topic 5 month rule and early medical withdrawal in Education

5 month rule and early medical withdrawal

TheVeryOldMan — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 20:01:59 GMT

My son was enrolled Jan-Apr 28 when he had a medical emergency and ended up in the hospital ICU for a week and did not return to school. He filed for withdrawal the first week of May and received a prorated tuition reimbursement. Is he still considered to have been enrolled in May, hence five months? I suspect yes but am not certain.

Re: 5 month rule and early medical withdrawal

rjs — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 20:32:46 GMT

What was the effective date of your son's withdrawal according to the school? You said he was "enrolled Jan-Apr 28." If that's what the school's records show, then he was not enrolled in May.

To be considered a student he only has to be enrolled "during some part of each of any 5 calendar months." So if he was enrolled for even one day in May, that would count as one of the 5 months. But if his withdrawal was effective April 28, he only has 4 months. I don't think it matters when the paperwork was completed. What does his transcript show as the withdrawal date?

Re: 5 month rule and early medical withdrawal

Vanessa A — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 14:38:16 GMT

It depends. You would need to look at the date of his withdrawal. If on the date of his withdrawal, if he was considered to be enrolled at least half time on at least May 1st, then he would meet the requirement for 5 months. If he was officially unenrolled prior to May 1st, then the would not be considered a student for the month of May and would not meet the 5 month rule.

Re: 5 month rule and early medical withdrawal

TheVeryOldMan — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 17:02:27 GMT

Thank you, this verifies what I thought - he was enrolled for five months even though he was able to only attend four months.