds for other expenses he or she will be expected to return those funds to the university.

After the Drop/Add Period

Students who are recipients of Title IV federal financial aid are also covered by federal policies. Title IV federal financial aid is awarded to a student under the assumption that the student will attend for the entire period for which the assistance is awarded and thereby “earn” the award. When a student ceases academic attendance prior to the end of that period, the student may no longer be eligible for the full amount of federal funds that the student was originally scheduled to receive.

The federal policy requires the return of “unearned” Title IV federal financial aid to the U.S. Treasury if recipients withdraw from all classes on or before the 60% point in the term based on the student’s last date of attendance, even if the student is not entitled to a refund of tuition.

A student is required to immediately notify the Registrar and the Financial Aid Office when he or she stops attending classes. If the student fails to notify either office, it is possible that the 50% point in the term will be used to determine the student’s last date of attendance, in accordance with federal regulations. If a student withdraws from all classes, the Financial Aid Office will determine whether that student’s period of attendance resulted in the earning of all of the federal financial aid that was originally awarded. If it is determined that not all of the scheduled federal aid has in fact been earned, then the Financial Aid Office will calculate the amount to be returned to the federal financial aid programs. The Financial Aid Office will bill the student on his or her university account for the amount returned. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the Cashier’s Office about settling the bill.

Additional Responsibilities of Students Who Withdraw

Any time a student withdraws from one or more courses, the student should consider the potential effect on his or her satisfactory academic progress (SAP) status. See Satisfactory Academic Progress for more information about SAP requirements.

Whenever a student’s enrollment changes to less than half time or the student withdraws completely, or if a student takes a leave of absence, he or she must notify the lender or holder of any loans. Student borrowers of federal or university loans must also satisfy exit loan counseling requirements.

It is also the student’s responsibility upon withdrawal from all classes to notify the Student Financial Services Office, the Housing Services Office, the Transportation Services Office and/or the USCard Office, if the student has charges from these offices on his or her student account. Withdrawn students may be entitled to a prorated cancellation of charges from these offices.

Tuition Refund Insurance Plan

To complement its own refund policy, the university makes available to students the Tuition Refund Plan (TRP), an insurance policy designed to protect the investment students and their families make in education. The Financial Aid Office strongly encourages all financial aid recipients to take advantage of this plan. If a student formally withdraws from all classes after the end of the drop/add period and he or she is covered by TRP, the student may receive:

  • a credit to his or her student account equal to 100% of charges for tuition and mandatory fees, if the withdrawal is the result of documented personal illness or accident; or
  • a credit to his or her student account equal to 60% of the charges for tuition and mandatory fees, if the withdrawal is the result of a documented mental/nervous disorder.

The TRP insurance credit will be first applied to any outstanding charges on the student’s university account, including any charges resulting from Title IV federal aid returns. Recipients of university and/or federal financial aid will then receive a cash refund equal to the amount of cash payments made to the account plus any loan payments still on the account (after all returns of title IV aid have been made in accordance with federal policies, if applicable). The remainder of the TRP insurance credit will be used to repay university financial aid grant or scholarship programs.

Brochures about TRP requirements and claim forms are available in the Cashier’s Office and the Registrar’s Office. All questions about the Tuition Refund Plan should be directed to these offices.

Notes on Federal Policy

Title IV Federal Financial Aid
Students are considered recipients of Title IV federal financial aid if they have used funds from one or more of the following programs to meet educational expenses for the semester in question: Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Stafford Loan (Subsidized or Unsubsidized), or Federal PLUS Loan.

Period of Enrollment
At USC, the periods of enrollment are generally measured using the session(s) the student enrolled in on a semester basis, starting on the first day of classes and ending on the final day of examinations for a given term. For purposes of Title IV federal aid, any scheduled break of five or more days will not be included in the measurement of the enrollment period.

Measurement of Earned Title IV Federal Financial Aid
When a student withdraws from all classes, the Financial Aid Office will calculate the percentage of earned Title IV federal aid using the point of withdrawal. The earnings calculation is based on the number of days of enrollment, up to and including the day of withdrawal, divided by the total number of days in the enrollment period. In most cases, when a total withdrawal is determined to occur on or before the 60% point in a semester, some federal aid will need to be returned.

