Withdrawals and Refunds
Assessments and Academic Programs
Programs
Enrichment and credit-bearing, accelerated programs designed for students at every age and stage of talent development.
Please Review the Following Policies
Listed below are the withdrawal and refund policies for assessments and each of our program types. Please note that refund policies vary depending on the program.
Assessments
KTEA, NWEA MAP, CogAT, PSAT 8/9, and Official SAT Practice powered by Khan Academy Withdrawal and Refund Policies
If you need to change or cancel a test registration, you will need to e-mail ctd-assessment@northwestern.edu to change your registration. Once a test session has been confirmed, a $25 change fee will apply with the exception of KTEA in-person testing, for which a $70 change fee will apply.
In order to receive a full refund the request must be received before your student has been enrolled into the test session. Cancelling after your student has been enrolled will incur a $25 dollar processing fee. Due to the limited number of KTEA testing slots, cancellations will incur a $70 dollar processing fee.
Important - Refund and Cancellation Policy. Because seats are limited, a license and space have been reserved for you. Once you are confirmed into a session, no changes, cancellations with refunds nor refund requests can be made within 7 days of the test date. No shows are not eligible for refunds.
If CTD needs to change or cancel a test date or time (tester illness, system maintenance, etc.), you will be contacted as soon as possible via phone or e-mail. A CTD staff member will work with you to reschedule the test. If a test cannot be rescheduled, a refund will be provided.
Refunds may take up to four weeks to process.
Important Note: CTD experiences high volumes of submissions from June through August annually. During these months, processing times may extend up to 6 weeks from our normal processing time of 1 to 4 weeks. We appreciate your waiting to contact your credit card company to initiate a chargeback during the time you make a refund request and this processing timeframe. Thank you for your patience during this season.
SAT and ACT Resources Refund Policies
Because CTD provides access to resources for families and students regardless of test participation, fees are not refundable and may not be transferred to a future academic year.
Students who pay for a test and who are unable to test on their scheduled test date may be able to reschedule for a later test date (subject to the test agency policies) by calling the testing agency (College Board or ACT) directly. The testing agency will assess a change-of-date fee.
Please visit the testing agency website for the most up-to-date information and policies. Test fees paid are subject to the College Board and ACT refund policies.
Test Agency Contact Information
- ACT®: 319/337-1270
- SAT®: 866/756-7346
If a test is cancelled due to inclement weather or another emergency, families will be notified by the testing agency about rescheduling options. CTD does not manage the test registrations and is unable to assist with admission tickets, accommodations, rescheduling, or refund requests.
General Policies for Academic Programs
- All refund requests must be made in writing and submitted to the admissions department at ctd-admissions@northwestern.edu. Refunds may take four weeks to process, starting from the time a written request is received by CTD.
Important Note: CTD experiences high volumes of submissions from June through August annually. During these months, processing times may extend up to 6 weeks from our normal processing time of 1 to 4 weeks. We appreciate your waiting to contact your credit card company to initiate a chargeback during the time you make a refund request and this processing timeframe. Thank you for your patience during this season.
- All programs have a $70 withdrawal processing fee, which is non-refundable except in the following cases:
- All course choices are closed
- A course is cancelled
- Awarded financial aid is not adequate for participation
- A student is not accepted into the program
- In the event that CTD cancels a course, families will be contacted about alternative course options or provided with a refund option, as applicable.
- Students dismissed for disciplinary reasons are not eligible for any refund.
Please note: Abandoned applications (i.e. applications that remain incomplete at the deadline for program enrollment) will be withdrawn and a refund initiated, minus a $120 fee.
See program listings below for withdrawal deadlines and program-specific details.
Weekend Programs (Saturday Enrichment Program, Accelerated Weekend Experience)
- Requests for withdrawals and refunds must be made in writing one week prior to the course start date. E-mail the request to ctd-admissions@northwestern.edu .
- Withdrawals are subject to a processing fee of $70.
- Students who withdraw within one week prior to the course start date are refunded 50% of the tuition, less the withdrawal processing fee.
- The tuition is nonrefundable after the start of the program.
- Students who are dismissed for disciplinary reasons are not eligible for any refund.
