Withdrawal

If you are a newly admitted freshman or transfer student, submitting a withdrawal request prior to the first day of instruction of your first semester at UC Berkeley will result in a cancellation of your admission. Instead, if you need to postpone your enrollment at Berkeley, please contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions to discuss the possibility of deferral.

If you are a financial aid recipient who withdraws, you may be required to pay back financial aid that has been previously processed in the semester. Contact Cal Student Central to discuss the possible impact on financial aid prior to making a decision about withdrawing.

If you are an international student, contact the Berkeley International Office to discuss how withdrawal affects your student visa status.

If you are a student living in Cal Housing, contact Housing to discuss how withdrawal affects your housing contract.

Transcripts

The withdrawal date will appear on the transcript and all courses for the semester will be removed. The reason for withdrawal is confidential and does not appear on the official transcript.

If you submit your form before the first day of instruction for the term, your request will be processed as a cancellation. There will be no notation of a cancellation on your transcript.

Tuition refunds

Depending on when you submit a withdrawal, you may or may not have a portion of your tuition refunded. Visit the Office of the Registrar’s Refunds After Withdrawal page for more information. 

It is important to note that some fees are not refundable and if you have Financial Aid, you may have to pay back all or part of your aid package. 

When you submit a withdrawal request in a semester, your enrollments for that semester are dropped along with enrollments for future terms. You must apply for readmission to return for a future semester. You will need to submit your readmission packet by that deadline to be readmitted (November 1st for Spring or June 1st for Fall). Once your readmission is approved, you can enroll in classes for the next semester. See our readmission page for more information. 

If you submit a withdrawal request in Fall semester after November 1st, you will be unable to readmit for Spring semester because the readmission deadline has passed. You will need to readmit for a future term instead. (Because Spring semester ends before the Fall readmission deadline, withdrawing after the readmission deadline is a concern only relevant to Fall semesters.)

You can always meet with an L&S College Adviser to discuss your options if you cannot readmit into the following semester, from taking a break to enrolling at a different institution. (See our Planning Transfer Coursework page for more information.)

If you are considering pursuing a medical withdrawal, please contact University Health Services (UHS) for assistance. For information regarding medical withdrawals, please visit UHS's webpage on Medical Withdrawals. It is recommended that if you are waiting for approval of a medical withdrawal, you also initiate a personal withdrawal request via CalCentral. This will secure your withdrawal while you go through the medical withdrawal review.  

A Retroactive Withdrawal refers to the removal of a past term from an academic record after the withdrawal deadline for that term. This means the entire term of courses and grades will be removed from the record. 

Appeals for retroactive withdrawal are not guaranteed to be approved. Students must demonstrate the presence of extenuating circumstances to support their request.

STEP ONE: Who should review your request?

Students who are seeking retroactive withdrawal based on medical documentation during fall and spring semesters are advised to pursue a retroactive medical withdrawal through the University Health Center.

Students who are seeking retroactive withdrawal based on experiencing sexual violence, sexual harrassment, intimate partner violence, or stalking are advised to contact the Path to Care office and to speak with a confidential advocate about their case. If it is determined that you have a retroactive withdrawal case, a confidential advocate will handle your request and you will not have to submit written statements or documentation of any kind. 

If the above is not relevant to you, move on to Step Two. 

Step Two: determine if you may have a case 

The College of Letters and Science will not consider retroactive withdrawal requests that involve the removal of passing grades of P, C-, or better. 

Extenuating circumstances are required to appeal for retroactive withdrawal. Extenuating circumstances must clearly impact the semester for which the withdrawal is being requested. While extenuating circumstances are a necessary part of an appeal for retroactive withdrawal, they do not guarantee approval on their own. Requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and other factors will be considered.

If you find that you do not have a strong case for a retroactive withdrawal, consider other options such as repeating courses or selecting alternate courses to meet requirements. If grades are impacting major options, discuss options with major advisers or meet with an L&S College Adviser to explore new major pathways. 

Step three: complete one passing term

After the term from which a student is hoping to withdraw retroactively, students are required to complete at least one passing term at UC Berkeley before appealing for retroactive withdrawal. This not only allows you to concentrate first on your academic progress, it also helps demonstrate that your academic performance in the semester in question was related to extenuating circumstances present in that term. 

It is therefore important that if you are still struggling with extenuating circumstances that are impacting your academics that you strongly consider withdrawing or adjusting your schedule. Meet with an L&S College Adviser to discuss your options. 

step four: meet with an L&S College adviser

If you have extenuating circumstances that can be considered per the table above, or you do not see your situation but think you may have extenuating circumstances, schedule a meeting with an L&S College Adviser. In that meeting, the adviser will help you determine whether or not your case is able to be considered. 

If your case is able to be considered, you will be instructed to submit an appeal. This appeal will include a written statement (prompts will be provided), relevant documentation, and a signed program plan from a major adviser. 

Please note that if you submit an appeal, you must include all necessary information at that time. You will not have the opportunity to meet in-person with the deciding body. All decisions are final and cannot be contested.