For all students

  • Application fees, deposits, and course fees are nonrefundable.
  • If you stop attending a class without officially requesting to drop it, you will not receive a refund. (A petition is required to drop a class if the last day to drop without the letter “W” appearing on your transcript has passed.)
  • Refunds are not available to students dismissed from a course.
  • Please allow 7 to 10 business days for refunds to be processed.

The student health fee and/or student health insurance plan cannot be refunded after the first day of the session. For more information, contact Student Health Benefits.

In addition, if you are seeking a refund for a payment made to the Cornell Bursar, please follow the instructions on the Bursar's website.

Tuition refunds

To withdraw from your program, you must submit a course change form via your Accepted Student Portal. (See course changes and withdrawals for how to withdraw.)

Your refund amount will be determined by the number of days from the start of the session from which you withdrew. (It is not based on the day on which you enrolled or that your class first meets.)

For example: If you are in three-week session 2, and it begins on June 22, days 1-3 on the refund schedule below would be June 22, 23, and 24; days 4-5 would be June 25 and 26; and no refund would be available on or after June 27 (day 6). (See the Precollege Summer Academic Calendar for summer session dates.)

Tuition refund schedule (based on session start date)

  • Days 1-3: Withdrawal period with a 100% tuition refund (minus nonrefundable charges)
  • Days 4-5: Withdrawal period with a 50% tuition refund (minus nonrefundable charges)
  • Day 6 and beyond: Withdrawal with no refund

For students in a residential program

Refunds for residential students have two components:

  • The tuition refund (outlined above)
  • And the residential refund

Residential refunds

Refunds of residential charges are based on the date you officially withdraw from your program. (See course changes and withdrawals for how to withdraw.)

Residential charge refund schedule (based on date of official withdrawal)

  • Before June 3, 2026: 100% refund of residential charge
  • June 3–20, 2026: Withdrawal period with a 50% refund of residential charge
  • June 21, 2026, and beyond: Withdrawal period with no refund