Students - Student Account Refunds

Overview

Students become eligible to receive a refund from their student accounts when there is an open credit (i.e. negative balance).

Important Notes:

All refunds are issued directly to the student, regardless of who made the payment.
Cash and check overpayments remain in your account until there is no activity in the account for 90 days, at which point our office will initiate an automatic refund.
Student account refunds are processed once the student has submitted their refund request form and our office has approved the request.
- The only exception is for open credits from financial aid, which are typically refunded automatically.

Refund Methods

Students can receive a refund in the following ways:

Direct Deposit transfer to bank account. Please see our Direct Deposit article to learn more about Direct Deposit and how to enroll.
Paper check to current mailing address
Paper check to permanent mailing address (only if current mailing address is not active)
Paper check to stipend address (only if applicable)

Direct deposit is the default refund method. If a student is enrolled in direct deposit, refunds will be sent to their direct deposit account on file. If a student is not enrolled in direct deposit, the next default refund method would be a paper check mailed to the current mailing address on file. If there is no active current mailing address, the refund would instead be sent to the permanent mailing address on file. If there is no active current mailing address, the refund would instead be sent to the permanent mailing address on file.

IMPORTANT: Please be sure to keep all mailing addresses current and up-to-date so that any paper refund checks are mailed to the correct location. You can do so on your TritonLink through the Addresses tool.

Types of Refunds

Cash or Check Overpayment

Overpayment credits apply to open charges on one’s account. If you made an overpayment and have no open charges on your student account, you can request a refund with the Student Refund Request Form.

Financial Aid

Aid refunds disburse automatically at the start of the quarter after all fees are paid. If your financial aid arrives mid-quarter, a refund disburses within 5-7 days. If a financial aid credit has been in your account for more than 5 business days, please submit a ticket through Student Support to ask about your refund status.

Credit Card

Overpayments of any dollar amount will remain on your account for up to 90 days. The overpayment will either apply to any future charges assessed before it reaches 90 days old or will be automatically refunded to the card from which the payment originated after it reaches 90 days old.

Housing

The housing department typically initiates refunds of housing credits. If there are specific inquiries regarding a housing refund, please contact Housing Administrative Services at (858) 534-4010, or email housinginfo@ucsd.edu.

Stipend

A stipend will first appear as a credit on your student account and automatically refund within 1-2 business days. Please note: The funds will not pay for any charges on your student account, and the stipend will be disbursed in the full amount.

Additional Information for Graduate Students

If your stipends are processed through payroll and NOT your student account, please visit the following for information on enrolling in direct deposit for payroll.

If you still have questions or need additional assistance, please submit a ticket.