CLEAR ALL HOLDS - If you have any holds on your aid, it will not disburse. If you have been asked to provide documents or information or have been told that the Financial Aid Office is reviewing your eligibility, follow up with them as soon as possible. You can tell what aid is available to you, what has been disbursed and whether or not there are any holds on your aid by using the Financial Aid Status Service in MyUW.
AID DISBURSEMENT - Financial aid is disbursed first to your university student account to pay your tuition, U-PASS, late change, student insurance and other university fees. If the amount of your aid is greater than the charges on your student account, the difference will be sent to your bank account via direct deposit. You need to sign up for direct deposit at least 10 days before the quarter begins to ensure your aid will reach your bank account by the start of the quarter.
If you are not signed up for direct deposit, you must make arrangements with Student Fiscal Services to have your check mailed to you. You may complete a check request online , email sfshelp@u.washington.edu, or call 206-543-4694 to request your check.
SIGNING UP FOR DIRECT DEPOSIT - The easiest and quickest way to sign up for direct deposit or to confirm your direct deposit status is to use MyUW. If you are not able to access this site, contact Student Fiscal Services. For information about the direct deposit program see http://www.washington.edu/students/sfs/sao/tuition/dirdep.html
DISBURSEMENT STARTS - Financial aid is disbursed to your university account and any remainder should arrive in your bank account, starting on March 31 (the first day of aid disbursement). This assumes that on March 25 you have been awarded and have accepted financial aid, did not have any holds on your aid, have signed all required promissory notes for your loans, were registered for the minimum required credits and signed up for direct deposit by March 21. If all of these conditions were true, then you can confirm with your bank that funds were received on March 31 (some banks may be able to confirm receipt before March 31, depending on their processing timeline).
If these conditions were not met and you have subsequently taken care of the reason your aid did not release to your account, you can expect your aid to credit your university account immediately after March 31. Any remaining funds will be sent to your bank account and will take approximately 3 business days from the time of release before the funds are deposited in your account. It is your responsibility to confirm with your bank the receipt and the amount of your financial aid funds before you write any checks against these funds.
UNIVERSITY HOUSING CHARGES - The University's Housing and Food Service (HFS) accounts are billed on a separate system. Generally, there are some HFS charges added to your University Student Account at the start of each quarter. Your financial aid will pay these initial charges, but that may not be all that you owe to HFS. Before spending any aid sent to your bank account through direct deposit, check the HFS website (https://hfs.washington.edu/resident_access/) to determine the balance you owe them. You can also view the amount of the aid that applied to y our housing charges on MyUW.
STUDENT HEALTH INSURANCE - Eligible students are billed for the insurance plan selected during registration. Adding, changing, or canceling the plan is allowed ONLY through the 7th calendar day of the academic quarter. If not canceled by the 7th day of the quarter, coverage is effective, and the premium is an obligatory charge that is due by the tuition due date. Students may not enroll in the plan by just remitting the premium, nor may they cancel it by failing to pay the premium. In most cases, financial aid will automatically pay the insurance premium. If you do not want to purchase the Student Health Insurance Plan, you must cancel by the 7th day of each quarter (April 6 for Spring Quarter).
UWEO TUITION CHARGES - If you are enrolled in UW Educational Outreach (UWEO) courses, you are generally billed through a separate system. However, some UWEO charges may be added to your University Student Account at the start of each quarter. Your financial aid will pay any UWEO charges before any remaining aid is sent direct deposit. You can review your University Student Account on MyUW to see if any UWEO charges were paid.
MINIMUM CREDIT LOAD - You must be registered for a full-time credit load (12 credits for undergraduates and professional students; 10 credits for graduate students) in order for aid, except Stafford Loans, to be disbursed. If you have been awarded aid as a less than full-time student see the Financial Aid Office for minimum credit load information. After the start of classes, if you drop below full-time enrollment, aid already disbursed to pay charges on your account will not be canceled; however, no additional aid will be disbursed to you. If you drop below full-time before the start of classes and aid has been disbursed to you, you will owe a repayment of aid.
IF YOU HAVE A FEDERAL STUDENT LOAN (Stafford, Unsubsidized Stafford, Parent Loan, Perkins, Health Professions Loan, or Graduate/Professional PLUS Loan) - You can sign your master promissory note for the Perkins Loan and/or the Health Professions Loan on the web in the Financial Aid Status section of MyUW. Generally, new Federal Direct Stafford Loan program borrowers need to sign a master promissory note over the web at http://dlenote.ed.gov/ (click the What To Expect button for instructions). Students who borrowed through the Federal Direct Stafford Loan Program last year and signed a promissory note will not be required to sign a new promissory note for Federal Direct Stafford or Unsubsidized Stafford Loan this year. You are required to sign your promissory notes even if you expect your entire loan to be used to pay charges on your university account.
GRAD PLUS borrowers sign their promissory note online at http://dlenote.ed.gov/. If you borrowed a GPLUS in the previous year usually you do not have to sign a master promissory note again. Each year the government's direct loan servicer performs a credit check. If your loan is approved, funds will disburse to your student account.
If you want to make arrangements to receive a paper promissory note for your Federal Direct Stafford Loan, Perkins Loan, Health Professions Loan, or GRAD PLUS Loan, please contact Student Fiscal Services via email at sfshelp@u.washington.edu, or on the live chat button on the Student Fiscal Services website.PARENT LOANS - If you have been awarded a Parent Loan (PLUS), you will be sent an application document for your parent to complete and return to Student Fiscal Services. This document will include the disbursement options for the PLUS loan. Your parent borrower may sign the promissory note electronically at http://dlenote.ed.gov. Once the application and promissory note are received, a credit check will be performed by the government's direct loan servicer. Your parent borrower will be notified of the credit approval or denial.
IF YOU HAVE A LOAN FROM AN "OUTSIDE LENDER" SUCH AS AN ALASKA OR PRIVATE LOAN
PAY YOUR OWN TUITION IF YOUR FINANCIAL AID IS LATE - Short-term Loans against Spring aid may be arranged through MyUW Personal Services. If your tuition is not paid by the end of the third week of the quarter, you will be charged a $120 late payment penalty.
NOTE: If you take a short-term loan for Spring quarter, it will not be repaid automatically with next year's aid. Be sure to watch your student account balance carefully and repay your loan by the due date.
IF YOU MUST WITHDRAW FROM SCHOOL - If you withdraw before the start of classes, you must repay any financial aid you have received. If you withdraw during the quarter, you may have to repay some of your aid. If you do not officially withdraw but fail to pass any classes, you will be considered to have unofficially withdrawn and may have to repay aid. A withdrawal may affect your future aid eligibility. Please see Withdrawals or Refunds for Aid Recipients for information on refunds. Tuition refunds, in general, must be returned to the financial aid programs.
WORK STUDY PAYCHECKS - These are available from your employer according to the payroll schedule. Contact your employer or the Work Study Office, 172 Schmitz Hall if you have any questions.
PRIOR QUARTER DISBURSEMENTS - Generally, aid should be picked up within the current quarter. However, certain types of prior quarter aid may be available for a limited time. If you did not receive all of your aid for the prior quarter, you must specifically request that Student Fiscal Services release this aid to you. This includes students who normally receive their aid through direct deposit.