Title IV Federal Financial Aid Returns
To satisfy federal regulation, returns to Title IV financial aid programs must be made in the following order:

  • Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
  • Federal Subsidized Stafford Loan
  • Federal Perkins Loan
  • Federal Plus Loan
  • Federal Pell Grant
  • Federal SEOG
  • Other Title IV Federal Programs

Example
Jane is a financial aid recipient who withdraws from all of her classes on the 66th day of the semester. Jane lives in non-university housing. The only charges that appear on the university account are for tuition and fees. All charges on her account are fully paid. Jane promptly notifies the Financial Aid Office of her withdrawal.

According to USC’s refund policy Jane is not entitled to a refund of the tuition charges aid, since she withdrew after the end of the university’s official add/drop period. She is entitled to retain 100% of her university financial aid. However, according to the Title IV federal financial aid return policy, she has earned only 58.4% of her federal aid and the Financial Aid Office is required to calculate the portion of her Title IV federal aid that must be returned.

Jane's semester charges:
Tuition
$11,000
Fees
290
Total institutional costs:$11,290

Jane's payments including financial aid:
Federal Subsidized Stafford Loan
$1,312
Federal Perkins Loan
500
University grant
5,700
Jane's cash payment
3,778
Total payments to the student's account:$11,290

Total university aid:		5,700
Total federal financial aid:1,812

Amount of aid Jane may retain
  • 100.0% of total USC aid
    		• $5,700.00
  • 58.4% of total federal aid
    		• 1,058.21

    Amount of federal aid to be returned:
    $753.79 or 41.6% of her total federal aid
    The return of the federal aid will be allocated, following federal regulations, in the following order:
    To the Stafford Loan Program
    		$753.79
    To the Perkins Loan Program
    		.00
    Total amount returned:$753.79

    Impact of Withdrawal on Jane's USC Account Balance Before her withdrawal and the return of the unearned portion of federal financial aid, Jane had a $0 account balance. After the return of the federal aid mandated by her total withdrawal from classes, Jane has a $753.79 balance that she will need to settle with the Cashier's Office.

    Percentage of Return of Financial Aid Based on a Standard USC Term of 113 Days

    # Day in
    Term    		% of Term
    Attended    		USC Return
    of Aid Policy    		Federal Return
    of Aid Policy
    Before the
    1st day of class    		0%100%100%
    1st0.9100%99.1%
    2nd1.8100%98.2%
    3rd2.7100%97.3%
    4th3.5100%96.5%
    5th4.4100%95.6%
    6th5.3100%94.7%
    7th6.2100%93.8%
    8th7.1100%92.9%
    9th8.0100%92.0%
    10th8.8100%91.2%
    11th9.7100%90.3%
    12th10.6100%89.4%
    13th11.5100%88.5%
    14th12.4100%87.6%
    15th13.3100%86.7%
    16th14.2100%85.8%
    17th15.0100%85.0%
    18th15.9100%84.1%
    19th16.8100%83.2%
    20th17.70%82.3%
    21st18.60%81.4%
    22nd19.50%80.5%
    23rd20.40%79.5%
    24th21.20%78.8%
    25th22.10%77.9%
    26th23.00%77.0%
    27th23.90%76.1%
    28th24.80%75.2%
    29th25.70%74.3%
    30th26.50%73.5%
    31st27.40%72.6%
    32nd28.30%71.7%
    33rd29.20%70.8%
    34th30.10%69.9%
    35th31.00%69.0%
    36th31.90%68.1%
    37th32.70%67.3%
    38th33.60%66.4%
    39th34.50%65.5%
    40th35.40%64.6%
    41st36.30%63.7%
    42nd37.20%62.8%
    43rd38.10%61.9%
    44th38.90%61.1%
    45th39.80%60.2%
    46th40.70%59.3%
    47th41.60%58.4%
    48th42.30%57.7%
    49th43.40%56.6%
    50th44.20%55.8%
    51st45.10%54.9%
    52nd46.00%54.0%
    53rd46.90%53.1%
    54th47.80%52.2%
    55th48.70%51.3%
    56th49.60%50.4%
    57th50.40%49.6%
    58th51.30%48.7%
    59th52.20%47.8%
    60th53.10%46.9%
    61st54.00%46.0%
    62nd54.90%45.1%
    63rd55.80%44.2%
    64th56.60%43.4%
    65th57.50%42.5%
    66th58.40%41.6%
    67th59.30%40.7%
    68th-113th60.20%0.0%
    Note: If the length of the academic term is either longer or shorter than the standard 113 day term, students may request their refund table from the Financial Aid Office.