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Scholarships & Financial Aid

Withdrawals and Return of Funds Policy

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Withdrawals

Students who withdraw from all classes before the first class day for each term are given a 100% tuition refund and classes do not appear on the academic record. Beginning the first class day of each term, students are liable for tuition charges unless they take official action during the tuition cancellation period to drop classes. The Academic Calendar (available from the Registrar) publishes the tuition cancellation dates for 100%, 75%, 50% and 25% refunds for each term. The last date to withdraw from a class is also published in the Academic Calendar for each term. Please note: applicable tuition refunds are only available in instances of official withdrawal. Unofficial withdrawals may result in unpaid balances for which the student is responsible.

Financial aid recipients are encouraged to contact the Office of Scholarships and Student Financial Aid prior to withdrawal to determine the impact of this action upon financial aid.  To officially withdraw from the university, students can contact TCU Registrar's Office.  

Return of Title IV Funds

Federal law specifies how schools must determine the amount of Title IV financial aid you have earned if you withdraw from school before the end of the semester. The amount of assistance that you have earned is determined on a pro-rata basis. For example, if you complete 30% of the payment period, you earn 30% percent of the assistance you were originally scheduled to receive. Once you have completed more than 60% of the payment period, you earn all the assistance that you were scheduled to receive for that period.

An official withdrawal occurs when the student intentionally drops all classes for a given term. Students who officially withdraw prior to completing 60% of the term have not “earned” all financial aid offered and a repayment calculation must be performed based upon a federally mandated formula. If the return of funds creates a balance due, the student will be responsible for repayment to TCU.

Unofficial withdrawal encompasses all other withdrawals where official notification is not provided to TCU. When a recipient of financial aid ceases class attendance, without officially dropping their courses, TCU must determine the amount of aid “earned.” In this situation the withdrawal date is the midpoint of the term or the last date of an academically related activity in which the student participated as documented by a professor.

If you received (or TCU or your parent received on your behalf) less assistance than the amount you earned, you may be able to receive those additional funds. If you received more assistance than you earned, the excess funds must be returned to the applicable federal aid program. Funds will be returned in the following order:

  • Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loans
  • Subsidized Federal Direct Loans
  • Direct PLUS Loans (parent or graduate)
  • Federal Pell Grants
  • Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant
  • Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG)
  • TEACH Grants
  • Other Federal, State, Private, or Institutional Student Aid

The requirements for Title IV program funds when you withdraw are separate from TCU refund policies. Therefore, you may still owe funds to TCU to cover unpaid institutional charges. Please contact the financial aid office if you have any questions about withdrawing from school and how it affects your financial aid package.

Further information on Title IV programs funds can be found at on the Federal Student Aid website or by calling 1-800-433-3243 or 1-800-730-8913 for TTY users.