Sections: Disbursement Schedule | When Will I Get My Refund? | Direct Deposit vs. Paper Check |

When Will My Aid Disburse?

The following chart displays when the various aid types will begin disbursing for the Spring semester. The dates indicated assume the student's financial aid package was finalized and all requirements complete prior to add/drop. If you expect to receive a refund and have not received it by April 1st please contact the Financial Aid Office so that we may investigate your account.

Aid Awarded or Accepted after the 1st Week of School

Students that did not have an award package offered to them by the end of add/drop may have their disbursements delayed beyond the dates indicated below. Students that accept loans after/add drop will not have their loans disbursed for a minimum of 7-10 days after the loan is accepted.

Spring Anticipated Disbursement Dates by Aid Type
Anticipated Date	Type of Aid	Prevent Delays
Beginning mid-February	PLUS (Parent and Grad) Loans¹ Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans (Graduate Students)¹ Private Alternative Loans Note: Subsequent disbursements for all loan types will be made on Tuesdays and Thursdays. ¹ The Department of Education will send a Disclosure Statement to the borrower's email address and it will contain an approximate disbursement date.	Loans must be accepted. Must be enrolled in 6 credit hours of required coursework (federal loans only; alternative loans vary) Direct Loan MPN must be completed for all PLUS loans. Graduate PLUS loans require separate counseling.
Beginning mid-February	Undergraduate Direct Loans (sub/unsub) ¹ Note: Subsequent disbursements for all loan types will be made on Tuesdays and Thursdays. ¹ The Department of Education will send a Disclosure Statement to the borrower's email address and it will contain an approximate disbursement date.	Loans must be accepted. Must be enrolled in 6 credit hours of required coursework. MPN and Entrance Counseling must be completed.
Beginning late-February	Merit Scholarships: Presidential, Provost, Erie County Student, International, and Transfer Music Department Scholarships (freshmen or continuing students)	Must be 12 credits Must have achieved minimum cumulative gpa in previous semester
Beginning early-March	Federal TEACH Grants	Agreement to Serve and Counseling completed
Beginning early-March	Federal Pell Grants	Must be enrolled in required coursework.
Beginning early-March	Supplemental Opportunity Grant (SEOG)	Must be enrolled in required coursework.
Beginning mid-March	CAPS scholarships & Third Party Scholarships and awards	CAPS Scholarship recipients can check the requirements of their scholarship in the CAPS Scholarship Portal
Beginning mid to late-March	Graduate EOP Tuition Scholarship Graduate Assistantship Tuition Scholarship Graduate Diversity Fellowship	Submit required documents for assistantships, fellowships, and scholarships, as required by the Graduate school.
Beginning mid to late-March	New York State TAP	Note that students are given credit for TAP before it is applied to their account; this expedites students' refunds TAP Application must be completed Buffalo State must be listed on the application Must be 12 credits
Beginning mid to late-March	SUNY Tuition Credit (SUNYTC)	TAP application must be completed; must be full-time
Beginning late-March	Muriel A. Howard Honors Program Ross B. Kenzie Family Scholarship Dorothy Sweet Scholarship	Must be 12 credits Must have achieved minimum cumulative gpa in previous semester
Beginning late-March	Say Yes to Education (all chapters) Subsequent disbursements will be sent on a monthly basis	All outstanding requirements must be completed before Say Yes will release funds. Students must notify Say Yes which school they will attend by the deadline provided by Say Yes.
Beginning early-May	Aid of Part-Time study	APTS Application must be submitted by late-February to determine eligibility.
late-May	New York State Excelsior Scholarship	Excelsior Application must have been completed Must enroll in 12+ credits and be on track for on-time graduation.

When will I get my refund? top

All financial aid disbursements and payments received by the collage are first used to pay for tuition, fees, room, board and any other charges on the student's bill. Only after the bill is paid in full, will a student will receive a refund. Since not all financial aid is disbursed at the same time and students have different charges, students will receive refunds at different points throughout the semester. The following two examples illustrate this point.

Note: Students will not physically receive their refunds the same day aid disburses. Once a refund is due to a student, it takes 2-3 business days for the funds to be electronically deposited into their account if they have signed up for direct deposit or 7-10 business days for a paper check to arrive at their permanent address.

Example #1: Student that lives on-campus

Michelle completed all aid/loan requirements in advance of the spring semester. She is a freshman that lives on-campus. Including her book deferment, her charges for the fall semester are $9,422. To determine when Michelle will receive her refund, she needs to subtract each financial aid award from her total charges of $9,422 in the order in which they will be received by the college. Below shows how her charges decrease with each payment of her financial aid.

For example, her total charges started at $9,422 but after her TAP award is applied she owes: $9,422 - $2,500 = $6,922. Once her subsidized loan is applied to her charges, her remaining balance is $6,922 - $1,723 = $5,199 and so on. Once her SUNY Tuition Credit disburses, her bill becomes paid in full and she is due a refund of $209 because her account is negative. Michelle can expect to receive her refund in late March/early April.

Aid	Disbursement Date	Amount	Remaining Amount Owed to College
Semester Charges/Total Owed	----	---	$9,422
- TAP Grant	Considered paid	$2,500	$6,922
- Federal Subsidized Loan	early to mid-February	$1,723	$5,199
- Federal Unsubsidized Loan	early to mid-February	$990	$4,209
- Federal Pell Grant	beginning of March	$2,823	$1,386
- SEOG	beginning of March	$100	$1,286
- Scholarship from High School	beginning of March	$1,000	$286
- SUNY Tuition Credit	end of March	$495	-$209
REFUND ISSUED	end of March	$209	$0

Example #2: Student lives off-campus

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Tom is a full-time student for the spring semester and is living off-campus. In total, Tom's bill is $3,511. To determine when he will receive his refund, he subtracts each financial aid award from his total charges of $3,511 in the order in which they will be received by the college. Below shows how his charges decrease with each payment of his financial aid. Tom can expect to receive two (2) refunds. He will receive the bulk of his refund in mid-February when his loans disburse and then, after the SUNY Tuition Credit disburses, that will be refunded entirely to him.

Aid	Disbursement Date	Amount	Remaining Amount Owed to College
Semester Charges/Total Owed	----	---	$3,511
- TAP Grant	Considered paid	$250	$3,261
- Federal Subsidized Loan	early to mid-February	$2,708	$553
- Federal Unsubsidized Loan	early to mid-February	$990	-$437
REFUND #1 ISSUED	mid-February	$437	$0
- SUNY Tuition Credit	end of March	$40	-$40
REFUND #2 ISSUED	end of Feb./early Mar.	$40	$0

Direct Deposit vs. Paper Refund Check

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Direct Deposit
Direct Deposit is quick and easy. Simply provide bank account information and the funds will be deposited directly into the account. If you don’t have a bank account, the funds can also be deposited to a reloadable debit card.
For Direct Deposit/Reloadable Debit Card Registration:

Log in to your Banner Self Service account
Choose “View/Pay Bill” then “Manage Your Refunds”.
Select how you want to receive your refund.

Paper Refund Checks are mailed to students' permanent address if direct deposit is not set up. Paper refund checks take about 7-10 business days to arrive in the student's mailbox. Students are encouraged to sign up for direct deposit to expedite this process.