Withdrawal Refunds

Students who must drop all classes for a term or more, commonly known as withdrawing or a term withdrawal, must imme­d­i­ately submit a withdrawal request available online here. The completed form, bearing the required signatures, must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar in order for courses to be removed from the student's record and tuition owed to be recalculated.

Financial aid recipients should review the Financial Aid Office's withdrawal summary that describes when and to what degree Northwestern, federal, and third party aid loans, scholarships and grants may be retained by the student after withdrawal and when they must be returned in whole or part.

Tuition, less the tuition deposit, and refundable fees are refunded depending on the number of days student was enrolled in the quarter.  Tuition deposits are not refundable. The full withdrawal refund policy can be found on the Student Finance website. Please see the schedules in the tabs in the link for details by the school and the program.  

Schedule A applies to the following schools. (Other schedules for schools and programs not listed below can be found on the Student Finance website. )

  • Evanston undergraduate programs during Fall, Winter, and Spring Quarters follow the schedule below.
  • Graduate programs in these units follow the schedule below.
    • School of Communication
    • School of Education and Social Policy
    • McCormick School of Engineering
    • The Graduate School
    • Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications
    • Kellogg School of Management (except Executive MBA)
    • Feinberg School of Medicine Physician Assistant program 
    • Bienen School of Music  

Residence and meal contracts are signed for the full school year. Students who leave a residence before the end of the year are liable for the entire year’s rent or for charges up to the date another student takes the vacated space. Meal charges are assessed until the end of the week in which withdrawal is in effect. Adjustments may be made at the discretion of Residential Services for students who for financial reasons must make room and board arrangements other than those for which they first contracted.