Dropping, Withdrawing, and F Grades
Dropping Credits
Dropping credits may jeopardize future student aid eligibility, including loans. Whether or not to drop a course is an academic issue; however, it is your responsibility to understand the financial implications of this decision.
Future student aid eligibility:
If you drop below half-time (less than 6 credits as an undergraduate and 5 credits as a graduate) enrollment, you may be ineligible for aid, including loans. Depending on the time during the semester that you drop a course(s), your aid may be adjusted.
You must maintain satisfactory academic progress from one semester to the next or you may become ineligible for aid, including loans.
Dropping Credits Prior to the End of the Drop/Add Period:
You will be responsible for the balance of your tuition bill if your aid is adjusted.
Your financial aid may be adjusted if your credits drop below the minimum required.
If you are a Federal Pell Grant recipient, the grant may be adjusted; for example, if you drop from 12 to 9 credits, your grant may be prorated. Review additional information about the Pell census date.
If you are a Pennsylvania State Grant recipient, your grant may be reduced if you drop from full time to half time enrollment or from half time to less than half time.
If you have a loan(s) that requires a minimum number of credits, and the loan has not disbursed, you may become ineligible for the loan. Loan eligibility is determined at the time of disbursement.
Dropping Credits During the Late Drop Period:
You will be responsible for the balance of your tuition bill if your aid is adjusted.
Your financial aid may be adjusted if the aid source requires full-time or half-time enrollment and your credits drop below the minimum required.
If you are a Pennsylvania State Grant recipient, your grant may be reduced if you drop from full-time to half-time enrollment, or from half-time to less than half-time.
If you have a loan(s) that requires a minimum number of credits, and the loan has not disbursed, you may become ineligible for the loan. Loan eligibility is determined at the time of disbursement.
Late Dropping credits may jeopardize future aid eligibility. You must maintain satisfactory academic progress or you may become ineligible for aid, including loans.
Loan Grace Period/Repayment
If you received a Federal Direct Loan or Federal Perkins Loan and drop below half time, the grace period prior to repayment will begin (nine months for Perkins and University Loans, six months for Federal Direct Loans). If you have already used your loan grace period, then you may begin repayment. For more information, contact the appropriate loan servicer:
Federal Perkins or University Loan recipients: contact Office of the Bursar.
Federal Direct Loan recipients: contact your federal loan servicer. You can obtain the contact information for your federal loan servicer by logging into studentaid.gov.
Federal Direct Loan recipients under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program: contact the lender(s) of your FFEL loan(s). You can obtain the contact information for your FFEL lenders by logging into studentaid.gov.
Understanding the Consequences of an "F" grade
Students who are financial aid recipients and receive one or more "F" grades resulting from lack of attendance may have their aid adjusted. An instructor is responsible for reporting a student’s last day of attendance if the student quit attending before the end of the semester. This is considered an unofficial drop.
An unofficial drop could result in repaying part or all of the federal and/or state student aid funds you received.
If your Federal Pell Grant has been disbursed and then you unofficially drop credits, your grants will always be adjusted if you drop below full-time. Your student Bursar account will be debited for the difference.
If all of your grades in a semester are "F":
If you earn all "F" grades from non-attendance within a semester, your aid will be adjusted according to federal regulations and you will be required to repay part or all of the federal and/or state student aid funds you received that semester.
If you receive all “F” grades from never attending, all federal and/or state aid will be cancelled.
Withdrawing and Financial Aid
Federal student aid is based on the percentage of time you are enrolled for the semester.
Depending on when you withdraw, student aid will be adjusted according to the Federal Return of Title IV formula, state grant refund calculation and institutional policy. Tuition may be adjusted and you will most likely owe money to the University if you withdraw. For more information, access:
Tuition adjustments and withdrawal
For student financial aid purposes, 12 or more credits is considered full-time enrollment for undergraduate students; 9 or more credits is considered full-time for graduate students.
Unofficial withdrawal
Withdrawing from the University will cancel your financial aid for future semesters.
If you stop attending all of your classes without officially withdrawing (a.k.a. an unofficial withdrawal), you are considered to be "walking away." Federal aid you received during the semester will be subject to the federal return calculation based on the effective date of withdrawal. The withdrawal date is your last documented date of attendance, as determined by instructors.
Post-withdrawal disbursement
Some aid programs may be available to you after you withdraw. In some cases, a portion of your Federal Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), and/or Federal Direct Loan may be available.
You may receive a letter from us requesting that you submit documents to our office to verify the information on your FAFSA. You will also be notified upon withdrawal if you are eligible for "post-withdrawal disbursement" of any aid funds. You may be required to confirm that you want to accept the disbursement.
Contact upon withdrawal
When you withdraw, the grace period prior to repayment will begin (nine months for Perkins and University Loans, six months for Federal Direct Loans). If you re-enroll before your grace period ends, you will have a new grace period when you leave school. Otherwise, when you re-enroll you will need to request an in-school deferment.
Federal Perkins or University Loan recipients: notify Office of the Bursar. Also notify any other schools from which you borrowed, if applicable. If you decide to re-enroll, you will need to contact the Office of the Bursar (and/or other schools) again to move your loans back to an in-school deferment status.
Federal Direct Loan recipients: notify your federal loan servicer. You can obtain the contact information for federal loan servicer by logging into studentaid.gov.
Federal Direct Loan recipients under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program: notify the lender(s) of your FFEL loan(s). You can obtain the contact information for your FFEL lenders by logging into studentaid.gov.
Complete Loan Exit Counseling when you withdraw from school
Students who withdraw from Penn State, even for just one semester, will be required to complete Loan Exit Counseling to comply with University policy and federal regulations. Students who do not complete the Loan Exit Counseling may have registration holds placed on their academic records.
Future student aid eligibility may be in jeopardy if you withdraw from school.
If you withdraw from the University, your student aid for the following semester will be cancelled. If you process a re-enrollment request for an upcoming semester, please contact the Office of Student Aid to request consideration for reinstatement of your aid.
Your student aid for the future academic year may be in jeopardy if you fall below the minimum credit expectation for satisfactory academic progress, which affects your eligibility for most student aid programs. Academic progress is calculated using the number of credits you attempt and earn each semester. These credit requirements are completely separate from those determined by your academic college or department.
Review Penn State's Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy.