Withdrawing or Dropping Classes
What if I withdraw (drop all my classes)?
If you withdraw, you and the college may be expected to repay some or all of the financial aid you have received for the semester.
If you withdraw within a SCCC Adjustment/Refund period, the OSFA is required by federal law to determine whether your SCCC refund should repay some or all of the financial aid that you received.
The date of withdrawal determines whether you receive a SCCC refund and the amount. It also determines how much aid you and the school are expected to repay to the aid programs. Therefore, it is not possible to tell you how much you must repay until after you have withdrawn.
After you withdraw, you will receive a letter from the OSFA telling you which financial aid programs your SCCC refund repaid (if applicable). If your SCCC refund is not enough to repay the amount of aid the college must return to your aid programs, the Business Office will bill you for the difference. In addition, you may be required to repay the aid programs directly using your own funds. If you fail to repay this aid or fail to make satisfactory arrangements to repay this aid within 45 days, you may lose your eligibility to receive future federal and state aid. (See example on reverse side.)
What if I drop hours, but remain enrolled in at least six hours?
In most instances, you are not expected to repay financial aid awards you received for the semester as long as you remain enrolled in at least 6 hours. However, dropping hours may affect your future eligibility for aid.
What if I withdraw or drop below six hours?
The spring disbursement of your Federal Subsidized Stafford, Unsubsidized Stafford and/or PLUS loan(s) may be cancelled if you withdraw or drop below six hours in the fall. You must contact the OSFA if your spring disbursement was cancelled and you need a loan for the spring semester.
Additionally, the grace period on your Federal Subsidized Stafford and Unsubsidized Stafford loans will begin once you withdraw or drop below 6 hours. Stafford loan borrowers have a six-month grace period before payments are required.
If you withdraw or drop below 6 hours and you have a Stafford loan, you will need to complete Exit Loan Counseling on-line at www.sccc.edu. You should also contact your lenders to notify them you have withdrawn or dropped below 6 hours. Holds will be placed on your account until you have completed Exit Loan Counseling.
What about future financial aid?
Dropping any number of hours or withdrawing completely can affect your future eligibility for financial aid because you may not meet Satisfactory Academic Progress standards. Please refer to the Satisfactory Academic Progress handout and any scholarship agreements for additional information.
Title IV Repayment Example:
You are a student at SCCC. You paid $390.00 in tuition and fees and $121.87 for books. You received a Title IV Federal Pell Grant for $938.00.
You withdrew from all your classes on October 30 during a semester that began on August 21 and ended on December 19. You completed 58.7% of the semester. You must repay some of your Federal Pell Grant, since you are not eligible for 41.3% of the aid you received.
You are required to repay $211.40 to the Federal Pell Grant Program. You must repay the Federal Pell Grant amount directly to the OSFA within thirty days of the date of notification. If this payment is not received within thirty days, your Federal Pell Grant repayment will be referred to the U.S. Department of Education’s Debt Collection Service for collection. You will not be able to receive additional Title IV Federal aid at SCCC or any other postsecondary institution until the amount has been repaid or you make satisfactory arrangements to repay this sum with the U.S. Department of Education Debt Collection Service.
Refund Distribution-Prescribed by Law and Regulation
Refund is applied to the programs in the order they are listed:
Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
Federal Subsidized Stafford Loan
Federal PLUS Loan
Federal Pell Grant
Federal SEOG
Other Title IV Aid Programs