Federal Student Aid is awarded under the assumption that a student will complete course(s) for the entire period of enrollment (semester) for which the funds were awarded. Students who withdraw officially or unofficially may be subject to losing eligibility for federal aid funds, regardless of the reason for withdrawal.
Federal laws require schools to return a portion of federal financial aid if a student does not earn any passing grades and stops attending before the end of the session or officially withdraws during the first 60 percent of the period of enrollment, measured in days.
Important Dates (2026-27)
Enrollment Determination Recalculation Date (Census)
- Fall 2026: Aug. 28, 2026 at 11:59 p.m.
- Spring 2027: Jan. 25, 2027 at 11:59 p.m.
- Summer 2027: It depends - contact Financial Aid
Learn more about enrollment determination recalculation (census) date.
Tuition Refund Dates
Fall 2026
- 100% Refund: Aug. 21, 2026 is the last day to drop a class and receive a 100% refund.
- 50% Refund: Oct. 2, 2026 is the last day to drop all of your classes and receive a 50% refund. You must drop all of your classes to receive this 50% refund.
Spring 2027
- 100% Refund: Jan. 25, 2027 is the last day to drop a class and receive a 100% refund.
- 50% Refund: Feb. 26, 2027 is the last day to drop all of your classes and receive a 50% refund. You must drop all of your classes to receive this 50% refund.
Summer 2027
Things to Consider
Dropping a class can affect more than your schedule. Before making a decision, review each topic below to understand the possible academic, financial, and enrollment impacts.
Consider the following:
- How dropping may affect your financial aid for this semester
- How dropping may affect your Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
- Review the Financial Aid SAP policy
- Whether or not you could receive a tuition/fee full or partial refund
- Review the Academic Calendar 2026-27 for last days for full or partial refunds
- How this will impact your graduation plan
- Contact your advisor for more information
- How this will impact your eligibility to live on campus
Be sure to review the Registrar's Before You Drop/Withdraw page for offices to contact and more information.
How Dropping a Class Affects Financial Aid
Full-Time vs Part-Time Enrollment
Each career (undergraduate, graduate, law, medical, and dental) defines half-time and full-time enrollment separately (see Enrollment Determination Recalculation Date for more information).
Some aid programs, such as the Millennium scholarship and UNLV Central Scholarships and Grants (UNLV Signature, UNLV Opportunity, and UNLV Tuition+), require that an undergraduate be enrolled full-time in order to receive a disbursement. Other aid programs such as federal loans require at least half-time enrollment. See below for the implications to your eligibility for some aid programs if you choose to drop classes.
Program Enrollment Requirements
Federal rules require that a student be enrolled at least half-time (defined separately depending on your program) when a federal loan is disbursed. If you are not half-time, the loan cannot be disbursed. If you drop one or more classes after the loans are disbursed, but you are still enrolled in at least one credit, you may keep your loan, however, your future loan eligibility may be affected (see “Schedule of Reductions”). If you withdraw from all classes in a semester, a Return of Title IV (R2T4) calculation may occur. See “What Happens if You Withdraw From All Classes?” for more information.
The Millennium scholarship requires that a student be enrolled full-time to receive a disbursement, with only a few exceptions. At the end of the semester, UNLV must report your semester GPA and completed credit count back to the Nevada Treasurer’s Office. If you do not complete the requisite number of credits with the needed semester GPA, you may lose Millennium for future semesters. See the Governor Guinn Millennium Scholarship page for more information.
The value of your Pell grant is calculated based upon how many credits you’re enrolled for, as of the “Enrollment Determination Recalculation Date” which is the date at which a student’s Pell grant is formally calculated per federal regulation. For UNLV, this calculation is typically performed simultaneously with the end of the 100% add/drop period for each semester. Dropping or adding classes prior to this calculation may result in a change to your Pell grant once the calculation is made after the 100% add/drop period ends. Dropping or adding a class after this point will typically not result in a change to your Pell disbursement for the semester. If the first time you register for any classes in a semester is after the 100% add/drop period is over, you should contact the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships to have your Pell grant calculation performed.
The Pell grant is proportional to your number of enrolled credits that apply towards your degree program, with the maximum Pell disbursement given at 12 credits. Adding additional credits over 12 for a semester will not increase your Pell disbursement.
If your final grade in a class is an “F” and your instructor reports that you did not begin attendance in that class, your Pell grant will be recalculated as if you were not enrolled in that class, which may result in you owing a portion of your Pell grant back to UNLV.
Most UNLV Scholarships require full-time enrollment for disbursement but do not require a specific number of completed credits in each semester to maintain eligibility. However, as these scholarships are lost once a student reaches 135 attempted credits, you should be deliberate in your decision to withdraw. Additionally, choosing to not attend for a semester may result in the loss of your scholarships. See our Scholarships page for more information.
If you withdraw from one or more classes and thereby have a pending refund (after Federal R2T4 calculation is complete, if needed), your UNLV scholarship or grant may be reduced or canceled to remove this refund, since a requirement of these scholarships is full-time enrollment.
Learn more about the Enrollment Determination Recalculation Date.
Learn More About Your Particular Aid Package
To learn about implications to your particular aid package, please visit the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships or open a case in the Rebel Success Hub.
What Happens if You Withdraw From All Classes?
Once you withdraw from all classes in a semester, what happens next depends on the type of aid you have received.
Financial Aid Recalculation
If you received federal financial aid, regulations require that UNLV recalculate your eligibility and, if necessary, return some or all of your federal financial aid to the Department of Education (see our Return to Title IV (R2T4) Process for more information). This may result in you owing a balance back to UNLV, which may prevent your enrolling in future terms in some circumstances.
After an R2T4 calculation is complete, UNLV aid may be adjusted. In most cases, this adjustment will not increase a balance owed to UNLV, but it may remove a pending refund in cases where your tuition and fees or other charges were adjusted as a result of your withdrawal.
Tuition/Fee Responsibility
In most cases, you are responsible for the cost of your classes even if you withdraw. Each semester, the institution has a 100% withdrawal date, prior to which a withdrawal will result in most tuition/fee charges being reversed, as well as a 50% withdrawal date, prior to which the withdrawal from all classes will result in a reduction of your tuition and fee charges by 50%. See the Academic Calendar for more information on dates and see the Cashiering and Student Accounts website for more information on the adjustment of your charges.
Some cases, such as an approved Voluntary Health Withdrawal application or a successful Tuition and Fee Appeal may result in a complete removal of your tuition and fee charges for a semester. However, financial aid must still be recalculated according to federal R2T4, state of Nevada, and UNLV policies for each aid program. Please visit our office if you have questions about how a withdrawal will affect your specific aid programs.
Loss of Interim Exception Status
With the implementation of the Working Family Tax Cuts act (also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill act), significant changes have been made to the federal direct loan programs. Students who meet certain criteria are eligible to continue under the pre-July 1, 2026 Rules for a limited period of time under a rule known as the Interim Exception. However, a student’s eligibility for the Interim Exception is lost with a break of enrollment during a required semester for that program. Consult our webpage about the Interim Exception for more information.
What is the Return to Title IV (R2T4) Process?
Return of Title IV (R2T4) Funds policies apply to any student who cancels enrollment, withdraws, is dismissed, or is approved for an institutional leave of absence. These policies apply to students that discontinue enrollment in all classes, on or after the first day of the term.