How Does My Aid Get Paid?
Your federal aid is typically disbursed (paid onto your account) in three equal installments during the fall, winter, and spring. Each term, your aid is disbursed onto your student billing account about a week prior to the start of that term.
Your aid can only be disbursed if:
- You have no outstanding holds or requirements. You can always check requirements in the Financial Aid Portal under Unsatisfied Requirements on the Home tab.
- You have been awarded and accepted your financial aid.
- All required promissory notes for your loans have been signed and loan entrance counseling is complete.
- Your expected enrollment matches your actual enrollment. Aid is always packaged for full-time enrollment (12+ credits for undergraduates and 9+ credits for graduates). Your budget and aid may need to be adjusted if you are less than full-time. You must submit an enrollment revision form if you plan to be less than full-time or if you plan to attend fewer than 3 terms.
- The credits you are registered for count towards your aid eligibility. Courses may be excluded due to retaking a previously passed course (only one such retake is allowed for federal aid purposes), taking a graduate-level course as an undergraduate student, taking a partner school course that does not transfer to OSU, or being waitlisted.
- You are a currently enrolled student. Generally, you must still be currently enrolled, meaning registered for classes in the current term, to receive aid. If you are not currently enrolled, you may be eligible for a late disbursement for a previous term if the aid was accepted while you were still enrolled and you are otherwise eligible (contact the Office of Financial Aid for further assistance if this is the case).
The timing of your enrollment changes can have a significant impact on your aid. We freeze your aid eligibility on our Census Date each term. Be sure to familiarize yourself with our policies regarding Census, Dropping Courses, Withdrawals, Participation, and Satisfactory Academic Progress.
Financial Aid Billing and Refunds
Financial aid disbursed to your student account pays your tuition and other university fees. If the amount of your aid is greater than the eligible charges on your student account, the difference will be refunded to you by the Student Accounts office. The Student Accounts Office is responsible for processing refunds from a student's account once financial aid has been applied. If you have questions about your bill or your refund, please contact Student Accounts.
If you participate in the Degree Partnership Program and are taking credits at another school as well as OSU, your financial aid will apply to your OSU account, and pay any fees or charges owed to OSU. OSU does not have billing agreements with partner schools and does not transfer your aid for you, so be aware of what you owe the partner school!
Students who receive money from Federal Work-Study programs are paid wages for the hours worked during the pay period. These funds do not go toward paying student tuition and charges. Federal Work-Study funds are paid out through a regular paycheck which comes from the Payroll Department and are generally available on the last working day of the month.
If you have direct deposit set up, your refund will be directly deposited to your bank account and should be available on the first day of classes. You can sign up for Direct Deposit online through Beaver Hub. This is the quickest, most efficient way to receive your refund!
You are responsible for managing your Financial Aid experience, so be sure to check the Financial Aid Portal frequently and review any emails you receive from us as they may include requests for additional information or action. Call, email, or stop by if you have any questions, we are here to help you!