Withdrawing or Resigning

Impact on the aid

There are four main factors that can heavily influence the account balance of a student who has withdrawn or resigned.

• The student’s financial aid includes Federal Title IV funds.
• The student’s financial aid includes state and institutional funds
• The student’s financial aid includes any scholarships including general and departmental scholarships.
• Bursar’s office may reduce the student’s tuition charges.

Financial aid may be reduced and leave a balance due back to the Bursar's office if a student withdraws or resigns after the start of the semester.  Any student who is planning on resigning should discuss the situation with a financial aid counselor as well as a staff member from the Office of the University Bursar. It is far better to be proactive regarding your withdrawal or resignation than to be subject to unexpected and significant aid changes.

Withdrawals

When a student drops all of their classes before the beginning of the term, they are said to have “withdrawn.” This can be done using the University Registrar’s Student Resignation / Withdrawal Form. 

Students can also be suspended by the university’s Student Conduct office. In these cases the school administratively “withdraws” the student, and the student’s withdrawal date is set as the date of the incident that ultimately resulted in the suspension, not the date of the suspension.

When a student fails to earn at least one grade (A, B, C, D, F, I or EQ) in any of his/her classes for a term, they are reviewed as an “unofficial withdrawal.”  Therefore, for any student who only receives NG (No Grade), or NR (No Record) during a term, the student is considered to be an unofficial withdrawal.  In these cases, the student’s withdrawal date is determined to be as the midpoint of the term, unless verification of enrollment is received by his or her instructor/professor.

Resignations

Once the term has started, students are not able to simply drop or “withdraw” from all of their classes. Virginia Tech policy states that a student must resign. This can be done using the University Registrar’s Student Resignation / Withdrawal Form. These cases are commonly referred to as “official resignations.”

The most important thing to remember is that the Office of University Scholarships and Financial Aid adjusts a student’s financial aid in the same manner regardless of whether the student is classified as a withdrawal or resignation student. The withdrawal or resignation date is the key factor which affects the calculation for returning any unearned federal, state, and institutional financial aid. The Bursar’s office uses the same date to determine if a student’s tuition and/or fee charges will be reduced.