Federal Financial Aid Refund and Withdrawal Facts

This regulation applies to students who receive federal financial aid and who completely withdraw or stop attending classes before completing 60% of the enrollment period.

If you receive federal financial aid, you must earn it by staying enrolled and attending classes. The amount you earn is based on how long you were enrolled during the payment period (usually the semester).

If you withdraw or stop attending before the term ends, you may have to return a portion of your financial aid.

To calculate the percent of financial aid you earned:

Divide the number of calendar days you attended (up to your withdrawal date) by the total number of calendar days in the payment period. (Scheduled breaks of five or more days are not counted.)

Example

• You attend 40 days of the 100-day semester. 
• You are getting $5,000 in financial aid.

40 ÷ 100 = 40%
40% of $5,000 = $2,000
This is your “earned” financial aid.

The unearned percentage – 60% or $3,000 – is the portion of aid that must be returned.

• You withdraw from BGSU when your enrollment drops to zero credit hours.
• Review withdrawal instructions in the undergraduate catalog and with your academic advisor. 
• Complete the official Withdrawal Form in MyBGSU > Student Center for the current or future terms. The form for prior terms is available through your college office.
• Your official withdrawal date is either the form submission date or the college approval date, whichever is earlier.
• Refunds are calculated based on the official withdrawal date.
• If you stop attending without officially withdrawing, the withdrawal date is based on your last participation in class or academically-related activity, as reported by your instructor(s).

Your withdrawal decision should focus on academics, not financial aid.

• Talk with your academic advisor or college office about why you want to withdraw and the academic impact.
• Financial aid adjustments will depend on your official withdrawal date.
• The Office of Student Financial Aid cannot calculate changes until your withdrawal date is set by your advisor, department or college.

Both BGSU and the student must return unearned federal aid in this order:

1. Unsubsidized Direct Loan
2. Subsidized Direct Loan
3. Direct Grad PLUS Loan
4. Direct Parent PLUS Loan
5. Pell Grant
6. Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant
7. FSEOG
8. TEACH Grant
   
   

BGSU returns the lesser of:

• Total unearned aid, or
• Institutional charges × unearned percentage

Funds are applied first to loans, then to grants. Students can repay loans according to the terms of their promissory note.

If the student is responsible for grant overpayment, BGSU will return the funds to the federal government and bill the student for those funds and the school’s unearned responsibility.

Students are also responsible for any portion of BGSU charges that federal aid no longer covers.

If you owe money to BGSU from returned federal funds:

• You will receive a bill from the Bursar’s Office. Contact the Bursar’s Office at 419-372-2815 to make payment arrangements.
• For loans, contact your federal loan servicer to arrange repayment.

If you don’t pay BGSU for charges from the federal refund policy:

• Your records will be placed on financial hold. You won’t be able to register for classes or get transcripts until the balance is paid.
• Unpaid balances may be sent to collections and reported to credit bureaus.

If the R2T4 calculation creates a credit on your account, any excess funds will be refunded through the University within 14 days.

Possibly. To remain eligible for financial aid, you must maintain satisfactory academic progress (SAP) under federal guidelines.

To meet SAP requirements, you must:

• Maintain the minimum cumulative GPA
• Successfully complete at least 67% of all attempted credit hours
• Finish your degree or certificate within the maximum allowed attempted hours

Withdrawing from courses may impact your completion rate and could affect your future aid eligibility.

A withdrawal or drop in credit hours may also impact other state and institutional awards. Refer to terms and conditions of all awards for details or contact the SFA Office for more information prior to making changes to your class schedule.

If a student withdraws before receiving their Title IV financial aid, but the Return to Title IV (R2T4) calculation shows they are eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement, the Office of Student Financial Aid will:

• Disburse eligible grant funds within 45 days
• Notify the student of any loan eligibility within 30 days

Students will have at least 14 days to accept or decline any loan funds offered.