What Is Meritshot's Refund Policy? The 7-Day Window, Explained in Full
By Shivam Sikka,
Loan Sanction Officer at Meritshot
Last updated: August 2026
Applies to: all Meritshot programs
Reading time: ~18 minutes
What's in this article
- What is Meritshot's refund policy?
- Does paying by EMI change my refund entitlement?
- When does no refund apply at all?
- Why is the refund window short?
- What else does the fee policy cover?
- How do I use the window properly?
- What if I disagree with a refund decision?
- What do these terms mean?
- Frequently asked questions
- The bottom line
What is Meritshot's refund policy?
Meritshot's refund policy has three tiers, determined entirely by timing relative to your program's commencement date. Here it is in full.
| When you cancel or withdraw | What you receive |
|---|---|
| Before the program's official start date | Fees paid are refunded, less a non-refundable processing fee of ₹5,000 — or the amount specified in your enrolment agreement |
| Within the first 7 days after commencement | 50% of the remaining program fee, less any materials, access or session costs already incurred |
| After the first 7 days | No refund |
Three things about this table are worth reading twice, because they are the points where candidates most often misunderstand their own position.
The clock starts at commencement, not at payment. If you pay in March for a program starting in May, your pre-commencement window runs until the May start date. That is the most generous tier, and it is the longest one.
The 7-day tier refunds 50% of the remaining fee, not 50% of everything you paid. "Remaining" means the balance after deductions for materials, platform access or sessions already provided to you. If your program front-loads materials, the deduction is larger.
We would rather you knew all three of those before you paid than discovered them afterwards. A refund policy is only fair if it is legible in advance, and this is a policy that rewards deciding early.
Does paying by EMI change my refund entitlement?
No. Meritshot's refund policy makes no distinction based on how you paid.
This is worth stating plainly, because a common assumption runs the other way. The three tiers above apply identically to a learner who paid upfront and a learner paying by instalment or through a financing partner. There is no separate, stricter refund rule for EMI enrolments in Meritshot's policy.
What is different for EMI learners is the loan, not the refund.
Meritshot's policy states that learners who opt for EMI through a third-party NBFC partner are bound by the terms and conditions of that lender, and that Meritshot does not bear liability for disputes arising from third-party financing arrangements.
That has one practical consequence you should understand before signing anything:
Withdrawing from the program does not, by itself, cancel your loan. These are two separate agreements. Ending one does not end the other.
So if you are financing your fee and you withdraw, you have two separate things to do: claim whatever refund the policy allows, and separately address the loan with the lender who issued it. Ask your lender directly what cancellation, prepayment or foreclosure terms apply to your loan, and get the answer before you sign the loan agreement rather than after. Those terms belong to the lender, and Meritshot cannot vary them.
Read the loan terms as carefully as you read ours. Interest, tenure, prepayment charges and cancellation conditions are all set by the lender, and they determine what a withdrawal actually costs you.
When does no refund apply at all?
Beyond the timing tiers, Meritshot's policy sets out four situations in which no refund is issued. They are listed here because finding out about them later is worse than reading them now.
| Situation | Position |
|---|---|
| Withdrawal after the first 7 days from commencement | No refund, regardless of the reason for withdrawal |
| Termination for Code of Conduct violations | No refund |
| Termination for academic dishonesty or fraudulent conduct | No refund |
| Administrative withdrawal following continuous absenteeism | No refund |
That last row deserves attention, because it is the one people walk into unintentionally.
Meritshot's policy provides that a learner who is absent and unresponsive for seven consecutive days is contacted, after which status changes and platform access can be restricted. After 30 days without valid communication, enrolment can be terminated. If that happens, no refund applies.
The practical implication is simple: going quiet is the most expensive thing you can do. If circumstances change, contacting your academic coordinator preserves options that silence removes. The policy encourages learners anticipating an extended absence to communicate it formally so that available options can be explored — and that is worth doing early rather than after attendance has already lapsed.
Why is the refund window short?
Because a cohort program commits its costs at the point the cohort forms, not gradually as it runs.
This is the reasoning behind the policy rather than a term of it, and we would rather explain it than leave it unstated.