- Refunds may take up to four weeks to process.
Important Note: CTD experiences high volumes of submissions from June through August annually. During these months, processing times may extend up to 6 weeks from our normal processing time of 1 to 4 weeks. We appreciate your waiting to contact your credit card company to initiate a chargeback during the time you make a refund request and this processing time frame. Thank you for your patience during this season.
Online Core Essentials, Online Enrichment, Online Honors, Online Advanced Placement, and Accelerated Summer Online
- To receive a refund of tuition paid, minus the nonrefundable withdrawal processing fee of $70, requests must be made in writing and received one week before the student's start date of their course. E-mail the request to ctd-admissions@northwestern.edu.
- Students who withdraw between one week before their course start date and 21 days into the class are refunded 50% of the tuition less the withdrawal processing fee.
- No refunds will be granted beyond 21 days of the student's start date.
- Students who are dismissed for disciplinary reasons are not eligible for any refund.
- Refunds may take up to four weeks to process.
Important Note: CTD experiences high volumes of submissions from June through August annually. During these months, processing times may extend up to 6 weeks from our normal processing time of 1 to 4 weeks. We appreciate your waiting to contact your credit card company to initiate a chargeback during the time you make a refund request and this processing time frame. Thank you for your patience during this season.
Academic Day Camps at Chicago Area Sites, Online Family Program, and Online Leadership Intensive
- Requests for withdrawals and refunds must be made in writing one week prior to the course start date. E-mail the request to ctd-admissions@northwestern.edu.
- Withdrawals are subject to a processing fee of $70.
- Students who withdraw less than one week before the course start are refunded 50% of the tuition less the withdrawal processing fee.
- The tuition is non-refundable after the start of the program.
- Students who are dismissed for disciplinary reasons are not eligible for any refund.
- Refunds may take up to four weeks to process.
Important Note: CTD experiences high volumes of submissions from June through August annually. During these months, processing times may extend up to 6 weeks from our normal processing time of 1 to 4 weeks. We appreciate your waiting to contact your credit card company to initiate a chargeback during the time you make a refund request and this processing time frame. Thank you for your patience during this season.
Academic Summer Day and Residential Camps at Northwestern University
- To receive a refund of tuition paid, less the nonrefundable withdrawal processing fee of $70, requests must be made in writing and received no later than June 13. E-mail requests should be sent to ctd-admissions@northwestern.edu.
- Withdrawals are subject to a processing fee of $70.
- Withdrawals made after June 13 receive 50% of fees, minus the $70 withdrawal fee and deposit.
- Withdrawal requests made after the start of the program, including students who do not arrive at the program, do not qualify for any refund.
- Students dismissed from the program are not eligible for a refund.
- Refunds may take up to four weeks to process.
Refunds for Extended Illnesses During Programs
- CTD will withdraw a student from the program who is diagnosed with a communicable illness (e.g., influenza, COVID-19, chicken pox, etc.) that will take multiple days to resolve or if the student sustains a fever for more than 36 hours, and/or experiences sustained episodes of vomiting or diarrhea.
- A pro-rated refund of tuition and any residential fees paid, less the nonrefundable withdrawal fee of $70, will be provided to students for the days they are unable to attend the program.
- If a student's family initiates a request for withdrawal due to illness during the program, the refund request should be made in writing to the program coordinator. In order for the refund request to be processed, families should upload a copy of student’s positive test result (for COVID-19) or doctor's note to CampDoc. COVID-19 test results may be from an antigen or PCR test and must be from a test provider or licensed third-party vendor; at home rapid test results will not be accepted for refund consideration.
Refunds for COVID-19 Based on Pre-Arrival Testing
- A full refund of tuition paid, less the nonrefundable withdrawal fee of $70, will be provided to students who test positive in the 72-hour window prior to the start of the program.
Important Note: CTD experiences a high volume of transactions from June through August annually. During these months, processing times may extend up to 6 weeks from our normal processing time of 1 to 4 weeks. We appreciate your waiting to contact your credit card company to initiate a chargeback during the time you make a refund request and this processing time frame. Thank you for your patience during this season.