What happens to your leftover financial aid money?

If there is money left over, the school will pay it to you. In some cases, with your permission, the school may give the leftover money to your child. If you take out a loan as a student or parent, your school (or your child's school) will notify you in writing each time they give you any part of your loan money.

What happens to unused financial aid money?

Typically, issuers send your financial aid funds directly to the school, and the school then applies the money to your tuition, fees and other expenses. If there is money left over, the school will send the remainder to you, and you can use it to cover your other expenses, such as your textbooks or transportation.

What can I do with leftover grant money?

However, if there are any funds left over after your school applies your Pell Grant toward your tuition and fees, those funds are given directly to you, and you then may use them to reduce your loan amount.

What happens if you use financial aid money for something else?

If your school's financial aid office discovers that you're misusing federal student loan funds, it could report you to the Department of Education and demand repayment of your loan funds. If you have private student loans and your lender discovers you've misused funds, your loan could go into immediate default.

Does unused financial aid carry over?

The school will issue you a Pell Grant refund if some of your grant dollars are unused. You may receive a check for the remaining amount, or the school may transfer it via direct deposit into your bank account or student account.

Financial Aid Disbursements and Refunds

Do I keep financial aid refund?

Students don't have to accept or use their refund check. If you're not in need of extra money, you can return the refund before it starts to accrue interest. Returning a refund check is essentially paying off a chunk of your loan balance early. You can also choose to accept some and return the rest.

Can I use my financial aid refund for anything?

Your Financial Aid refund can be used towards any education-related item listed in the cost of attendance such as such as books, transportation, housing, food, and miscellaneous expenses. This also means you are solely responsible for budgeting this refund throughout the semester.

Can you accept more financial aid than you need?

If you accept more federal student loan money than you end up needing, the good news is you can return it without penalty. You have 120 days. from disbursement to return surplus funds without paying interest.

Can you put financial aid in your bank account?

After you have your bank account set up, share the account and routing numbers with your school's financial aid office, and they will deposit additional aid funds directly to that account as early as 10 days before classes start.

Can you use financial aid for personal stuff?

You can also use student loans for living expenses. You're limited to borrowing the school's cost of attendance — that's tuition and fees, books and supplies, room and board, transportation, and personal expenses —minus any aid you receive.

Can you spend grant money on whatever you want?

Grants are not "free money." Farm groups often believe that grant money can be used for any purpose they want. In other words, it is like receiving "free" money. However, grant money can only be used for the purpose outlined in the RFP (request for proposals) by the granting organization.

What happens if you don't use all of your student loans?

The school determines the final tuition amount due, taking grants and scholarships into account. If your student loan covers more than that amount, you will receive a refund from your school. Use the excess funds only for education-related expenses. These are expenses that directly or indirectly support your studies.

How much refund do you get from financial aid?

These leftover financial aid funds are paid out to you within a few weeks of the start of classes. For example, if you get $11,000 in aid this semester but tuition and fees run you $10,000, you'll get a $1,000 refund.

Does financial aid money expire?

Yes. There is a maximum amount of Federal Pell Grant funds you can receive over your lifetime. You can receive the Pell Grant for no more than 12 terms or the equivalent (roughly six years). This is called the Federal Pell Grant Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU).

How do I get my money from financial aid?

In most cases, your child's school will give you your loan money by crediting it to your child's school account to pay tuition, fees, room, board, and other authorized charges. If there is money left over, the school will pay it to you.

Does financial aid check your bank?

Verification doesn't necessarily check the student's or parent's bank accounts. Rather, the school will ask for documentation to clarify information provided in the form. These documents can include income tax returns, W-2 forms, and 1099 forms.

Does financial aid check your bank account?

FAFSA doesn't check anything, because it's a form. However, the form does require you to complete some information about your assets, including checking and savings accounts. Whether or not you have a lot of assets can reflect on your ability to pay for college without financial aid.

Do I get all my financial aid money at once?

Generally, your grant or loan will cover a full academic year and your school will pay out the money in at least two payments called disbursements. In most cases, the school must pay at least once per term (semester, trimester, or quarter).

Do you have to spend all your financial aid money?

Financial aid is first applied to institutional charges, such as tuition and fees. Any remaining credit balance is then refunded to the student to spend on other costs, such as textbooks, transportation and miscellaneous/personal expenses. There are no controls to prevent you from wasting the money.

Can I use my financial aid to buy a laptop?

Does the FAFSA include laptops for college? If you receive federal student aid through the FAFSA, you can use those funds to buy a laptop. FAFSA aid can also be used toward room and board, transportation costs, and textbooks. Most student-related expenses can be paid for with federal funds.

Who pays back financial aid?

Students have to pay back financial aid if it is in the form of a loan, but they do not have to pay back grants, scholarships or money awarded through a work-study program. Students eligible for grants or scholarships should exhaust those options before taking out any loans, experts say.

Do student loans go to your bank account?

Typically, student loans do not get deposited in your bank account. Instead, the loans are disbursed directly to the school where it is applied to tuition payments and room and board.

Why did my college refund me money?

A student refund check is excess money left over from your financial aid package after your school tuition, and other fees have been paid in full. Generally, a school will pay your school expenses with your scholarships and grants first before using any student loan money.

What happens if nobody pays student loans?

Failing to pay your student loans can have devastating financial consequences. Eventually, your student loans will be put into default and you may lose federal loan benefits, have your wages garnished, get barred from federal student aid among other consequences. Your loan holder may sue you, as well.