When you enrol, a seat in a specific cohort is allocated to you. Instructor hours are committed against the number of learners in that batch. Materials and platform access are provisioned. Once the program begins, that seat cannot meaningfully be resold — a learner cannot join a cohort in week six and receive the first five weeks. The cost of your place is therefore incurred early and largely irrecoverable, which is why the policy's most generous tier sits before commencement and narrows quickly afterwards.
We are not going to argue the policy is generous. It is not. It is a narrow window, and candidates who have called it strict are describing it accurately.
What we can say is that the window is clearly defined, published before you pay, and entirely within your control to use. The most generous tier — a refund of fees paid, less the processing fee — runs for as long as it is until your program starts. For most learners that is weeks, not days. The decision point that matters most is the one furthest from any pressure.
What else does the fee policy cover?
Three provisions that work in your favour and are easy to miss.
Quoted fees include GST. Meritshot quotes fees inclusive of Goods and Services Tax at the prevailing statutory rate. The figure you are given is the figure payable. There is no tax added at the point of payment.
Your fee is locked once you enrol. Meritshot revises program fees for future batches from time to time. Those revisions do not apply retroactively to learners already enrolled or who have already paid for a batch. A fee increase announced after you join does not reach you.
Fees may be paid in lump sum or in instalments, as specified in your enrolment offer letter.
One provision that is worth planning around rather than discovering later: full settlement of program fees is a condition of placement eligibility, and cleared dues are a requirement for certification. If you are on an instalment arrangement, understand how your schedule interacts with those two milestones before you enrol.
How do I use the window properly?
The refund policy rewards early decisions and penalises late ones. So make the checks early.
Before you pay
- Read the Fee, Refund & Cancellation Policy in full, not the summary. Every term on this page comes from it, and it is the document that governs.
- Confirm your program's commencement date in writing. Every tier in the policy is measured from it, so it is the single most important date in your agreement.
- Confirm your processing fee. The policy states ₹5,000 or the amount specified in your enrolment agreement. Know which applies to you.
- If you are financing, read the loan agreement before signing it — cancellation, prepayment and foreclosure terms are set by the lender and are not covered by Meritshot's refund policy.
In the gap between paying and starting
This is your longest and most generous window, and most candidates do not use it.
- Attend anything available to you before commencement.
- Confirm the program covers the roles you actually want.
- Confirm the schedule works against your real week, not your intended one.
- If the answer to any of these is no, this is the point at which cancelling costs you least.
In the first 7 days
- Attend from day one. The 7-day tier is measured from commencement, not from your first attended session. Missing the first week spends the window without using it.
- Attend a live class and a doubt session inside the first week if you can, so your assessment is based on the program rather than on the marketing.
- Raise concerns immediately rather than waiting to see if they resolve. After day 7, the policy provides no refund.
After that
- Stay in contact. The absenteeism route to termination carries no refund, and it is entirely avoidable through communication.
What if I disagree with a refund decision?
Meritshot's grievance process covers administrative and fee-related disputes, and it carries published deadlines.
The route:
- Raise it informally first with your academic coordinator or the relevant team, ideally within seven days of the issue arising.
- If that does not resolve it, submit a written complaint to the Grievance Officer at support@meritshot.com or through the LMS grievance portal, within 14 days.
- You receive an acknowledgement within three working days.
- You receive a written outcome after an investigation completed within 15 working days.
- Proceedings are confidential, and retaliation against a learner for raising a good-faith grievance is itself a Code of Conduct violation.
What the grievance process can address: whether the policy was applied correctly to your case, whether the dates and deductions were calculated properly, and whether you were given accurate information.
What it does not do is change the policy. The tiers above are the terms you agreed to, and a grievance produces a finding on their application rather than an exception to them. We would rather state that plainly than leave you expecting otherwise.
What do these terms mean?
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Commencement date | Your program's official start date, as stated in your enrolment agreement. Every refund tier is measured from this date, not from the date you paid. |
| Processing fee | The non-refundable amount deducted from a pre-commencement refund — ₹5,000, or the amount specified in your enrolment agreement. |
| Remaining program fee | The balance used to calculate the 50% refund in the 7-day tier, after deducting materials, access or session costs already incurred. |
| Administrative withdrawal | Termination of enrolment by Meritshot following continuous absenteeism. No refund applies. |
| Third-party financing | An EMI or loan arrangement with an NBFC partner. Governed by the lender's terms, not by Meritshot's refund policy. |
Frequently asked questions
What is Meritshot's refund policy? Three tiers, measured from your program's commencement date. Before commencement: fees refunded less a non-refundable processing fee of ₹5,000 or the amount in your enrolment agreement. Within the first 7 days after commencement: 50% of the remaining fee, less materials, access or session costs already incurred. After 7 days: no refund.
