If you are being handed money from your school, you need to know where it is coming from, because in almost all cases, a refund on a student account is because of an over payment on a loan.
Any borrower with ED-held loans that have accumulated time in repayment of at least 20 or 25 years will see automatic forgiveness, even if the loans are not currently on an IDR plan. Borrowers with FFELP loans held by commercial lenders or Perkins loans not held by ED can benefit if they consolidate into Direct Loans.
Student Refund FAQ
Financial aid refunds will be mailed to you in the form of a check unless you enroll in Direct Deposit.
If you qualify for student loan forgiveness or discharge in full, and have applied if necessary, you will get a notification that you no longer need to make payments. In some cases, you may even get a refund, depending on the program you applied under.
Your student loan servicer(s) will notify you directly after your forgiveness is processed. Make sure to keep your contact information up to date on StudentAid.gov and with your servicer(s). If you haven't yet qualified for forgiveness, you'll be able to see your exact payment counts in the future.
If your claim is approved, you will receive a discharge related to your claim and/or a refund of payments made to ED on those loans. This means you would no longer have to make payments on those loans associated with the school that wronged you, and you may have your past loan payments refunded to you.
Why did my college send me a check? A refund check is money that is directly deposited to you by your college. It is the excess money left over from your financial aid award after your tuition and additional fees have been paid. Your college may send you a check or the money may be deposited into your checking account.
According to the IRS, student loan amounts forgiven under PSLF are not considered income for tax purposes. Learn more about the PSLF process. You won't be taxed by the federal government, but your state may tax you.
Simply subtract the total bill from the school from the total amount of aid one has been granted. For example, if a post-secondary establishment's final billing is $15,000 and a student has been awarded $16,500, once the bill is paid, that student will receive a financial aid refund of $1,500.
Most student loan borrowers receive a student loan refund check just before the beginning of every semester. The check represents the amount left over after the school has taken out what is owed for tuition, fees and room and board (if applicable).
If your qualifying payment total is at 120 or more, your account is eligible to be placed into forbearance and no payment is due. If you continue making payments, any overpayments will be refunded if you have no additional outstanding loans. To find out your forbearance status, log in to your StudentAid.gov account.
An Assisted Refund (AR) allows clients to have tax preparation and other fees and amounts paid upon completion of services from either the federal or state refund. With an Assisted Refund your refund will be deposited into a temporary bank account from Republic Bank & Trust Company.
So you repay when your earnings go over the equivalent of the annual repayment threshold for your pay period, for example, if you're paid monthly, you'll pay back your loan every month your pay goes over the monthly equivalent of your repayment threshold.
If your federal student loans are forgiven, you could get a refund, and you might see your credit score dip.
The Satisfactory Academic Progress regulations require that you maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) in order to remain eligible for financial aid. This cumulative grade point average is 2.0 on a 4.0 scale. If you drop below a cumulative GPA of 2.0, you will be placed on a financial aid Warning.
During the on-ramp period (through Sept. 30, 2024), we automatically put your loan in a forbearance for the payments you missed. Here's what this means: Your account was no longer considered delinquent and was made current. We didn't report you as delinquent to credit scoring companies.
Refunds for all types of financial aid will begin 30 days after the start of the semester. You will receive loan funds in two disbursements each semester.
You may be eligible for a college refund check if your financial aid amount was more than the actual cost of your tuition, room and board, and other fees.
An overpayment refund happens when the total amount of financial aid you receive (scholarships, grants, loans, etc.) exceeds your college's billed expenses for the semester. When this occurs, the school sends the excess money back to you. It's like getting a bonus, but with a few important strings attached.
Disbursement means the Financial Aid Office has applied funds from your financial aid award (such as grants and student loans) to any tuition, fees, or book charges owed on your student customer account. It does not, as many people believe, mean that you are being refunded any credit balance from your financial aid.
Student loan borrowers who are enrolled in the SAVE plan (Saving on a Valuable Education) may have those loans forgiven. If your student loan is eligible for forgiveness, you'll receive a communication from the loan servicers or Department of Education.
A financial aid refund is any aid money you have beyond what your school bills you for tuition, fees, and other costs required to attend the school. These leftover financial aid funds are paid out to you within a few weeks of the start of classes.