Financial aid disbursement and refunds

Financial aid typically disburses about a week before the semester starts. Your financial aid tracker will say “disbursement is ready to begin,” which means your aid is in the process of being applied to your account. Once disbursement is complete, you’ll see your account balance change to reflect that a payment has been made.

It can be tempting to spend unwisely when you have extra money in your pocket after your charges are paid. Remember, loans need to be repaid with interest, and scholarship funds are intended to pay for housing and food, books, course materials, supplies, and equipment and should be used for those things only.

Smart borrowing, establishing good credit and creating a realistic budget are skills that you need to be successful. No matter what you’re studying, this is a great time to start building your best money habits.

ASU partners with iGrad to offer students and alumni lifelong financial wellness skills through customized courses, articles and tools to help you make important financial decisions. From how to manage your first credit card to refinancing your home, investing in the stock market and saving for retirement — you’ll learn it all. Get started with iGrad now and begin a healthy, lifelong relationship with money.

If you are a graduating senior and only attending one semester, Financial Aid and Scholarship Services is required to reduce your financial cost of attendance for the academic year to reflect one semester costs. In most cases, a reduction of your cost of attendance will reduce your financial aid eligibility and result in a reduction of some of your awards (even if you have already accepted them). If you plan on attending one semester, please contact us or visit our office to see how your aid will be affected.

Important Notes

• You may not receive all of your fall/spring financial aid in the fall semester.
• You may not be considered a fall-only student if you are not graduating for the fall (i.e., you must apply for graduation with the university).
• Your Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans will prorate if you are an undergraduate or post-baccalaureate student (see below for details).
• If you were originally offered aid for the fall and spring semesters and do not end up attending the fall semester, your entire aid package may be cancelled mid-fall. If you plan on attending the following spring semester, please make sure to accept your aid on My ASU and enroll for the spring semester.

Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans

If you are an undergraduate or post-baccalaureate student, your Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans must be prorated based on the number of credit hours for which you are enrolled. This means that you may not be eligible to receive your maximum annual loan limit. Your aid will be adjusted at the time of disbursement according to your enrolled credit hours.