Is the refund window measured from when I paid or when the program starts? From commencement. If you pay well before your start date, the pre-commencement tier applies for that entire period — which for most learners is the longest and most generous window available.
Can I get a refund if I paid by EMI? The refund policy makes no distinction based on payment method, so the same three tiers apply. What differs is that your loan is a separate agreement with the lender, and withdrawing from the program does not by itself cancel it.
What is the processing fee for cancelling before the program starts? ₹5,000, or the amount specified in your enrolment agreement. Confirm which applies to you before you pay.
Does the 7-day refund mean I get half my money back? Not necessarily. It is 50% of the remaining program fee, calculated after deducting any materials, access or session costs already incurred. The deduction depends on what has already been provided to you.
Is there any partial refund after the first 7 days? No. Our policy provides no refund for withdrawal after the first 7 days from commencement.
Are there situations where no refund applies regardless of timing? Yes, three. Termination for Code of Conduct violations; termination for academic dishonesty or fraudulent conduct; and administrative withdrawal following continuous absenteeism.
What happens if I stop attending without telling anyone? After seven consecutive days of unresponsive absence you are contacted, after which your status changes and platform access can be restricted. After 30 days without valid communication, enrolment can be terminated — and no refund applies. Communicating early preserves options that silence removes.
Does the quoted fee include GST? Yes. We quote fees inclusive of Goods and Services Tax at the prevailing statutory rate, so the figure quoted is the figure payable.
Can my fee increase after I enrol? No. We revisex fees for future batches from time to time, but revisions do not apply retroactively to learners already enrolled or who have already paid for a batch.
Can I pay in instalments rather than upfront? Yes. Fees may be paid as a lump sum or in instalments, as specified in your enrolment offer letter.
Does an unpaid balance affect anything besides my account? Yes, two things. Full settlement of program fees is a condition of placement eligibility, and cleared dues are a requirement for certification. If you are on an instalment schedule, check how it lines up with both.
Why is the refund window only 7 days? Because a cohort program commits its costs when the cohort forms. A seat is allocated, instructor hours are committed against batch size, and materials and access are provisioned. Once a program begins, that seat cannot meaningfully be resold, so the cost of your place is incurred early and is largely irrecoverable.
Is the policy negotiable in exceptional circumstances? The policy as published sets out the three tiers and the no-refund situations, and those are the terms you agree to at enrolment. If you believe the policy has been applied incorrectly in your case, the grievance process is the route, and it carries published deadlines.
How do I dispute a refund decision? Raise it informally first with your academic coordinator, ideally within seven days. If unresolved, submit a written complaint to support@meritshot.com or via the LMS portal within 14 days. You receive an acknowledgement within three working days and a written outcome within fifteen working days of investigation.
Will disputing a refund affect my treatment as a learner? No. Grievance proceedings are confidential, and retaliation against a learner for raising a good-faith grievance is itself a Code of Conduct violation.
What is the single most useful thing I can do to protect myself? Use the pre-commencement window. It is the longest and most generous tier in the policy, it runs from the moment you pay until your program starts, and almost nobody uses it. Every check you were going to make in week two is a check you could make before the window narrows.
Where is the full policy? In Meritshot's Student Policies & Guidelines, under Fee, Refund & Cancellation Policy. This article summarises it and adds nothing to it. Where the two differ, the policy governs.
The bottom line
Meritshot's refund window is narrow, but the criticism that it is strict is not a fair description rather a misunderstanding.
What we can do is make it completely legible before you pay, because a narrow window that you understand is a very different thing from a narrow window you discover afterwards.
So, in one paragraph: the clock runs from your program's start date, not from your payment. The most generous tier is the one before commencement, and for most learners that period is weeks long. Inside the first seven days you can recover half the remaining fee. After that, the policy provides no refund. Paying by EMI does not change any of this — but it does mean you have a separate loan agreement to deal with, on the lender's terms rather than ours.
Fee, refund and cancellation terms, attendance requirements, placement eligibility conditions and the grievance process are set out in full in Meritshot's Student Policies & Guidelines.
