How Does My Aid Apply to My Student Account Charges?
Financial aid can come in a variety of types and generally apply to the charges on a student account based upon the designated priority of the charge itself. Tuition and Registration fees will carry the highest importance of any charge and will be applied first by incoming aid. Once all charges have been paid by the incoming aid, any credit balance will be processed into a charge on the student account with the following description:
- Fin Aid Rfn Ck or Direct Dpst
This description is the abbreviated form for “Financial Aid Refund Check or Direct Deposit” and is how the credit balance is charged off your student account and provided to you as a refund. You can find more about refunds here: Student Account Refunds
Aid Types With Restrictions
There are certain types of aid that have restrictions on the type of charges they can cover:
- CalGrant. The CalGrant award is required to pay only your actual Tuition fee and the Student Services fee. Financial Aid will not award this type of aid for more than the two charges allow. Any conflicting payment types, such as third-party sponsorships or payment waivers (such as CalVet) will default to the sponsorship requirements on what kind of tuition support takes priority. Only one type of payment assistance can apply to the charges.
- Federal PLUS loan. Parent PLUS loans have their payment and refund options determined at the time of application during the FAFSA process. There are three options that can be taken:
- Full payment. This will allow the PLUS aid to cover all charges on the student account, and any remaining credit will be combined with other aid types and refunded direct to the student.
- Full payment with directed refund. All charges will be covered, but any remaining credit balance from the PLUS loan will refund direct to the parent at the address provided in the FAFSA application form.
- Restricted. The PLUS loan can be designated to pay only Tuition, mandatory Registration fees, and Housing charges. Miscellaneous charges such as bookstore, parking, health services, library, etc. will not be covered. Any credit balance will be refunded to the parent per FAFSA instructions.
Who to Contact for Aid Issues