Refunds

A student who withdraws from Harvey Mudd College will have his/her financial aid adjusted based upon the actual period of enrollment. A student who wishes to withdraw must give notice to Harvey Mudd by submitting a Withdrawal/Leave of Absence Form to the dean of students. Payment refunds are not made if the student leaves without giving notice to the dean of students. A student receives a refund, less a pro rata reduction of any scholarship or grant, subject to the following:

  1. A 100 percent refund of charges and fees is made if withdrawal occurs before the first day of classes.
  2. A 75 percent refund of the tuition charge is made if withdrawal occurs on or after the first day of classes, but before the eighteenth day of classes.
  3. A 50 percent refund of the tuition charge is made if withdrawal occurs after the first seventeen days of classes, but before the thirtieth day of classes.
  4. No refund of the tuition charge is made after the thirtieth day of classes.
  5. Refund of board charge is on a pro rata basis.
  6. There is no refund of the room charges or fees.
  7. Refunds are made by the college within 30 days of receipt of the Withdrawal/Leave of Absence Form by the Dean of Students.

A student who drops below 10 credits in a regular semester may be eligible for a partial tuition refund. Students dropping below full-time status (12 credits) but who remain registered for 10 credit units or more are ineligible for a refund.

A student who wishes to reduce his/her course load to less than full-time (12 credits) must submit an Add/Drop/Withdraw Form (PDF) and a Scholarly Standing Committee Petition (PDF) to the Office of the Registrar. Students whose petitions are approved within the first 30 days of the semester are refunded according to the number of credits enrolled. No refunds are made after the first 30 days of the semester.

Questions regarding withdrawal should be directed to the dean of students or the associate dean for academic affairs. Questions regarding the College’s refund policy or procedure should be directed to the Office of Student Accounts at student_accounts@hmc.edu or 909.621.8107.

Return of Federal Financial Aid Funds

When a student leaves Harvey Mudd prior to the end of a semester, the College determines if a refund of charges is due (see “Refund Policy”) as well as how much federal and institutional financial aid has been earned to pay for those charges. The federal government has determined that a student has earned 100 percent of his or her federal aid at the 60 percent point of the semester. Thus, any student who withdraws after the 60 percent point of a semester will retain all of his/her federal aid eligibility.

However, until the 60 percent point of a semester, a pro rata schedule is used to determine how much of a student’s federal financial aid should be retained to pay for institutional charges. If the amount of federal aid disbursed is greater than the amount earned, unearned funds must be returned or repaid to the federal student aid programs. If, however, the amount of federal aid disbursed is less than the amount earned, the student is eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement of earned aid not received. It is important to note that you may still owe Harvey Mudd charges upon withdrawing from a semester, and payments must be made to the Office of Student Accounts.

The return of federal financial aid funds only applies to federal aid that includes the Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Federal Perkins Loans, Federal Direct Loans, and Federal Direct PLUS Loans. While Federal Work-Study funds are federal aid, they are not considered in this particular calculation.

When a student withdraws during a semester, the following calculation is performed to determine how much of his/her federal aid may be retained and how much may be returned:

Total Federal Aid
x % of Semester Completed
= Total Federal Aid Earned

The percentage of the semester completed is determined by the date that the student officially leaves Harvey Mudd. A student who wishes to withdraw must give notice to Harvey Mudd by submitting a Withdrawal/Leave of Absence Form to the dean of students. When a student leaves and never notifies Harvey Mudd (unofficial withdrawal), the federal formula uses the midpoint of the semester as the withdrawal date.