Scholarship Withdrawal Request

As indicated in the scholarship agreement, all scholars must maintain full-time (12+ credits) enrollment or a minimum of 6 credits for transfer scholars each semester in order to receive their scholarship. If a scholar falls below their minimum enrollment status for any reason without receiving permission from the Scholarship Review Committee, all future iterations of their scholarship will be discontinued. Prior to making any changes to their enrollment, scholars may request to withdraw from class(es) by submitting the Scholarship Withdrawal Request Form.

Information for scholars dropping below their scholarship requirements on or before the Schedule Adjustment Deadline (Add/Drop Date):

Last semester seniors do not need to submit a request. Scholarships will be automatically prorated for a student’s final semester if they are below the required enrollment.

All other students must submit a Scholarship Withdrawal Request. Students who do not have an approved scholarship withdrawal request on file will have their scholarship award cancelled for all current and future terms.

Information for scholars withdrawing from a course(s) and therefore falling below their scholarship requirements after the Schedule Adjustment Deadline (Add/Drop Date):

  • First semester freshman and last semester seniors do not need to submit a scholarship withdrawal request. First semester freshman will automatically be placed on a Scholarship Warning and no withdrawal request is necessary.
    • A Scholarship Warning is, as it sounds, a warning to the scholar that they have violated their scholarship agreement and should be conscious about this requirement going into their 2nd semester.
  • Last semester seniors do not need to submit a request as their scholarship will not be renewed after graduation.
All other students must submit a Scholarship Withdrawal Request. Students who do not have an approved scholarship withdrawal request on file will have their scholarship award cancelled for all future terms.

Scholarship Withdrawal Request Process

The following information is required in order to complete the scholarship withdrawal request. These documents will become available to you when you access the online request form. However, feel free to review the required information prior to accessing the online form.

  1. Scholarships Withdrawal Request Statement – Please submit a detailed statement in the box below regarding the reason you are requesting to drop below full-time enrollment for the semester.
  2. Supporting Documentation – You are highly encouraged to include any relevant supporting documentation, if applicable.
    1. Please note: The contents of this request are confidential, however, we are concerned for your well-being. In an instance where someone’s well-being appears at risk, our staff will consult with the appropriate UMBC personnel.

No longer accepting Fall 2025 Withdrawal Requests. The deadline to submit a Spring 2025 Scholarship Withdrawal Request has passed, please monitor your email in June for information regarding Scholarship Discontinuation Appeals should you further withdraw for the semester.

The Fall 2025 Scholarship Withdrawal Request form will become available to complete August 27th, 2025, and closes November 5th, 2025.

Please note: If you have trouble viewing the form, please try opening the form in IE or Firefox. New students should also upgrade their myUMBC account before accessing our electronic forms.

Timeline

Once you have submitted your Scholarship Withdrawal Request, the Scholarship Review Committee will review all requests as they are submitted. Decisions will be sent to each student via email within 5-7 business days of their request submission.

After the add/drop date for the semester, your scholarship amount for the semester will not be adjusted if you subsequently withdraw from course(s). However, prior to the add/drop date, if you are dropping courses, your scholarship may be subject to cancelation due to not meeting your scholarship requirements. Contact our office with questions.

  • Scholarship Deferral Request – This form should be completed prior to the start of the intended semester, if you are planning on fully not enrolling in an upcoming semester(s).
  • Scholarship Withdrawal Request – This form should be completed is you are planning to withdraw from courses during the semester, that would put you below the requirements of your merit scholarship agreement.
  • Scholarship Discontinuation Appeal – This appeal should be submitted at the end of the semester following notification that your scholarship was discontinued due to not meeting your scholarship requirements. Students have a small window to appeal this decision to explain the extenuating circumstances that caused them to not meet the requirements of their scholarship. The appeal window following your discontinuation notice is the only period to appeal for your scholarship to be reinstated, regardless of if you improve academically in future semesters.

The Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory Grading Method will not impact your scholarship, so long as you successfully (S) complete the course(s).

If you fail/receive an Unsatisfactory (U) grade, the course does not count towards the minimum credit requirements of your scholarship.

 

For example: Chip is enrolled in 12 credits and their scholarship requires them to successfully complete 12 credits–if Chip switches one of their 3 credit courses to S/U…

  • If Chip receives an S grade: no impact to their scholarship
  • If Chip receives a U grade: their scholarship will be discontinued following the semester academic reviews (because in this scenario, Chip would have only successfully completed 9 credits).
  • First semester freshman and last semester seniors scholarships are not impacted by S/U grading method. First semester freshman will automatically be placed on a Scholarship Warning if receiving a U grade brings them below the minimum credit requirements of their scholarship.
    • A Scholarship Warning is, as it sounds, a warning to the scholar that they have violated their scholarship agreement and should be conscious about this requirement going into their 2nd semester.
  • Last semester seniors are not impacted as their scholarship will not be renewed after graduation.

 

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