Unearned/Earned Aid and Return of Funds
There are two types of unearned aid: unearned aid by the institution and unearned aid by the student.
Unearned Aid by the Institution represents the unearned aid applied toward institutional charges and is returned within 45 days of the institution’s knowledge that the student withdrew. A charge is placed on the student’s account for the portion of institutional charges that are no longer paid as a result of the return.
Unearned Aid by the Student represents the total unearned aid less the amount unearned by the institution. Because the student is no longer attending school, he/she will simply enter the “grace” period of the loans and the student will return no loan funds. In the case of grants, half of the grant is protected and excluded from the calculation. The student will not be required to return any grant funds if the amount is $50 or less. Any grant funds the student is required to return are automatically returned to the federal programs by Catholic University. The student is then billed for the amounts returned. Because Catholic University returns the funds, the student does not have an overpayment and is eligible to receive financial aid in future terms. If the student is identified as withdrawing under circumstances outlined in the Heroes Act of 2003 or the student is deceased, the student portion of unearned grant aid is not returned.
The following is the specified order for returning unearned aid: Direct Unsubsidized Loan, Direct Subsidized Loan, Federal Perkins Loan, Direct Plus Loan, Federal Pell Grant, Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG), National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG).
NOTE: Catholic University performs all calculations using the U.S. Department of Education R2T4 Website.