Disbursement of Aid and Student Account Policies
Any charges for which a student is billed by the University and is responsible for paying (tuition, fees, etc) is reflected on the UChicago student account, which is accessible via the my.UChicago portal. These charges can be paid in multiple ways, including through the use of financial aid.
The Office of the Bursar disburses scholarship and loan funding to the student account as reflected on a student's financial aid package, which is typically allocated equally over the academic year. Billing statements are released quarterly and will reflect scholarship and loan credits for the applicable quarter.
Stipend funding is paid directly to the student through Workday, the University's human resources system. Unless otherwise noted in the stipend award notification, stipends are allocated evenly across the academic year, with one-third of the year's funding allocated to each quarter. More information about the stipend payment process can be found on the UChicagoGRAD website.
The Bursar delivers student account billing statements electronically, viewable via the my.UChicago portal. The Bursar will send an email notice to the student's UChicago email address when each new bill is posted online. However, the bill itself is not sent via email.
The first billing statement of each quarter reflects the scholarships awarded and the loan funds the student is expected to receive for the quarter. The purpose of showing these anticipated credits is to allow the student to determine how much is owed for the quarter beyond financial aid. The remaining balance owed can be paid via the my.UChicago portal. The Bursar has more information on the billing and payment process on their website.
The presence of anticipated loan credits does not mean that the loan process has been completed for each of the relevant loans. Anticipated loan credits are typically only reflected on the initial bill for the quarter and are removed from the bill automatically when the actual loan funds are applied. These anticipated credits will also be removed if the student fails to complete the application process in a timely manner. The Bursar may assess a late payment fee when the anticipated loan credits are removed and no actual loan funds are available to replace them.
If the financial aid funds disbursed are greater than the charges assessed on a student’s account, the student is eligible for a refund to cover living and other education-related expenses. Refunds will be sent either via the U.S. postal system or directly to the bank selected by the student, if direct deposit has been set up via the my.UChicago portal. Refunds are typically processed by the Bursar a few days prior to the start of each quarter for those students who have no outstanding financial aid issues. Students who have outstanding financial aid issues, like incomplete loan applications or entrance interviews, will have to wait until those are resolved before receiving a refund.
The Bursar has more information on the billing and payment process on their website.
Loan Disbursements
Federal Direct Unsubsidized and Direct Graduate PLUS loans are sent directly from the Federal Government to the University and applied to your student account. For students who have finalized their aid application, this disbursement occurs approximately one week before the start of each quarter. Otherwise, the disbursement will occur as soon as all financial aid application steps have been finalized. More information about the federal student loan application process can be found on our website.
Most alternative/private student loan funds are sent to the University via an electronic disbursement method and applied to your tuition account on the first day of classes for the applicable quarter. An anticipated loan credit will be reflected on your quarterly bill if the alternative/private student loan has been finalized prior to the bill release date set by the Bursar. More information about the alternative/private student loan application process can be found on our website.
Refunds
Students receive a student account refund when financial aid disbursements exceed tuition and fee charges for the quarter. Tuition and fees as well as financial aid disbursements can fluctuate for a variety of reasons (change in enrollment, change in federal aid eligibility, etc.). Confirm your refund is correct before expending any funds.
To ensure timely disbursal of university-sourced income, the University recommends enrolling in direct deposit through both Workday and your my.UChicago portal. At this time, only US bank accounts can be added into Workday.
- Types of payments issued through my.UChicago: loan refunds, student account refunds, emergency assistance from the Bursar (emergency loans/emergency grants)
- Types of payments issued through Workday: stipend income, assistantship income (research and teaching), reimbursements, awards, and other on-campus hourly roles
Updating Payment Elections
Post-9/11 GI Bill Benefits Billing Information
Once the University of Chicago submits the enrollment certification to the VA, that agency will process the certification and issue payment to the University. The VA does not provide a timeline for payment so those who have questions regarding the timing of payments should contact the GI Bill hotline at 888-GIBILL1 (1-888-442-4551).
Tuition and fee payments will be issued directly to the University of Chicago and will be credited to the student account. The amount of tuition and fees that will be paid is determined by the VA and may not cover the full cost of tuition and fees.
The Financial Aid Office will place a credit on the student account for the portion of the tuition and fees that the University expects to be received by the VA. Thus the veteran will not be required to pay the funds expected from the VA and will not be issued late fees for that amount. The credit is the sum the University expects the veteran to receive in a tuition and fee payment based on the certificate of eligibility (COE) and enrollment for the academic term. If the actual payment received by the VA is less than the sum estimated for the credit, the veteran will be responsible for paying the difference out of pocket or through financial aid, including loans.
Yellow Ribbon payments from the VA (if the student is eligible) will be issued directly to the University of Chicago and will be credited to the student account.