About Disbursement:
Handling Financial Aid payments is one of our key duties—and that’s what we’re talking about when we use the word "disbursement." Here’s how financial aid payments works:
The Office of Financial Aid will tell us when your financial aid payment is ready and once we’re notified we’ll post that payment towards your FSU bill within one business day and we’ll notify you by email to your @fsu.edu address. Once all the charges on your FSU bill that can be paid with your financial aid payment are settled, we’ll prepare a refund of any excess aid and send it to your preferred bank account.
Be sure to enroll in direct deposit so we can issue your refund. Financial Aid refunds are normally sent within three business days of the date the award posted to your FSU bill. See important dates below for more information.
Expert tip: Be sure to check your FSU bill after your financial aid posts to be sure everything happened the way you expected.
Your FSU Bill is dynamic as your enrollment changes & state and federal financial aid payment rules might mean that we have to send you a refund even when a portion of your bill is unpaid. If you add or drop a class, for example, your bill might change and you might also need to return a portion of your financial aid award.
Additionally, while we automatically apply state and institutional aid to any type of charge on your FSU bill, federal aid follows different rules and can only be applied to tuition, room and board unless you give us your permission to automatically pay other charges too.
Note that federal aid cannot be applied to excess-hours fees automatically, even with your permission.
Expert tip: Check your student email regularly and respond to emails about your bill. If we’ve taken the time to reach out to you, there’s probably a good reason.
It’s your responsibility as a University student to manage your email every day. There are a lot of good reasons to do that—to keep up with class assignments or schedule changes and to get involved with campus activities.
Keeping up with your email can also help you avoid trouble, like a $100 late payment or late registration fee, and give you early notice to make arrangements so you’re able to register for classes on time and reserve your spot in the sections you want. Should you feel that you may benefit from a deferment, please submit a service ticket to the Office of Student Finance here. We email payment reminders at the start of each semester and when we notice a change to your financial aid award or that you owe a balance outside the normal fee payment deadline.
About Early Disbursement:
FSU’s standard disbursement window begins on the fifth day of class, just after drop / add and runs through the end of the semester. We transfer refunds three business days after the date the aid posts to your FSU bill.
Students who applied for financial aid early and are enrolled in at least 6 credit hours before the term begins might qualify for early disbursement. Early disbursement begins just before the term starts. The following types of financial aid cannot disburse early and will processed during the standard window:
- Athletic Aid
- Florida Student Assistance Grant (FSAG)
- Florida Benacquisto (Florida Incentive Scholarship) (FIS)
- First Generation Grant (FGEN)
- Financial Aid for Children of Deceased / Disabled Veterans (CDDV)
All other types of financial aid are eligible for early disbursement.
Expert tip:To qualify for early disbursement complete all of your financial aid documents early and register for at least 6 credit hours during your normal enrollment appointment.
Check out the responsibilities section below to be sure you’ve done your part to get your money on time
Student Responsibilities:
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File your FAFSA on Oct 1 every year for the next Fall-Spring-Summer academic year. You can apply for financial aid after this date, but completing your FAFSA timely means submitting it at least two months before the semester begins. Applying for financial aid late does not excuse you from the late fee penalties required by state law and university regulation
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Enroll in Direct Deposit to get your refund faster & Grant Permission (View Student Permissions) if you want us to automatically apply federal aid (Title IV) to charges other than tuition and housing
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Enroll in 6 (or more) credits during your Enrollment Appointment to qualify for Early Disbursement (see calendar below). You can still qualify for standard disbursement if you are enrolled in 6 (or more) credits by the end of Drop / Add, but don’t expect your financial aid early if you wait to register for class. Students must be enrolled in at least 6 credits in a semester to qualify for financial aid, regardless of academic career or course level and even during the summer
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Verify that your Financial Aid Award is listed on your my.fsu.edu account at least two weeks before the end of the prior term.
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Accept/decline loan offers through my.fsu.edu at least two weeks before end of prior term
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Clear Financial Aid “To Do” list through my.fsu.edu at least two weeks before end of prior term
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Check your FSU bill through my.fsu.edu before the fee payment deadline every semester to be sure that your bill accurately reflects your schedule and is paid on time. Be sure to check your bill after your financial aid disburses and after you make any changes to your class schedule, or if you receive a notice from us regarding a change to your FSU account or a balance due.
Important Dates:
Fall 2024
Early Disbursement
August 16, 2024: Financial aid payments begin posting to myFSU bill
August 21, 2024: Earliest day to receive financial aid refund
Standard Disbursement
