/Stony Brook University
Financial Aid & Scholarship Services

Thinking About Withdrawing?

Withdrawing from the University may have both academic and financial aid consequences. You are encouraged to understand the consequences before you decide to withdraw.

What Does it Mean to Withdraw From the Semester?

For financial aid purposes, it means that a student has ceased attendance in all classes during the period of enrollment. A return of Title IV Funds (R2T4) calculation is required for all students meeting this definition that also received federal financial aid (also known as Title IV funds).  This includes Pell Grant, SEOG, Federal Stafford Loans, Federal PLUS Loans, TEACH Grant, and IASG awards.

What Office Should I Contact?

You can submit a withdrawal request right through your SOLAR Account.  The Registrar's Office is designated to report the withdrawal information to your enrollment record.  They can also provide you with information regarding the process of submitting the withdrawal request.  Make sure to review the Registrar's webpage for additional information.

The Financial Aid Office is designated to process the approved withdrawal request in regards to Tile IV aid eligibility.

Difference Between Leave of Absence (LOA) and a Permanent Withdrawal

A LOA can impact your federal aid eligibility if you are failing to meet Federal SAP requirements upon your return to campus.  Please review Registrar's webpage for a breakdown of the different type of withdrawals / leaves of absence.

The university will determine a student to be an unofficial withdrawal at the end of the term based on the following information:

  • A student fails to earn a passing grade in any course taken during the term and the university cannot determine if that student completed the requirements for at least one course within the term.

Please Note:

  • Incomplete (I) grades are not considered passing a course or course completion.
  • A student can have an "earned" F grade but that would need to be indicated on the final grade reporting.

  • If the student officially withdraws from the university, the withdrawal date will be the date that the student began the official withdrawal process or officially notified the school of their intent to withdraw. Please note that the student's intent to withdraw is something that the financial aid office will take into account. 
  • If there was an extenuating circumstance that prevented the student from withdrawing when an event occurred, like an illness or accident, please speak with the Registrar’s office to rectify this information. 
  • If the student stops attending without notifying the university, this is considered an unofficial withdrawal. The withdrawal date will be the midpoint of the semester if we have no other “last date of academic engagement” reported at the end of the term. 

Is Tuition Liability Part of the Withdrawal Process?

No. Tuition liability is determined by the Registrar’s office and impacts your charges on your bill. The withdrawal process determines the percentage of federal aid you are eligible to keep.

How Withdrawing Affects Your Financial Aid

Financial aid is typically applied to your student account at the beginning of each semester with the understanding that you will remain enrolled for the entire term. If you withdraw from all of your courses within a semester, your aid is subjected to a reduction based on the number of days you completed.

Withdrawing from classes will also affect your progress towards degree completion – the cumulative number of credits you have attempted compared to the number of credits you have earned. For additional information about how withdrawing can affect your academic progression, please review the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy.

The Federal Return of Title IV Funds procedure (R2T4 calculation) mandates that students who officially withdraw (drop all classes) or unofficially withdraw (stop attending without dropping all classes) may only keep the financial aid they have “earned” up to the time of withdrawal.  Financial aid funds that were applied to your student account that are determined to be "unearned" must be returned.

An R2T4 calculation is not required for all students that withdraw. However, if you are a student that receives federal financial aid (Title IV funds), then you can expect that a R2T4 calculation will be completed to determine the amount of aid you would be eligible to keep.

If we cannot confirm that you began attendance in at least one of your courses before you withdraw, we will be required to cancel all of your federal financial aid.

The following Federal Aid is included in the R2T4 calculation and returned in the following order:

  1. Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan
  2. Federal Direct Subsidized Loan
  3. Federal Graduate Plus Loan
  4. Federal Parent Plus Loan
  5. Federal Pell Grant
  6. Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant (IASG)
  7. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
  8. Federal Teacher Education Assistance for College & Higher Education (TEACH) Grant

**Federal Work-Study is NOT included in the R2T4 calculation, however you cannot continue to work under the Federal Work-Study Program after your date of withdrawal.**
*Additional aid NOT considered in the calculation include: State Aid, Institutional Aid and Private Aid.*

Calculations are done on a case-by-case basis after the withdrawal date is established.

  • A student earns Title IV (federal) aid based on the length of time they remain enrolled in the period of enrollment. We would take the Total Aid (federal aid) and multiply that number by the % of the enrollment period you completed and that would equal your earned aid.
Total Aid x Period Complete = Earned Aid
  • The amount of aid that needs to be returned is represented by the equation below. When we return your financial aid, we are sending that unearned aid amount back to the federal government and it is no longer applied to your bill.

Disbursed Aid - Earned Aid = Unearned Aid

  • If you were not confirmed in beginning attendance in any of your courses before you withdraw, then the undisbursed aid would be canceled.
  • Disbursed aid and aid that could have been disbursed are determined using a snapshot approach. Once we are aware that you have withdrawn, the financial aid amounts are frozen until we can determine whether the funds must be returned or if you are eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement. 

  • If TAP was awarded and certified for full time tuition for the term of withdrawal, then it will be decertified for the following term. An appeal will be necessary.
  • If TAP was certified as a withdrawal with liability, then the student will receive the reduced amount of the award for the term of withdrawal and will most likely be decertified the following term. An appeal will be necessary.
  • If tuition charges are reduced or cancelled for the term of withdrawal, the current TAP award will be reduced or cancelled accordingly.

Who is Responsible for Returning the Unearned Federal Aid Back to the Government?

The R2T4 formula is designed so all of the unearned funds are returned by the school if the student’s institutional charges equal or exceed the amount of federal funding disbursed. 

It is also designed so the institution and the student must each return a share of the funds if the amount of the federal funds disbursed exceeds the student’s institutional charges.