Financial aid eligibility is based on a student’s enrollment status after a semester’s applicable add/drop deadline (this is the deadline for students to drop from a course without a W grade). You can view the University’s Add and Drop Deadlines here. If a student adjusts their enrollment after the add/drop deadline (for example, during the “drop-with-W period”), it usually does not result in a financial aid or billing adjustment.
However, when a student is dropped from all of a semester’s courses or is not attending any class during a period of scheduled enrollment*, it may be considered a Complete Withdrawal. In those cases, tuition charges and financial aid eligibility may be reduced (prorated), depending on the effective date of the Complete Withdrawal. Drake’s Tuition Refund Policy is outlined here. The rules for prorating financial aid eligibility vary based on the source of the financial aid, as outlined below.
Procedures for officially withdrawing from Drake University can be found here.
*Scheduled enrollment means the period of time on which any offered financial aid was based.
Funds from Drake University or Iowa College Aid or Health Professions Loans
Funds from Drake University, Iowa College Aid, and the Federal Health Professions Loan will be pro-rated in proportion to a student’s tuition adjustments. For example, if a student’s tuition is pro-rated to 60% of the original billed amount, these funds will also be pro-rated to 60% of the original amount offered. The calculation below will be used to determine necessary adjustments to financial aid in this category.
Funds from Federal Student Aid (Title IV) and Army Tuition Assistance (TA)
When a student is considered completely withdrawn from a semester, regulations specify how Drake University must determine the amount of federal student financial aid (Title IV aid) that was earned prior to withdrawal. The Title IV aid programs covered by this regulation follow, and are organized in the order that the funds will be returned, from first to last: Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans, Federal Direct Subsidized Loans, Federal Direct PLUS Loans for Graduate Students, Federal Direct PLUS Loans for Parents, Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grants, and Federal TEACH Grants.
Though Title IV aid is posted to your account at the start of each semester, you earn the funds as you complete your scheduled enrollment. If you withdraw during your payment period (semester/term), the amount of Title IV program assistance that you have earned up to that point is determined by a specific formula. If you received (or Drake or a parent received on your behalf) less assistance than the amount that you earned, you may be able to receive those additional funds in the form of a post-withdrawal disbursement. If you received more assistance than you earned, the excess funds must be returned by Drake and/or you.
The amount of assistance that you have earned is determined on a pro rata basis. For example, if you complete 30% of your scheduled enrollment, you earn 30% of the assistance you were originally scheduled to receive. Once you have completed more than 60% of your scheduled enrollment, you earn all the assistance that you were scheduled to receive for that period.
If you are enrolled in courses that do not span the length of the semester (compressed courses), you are enrolled in courses that are offered in modules. Students who drop course(s) offered in modules will be considered completely withdrawn from the semester unless one of the following exemptions applies to the current semester:
- You remain enrolled in a course that you are currently attending
- You confirm in writing your plans to attend a class for which you are registered that begins later in the semester.
- You have completed all of the requirements for graduation;
- You successfully complete class(es) that comprise at least 49 percent of the days in the semester
- You successfully complete class(es) that comprise at least half-time enrollment.
If you did not receive all of the funds that you earned, you may be due a post-withdrawal disbursement. If your post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, Drake must get your permission before it can disburse them. You may choose to decline some or all of the loan funds so that you don’t incur additional debt. Drake may automatically use all or a portion of your post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds for tuition, fees, and room and board charges (as contracted with Drake). Drake needs your permission to use the post-withdrawal grant disbursement for all other institutional charges. If you do not give your permission, you will be offered the funds. However, it may be in your best interest to allow Drake to keep the funds to reduce your debt at Drake.
If you receive (or Drake or parent receive on your behalf) excess Title IV program funds that must be returned, Drake must return a portion of the excess funds equal to the lesser of:
- your institutional charges multiplied by the unearned percentage of your funds, or
- the entire amount of excess funds.
Drake must return this amount even if it didn’t keep this amount of your Title IV program funds.
If Drake is not required to return all of the excess funds, you may be required to return the remaining amount.
For any loan funds that you must return, you (or your parent for a Direct PLUS Loan) will repay the loan funds in accordance with the terms of the promissory note. That is, you will not be required to repay any loan funds immediately, but instead, you will make scheduled payments to the holder of the loan over a period of time.
Any amount of unearned grant funds that you must return is called an overpayment. The maximum amount of a grant overpayment that you must repay is half of the grant funds you received or were scheduled to receive. You do not have to repay a grant overpayment if the original amount of the overpayment is $50 or less. You must make arrangements with Drake or the Department of Education to return the unearned grant funds.
The requirements for Title IV program funds when you withdraw are separate from any refund policy that Drake may have. Therefore, you may still owe funds to Drake to cover unpaid institutional charges. Drake may also charge you for any Title IV program funds that Drake was required to return. Drake’s Tuition Refund Policy can be found here. Requirements and procedures for officially withdrawing from course(s) are available here.
Effective February 3, 2025, students who withdraw from the University and receive a 100% tuition and fees refund will, for purposes of federal student aid, be treated as never being enrolled in that semester. One hundred percent of the federal student aid the student received for that semester will be returned.
If you have questions about your Title IV program funds, you can call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FEDAID (1-800-433-3243). TTY users may call 1-800-730-8913. Information is also available on Student Aid on the Web at https://studentaid.gov.
Complete Withdrawal Percent of Aid Earned Schedules (For Students Not Enrolled in Modules)
The schedules below provide the percentage of Title IV/TA aid a student will have earned, based on the student’s last day of attendance. These schedules apply only to students who are not enrolled in compressed courses offered in modules. Students enrolled in modules must be reviewed individually based on the dates of their scheduled enrollment. Because most summer courses are compressed courses offered in modules, schedules are not provided for summer.
Funds from Other Sources
Outside scholarships
When a student who received an outside scholarship withdraws completely during a semester, Drake follows any guidance provided by the scholarship organization. If no guidance was provided, the scholarship will not be adjusted.
Private Education Loans
Private education loans that have not yet disbursed for the semester may need to be cancelled when a student withdraws. Private loans that have disbursed will not be adjusted. We recommend that students consider using any tuition refund received to pay down private loan balances.