How withdrawals affect your financial aid:

If you withdraw from school, the law specifies how Bergen CC must determine the amount of Federal Student Assistance that you have "earned".

The amount of assistance that you have earned is determined on a pro rata basis.  For example, if you completed 30% of your payment period or period of enrollment, you earn 30% of the assistance you were originally scheduled to receive. Once you have completed more than 60% of the payment period or period of enrollment, you "earn" all the assistance that you were scheduled to receive for that period.   

If you did not receive all the funds that you earned, you may be due a post-withdrawal disbursement.  If the post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, you may choose to decline the loan funds so that you don't incur additional debt.  Your school may use all or a portion of your post-withdrawal disbursement for tuition, fees, room and board charges.For any other school charges, the school needs your permission to use the post-withdrawal disbursement.

There are some FSA funds you were scheduled to receive that you cannot earn once you withdraw because of other eligibility requirements.  For example, if you are a first-time, first year undergraduate and you have not completed the first 30 days of your program, you will not earn any FFEL Loan funds that you would have received if you remained enrolled passed the 30th day.

If you receive excess program funds that must be returned, the College must return a portion of the excess funds in accordance with a formula provided by the U.S. Department of Education.  If Bergen is not required to return all the excess funds, you must return the remaining amount.  Any loan funds that you return must be repaid in accordance with the terms of the promissory note you signed when you applied for the loan.

Any amount of unearned grant funds that you must return is called an overpayment.  The amount of a grant overpayment that you must pay is half of the unearned amount. You must make arrangements with either the College or the Department of Education to return the unearned grant funds.

The requirements for FSA program funds when you withdraw are separate from any refund policy that the College may have.  Therefore, you may still owe funds to the College to cover unpaid institutional charges.  The College may also charge you for any FSA program funds that it was required to return.  If you don't already know the College's refund policy, you can ask for a copy.  We can also provide you with the requirements and procedures for officially withdrawing from school.

If you have questions about your FSA program funds, you can call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4FEDAID (1-800-433-3243).  Information is also available on the web at www.studentaid.ed.gov.

If you receive