As a general rule, grants do not need to be repaid. However, you may have to repay a certain amount if you
prior to completing more than 60% of a payment period.
Withdrawal
If you completely withdraw from school during a term, the school must calculate, according to a specific formula, the portion of the total scheduled financial assistance you have earned and are therefore entitled to receive up to the time you withdrew. If you received more assistance than you earned, the unearned excess funds must be returned to the Department of Education.
How Your Percentage Completed is Calculated
The portion of your federal grants and loans you are entitled to receive is calculated on a percentage basis by comparing the total number of hours in a payment period to the hours completed in the payment period. For example, if you complete 30% of the payment period, you earn 30% of the assistance you were originally scheduled to receive. This means that 70% of your scheduled awards remain unearned and must be returned to the Department of Education.
At 60%, You Have Earned All of Your Assistance
Once you have completed more than 60% of the payment period, you can be said to have earned all of your assistance. If you withdraw from the college before completing 60% of the payment period, you may have to repay any unearned federal monies that were already disbursed to you. Your withdrawal date will be your last day of class attendance.
How Funds are Returned
Francis Tuttle calculates the return of these "Title IV funds" based on your payment period. However, in some cases such as students transferring between programs or students who withdraw and then reenter, the enrollment period may be used as the basis for figuring the return of title IV funds. Funds are returned to programs in the following order:
- Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
- Subsidized Stafford Loan
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant
- Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership
If funds still remain to be returned after Title IV programs have been reimbursed, they are first returned to funding agencies and lastly to the student.
Formula to Calculate Aid Repayments
The financial aid office recalculates federal financial aid eligibility for withdraw prior to completing 60% of a payment period. Recalculation is based on the percent of earned aid using the following formula:
Percent earned = Number of hours completed up to the withdrawal date (last day of class) / total hours in the payment period.
Aid to be returned by Francis Tuttle = 100% - percent earned x the amount of aid disbursed toward institutional charges.
Your share to return is 100% - percent earned.