Your financial aid is based on how many units you're enrolled in at the time of census. If you drop a class, it could affect your aid—especially if you've already received your funds:

• Federal and State aid is tied to your enrollment status (number of class units). If your status changes after your aid is disbursed, you might owe money back. If that happens, the college will email you with details.

• Short-term and weekend classes count too, so dropping those can also impact your aid.

• Dropping classes can also affect your Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), which is required to keep getting aid. Want to know more? Check out our SAP Policy for more information.

After census, students are locked in to their enrollment status. No financial aid adjustments are made after. If you withdraw from a course after census, you will still receive your full second disbursement.

Dropping a class may result in issues with Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements. For more information, refer to our SAP policy.

If you're asking to remove a “W” grade or applying for Academic Renewal, here's some things to know:

• If you already got financial aid for that class (Federal Pell Grant or Cal Grant), you may need to pay that money back once the grade is removed.

• This process means your financial aid will be re-evaluated, and you might see a balance owed on your account.

• Not sure if this affects your aid? Reach out to the Financial Aid Office—they’ll help you figure it out before you make any decisions.

If you were awarded aid and drop all of your classes before the beginning of the term, you must repay the full amount received. You are not entitled to any of the funds received. You have 30 days to repay the college in full and may be reported to the Education Department (ED).

Thinking about withdrawing from all your classes? Here's what you need to know if you get Federal financial aid:

• If you leave school before finishing 60% of the term, you might have to pay back some of your financial aid.

• The Financial Aid Office will figure out how much aid you earned based on when you officially withdrew.

• Federal Work Study money you’ve earned isn’t affected—you get to keep that.

• If you sign up for a class after your aid was already adjusted (called an R2T4 calculation), you’ll still be counted as officially withdrawn.

If you register in a course after an R2T4 calculation is already performed, you will still be considered officially withdrawn.

• Fall 2025: 10/30/2025

• Spring 2026: 4/09/2026

Your withdrawal date is:

• The day you dropped all your credit classes

• The day you told the Financial Aid Office you’re leaving

• The last day you attended class (your instructor helps confirm this)

For more information on Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4), click here

If you get all F, No Pass (NP), Incomplete (I), or Instructor Drop (ID) grades for the semester, you’ll be considered unofficially withdrawn. The Education Department (ED) assumes you stopped attending halfway through the term, and your financial aid will be recalculated based on that. If you have student loans, you will need to pay back a portion of the funds according to your loan agreement (Master Promissory Note or MPN).

If you actually attended the whole term or graduated, you can avoid being marked as unofficially withdrawn. Just send one of these to the Financial Aid Office:

• A note or email from your instructor saying you finished the class but didn’t pass

• Proof that you graduated

Send your documentation to: financial.aid@cabrillo.edu

If you drop AFTER the 60% dates below, you will not owe a repayment**, but your SAP status will be affected. Please view our SAP Policy for additional information.

Late start, short term, and weekend classes may have different 60% dates. Please check in with the Financial Aid Office if you are considering withdrawing.

• Fall 2025: 10/30/2025

• Spring 2026: 4/09/2026

A Post Withdrawal Disbursement (PWD) is calculated when a student attends a class or classes and then subsequently withdraws from all classes before they receive their Financial Aid disbursement. We are required to calculate any amount of Federal funds owed to you for the days attended. To determine if you were eligible to receive Federal funds even though none were disbursed, the Financial Aid Office must have a completed financial aid application for the current school year.