Cancelling Financial Aid: A Comprehensive Guide

As soon as you accept the financial aid award a school offers you, the school notifies all of the sources of aid to disburse the funds. If you decide that you don't want the aid after all, it is your responsibility to cancel the award. You might cancel the full award amount if you are taking a semester off, quitting school altogether or transferring to a different school. Or you might want to only cancel some of the student loans if you have found another way to get that money, such as an additional scholarship or working another job.

Step 1

Call or visit the financial aid office. If you are on campus, go to the office in person so you can work through the process with the staff people on the spot instead of having to mail or fax forms.

Step 2

Tell the financial aid officer which parts of your financial aid award you want to cancel. If you are canceling the award and staying enrolled in the school, you need to have a plan for how to pay the costs that the financial aid was going to cover.

Step 3

Fill out, sign and return the school's financial aid cancellation form. If you are not completing the process in person, you might receive instructions on how to download and print the form.

Step 4

Ask the financial aid officer if the school can cancel your private student loan, if you have one that you want to cancel. Some lenders work directly with the school, whereas others just make the student loan check out to you. If the lender does not work with the school, you will need to call the lender and fill out any required paperwork to cancel the loan.

Tip

Complete the cancellation process as soon as you know that you will not need the aid. It is easier to cancel aid before it arrives at the school than to wait until after the funds have been disbursed in your name.