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submission September 08, 2022 Score: 127 u/Nervous-Passion-1897

A guide to Financial Aid Refunds: Pell, TAP, and Federal Loans

A guide to Financial Aid Refunds: Pell, TAP, and Federal Loans

Hello everyone,

I have noticed an abnormal amount of threads opening up asking questions like “When is everyone getting a refund?!” Unfortunately, everyone’s situation can be dramatically different from one another and not everyone’s financial aid package is the same, some individuals do not receive any aid at all and have to pay fully out of pocket.

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This is a guide that will explain to you the following:

  1. How to check if you receive financial aid
  2. How to check when the financial aid will disburse
  3. How to check if the financial aid will be refunded back to you
  4. Deposit Timelines

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1. Am I getting financial aid?

To receive financial aid, in the form of grants, (Pell grants and TAP) you must have had an EFC (Expected Family Contribution) of less than $5486. To check your EFC, login to CUNYFirst –> Student Center –> Financial Aid –> Financial Aid Summary –> Expected Family Contribution.

If your income in 2020 or your family’s income in 2020 has drastically reduced 2022, you can file for an income adjustment appeal. The process of this appeal varies from school to school, most have you fill out a form, some require using StudentForms, but reach out to your Financial Aid office to file this appeal. The type of documents needed also varies from school to school.

2. How to check for Financial Aid disbursement

Many individuals on Reddit think disbursement means a refund. That is incorrect, disbursement means that the school has received the funds from the US Government (or wherever) and it has entered your “school account”. Disbursement DOES NOT mean you have been refunded the money.

If you have confirmed you are receiving financial aid, you will also be given a disbursement date. To check for the disbursement date, log on to CUNYFIRST –> Student Center –> Financial Aid –> Awards (left menu) –> Disbursement Date. Let’s use the most recent disbursement date as an example.

ALL DISBURSEMENTS AND REFUNDS OCCUR ON A MONDAY-TUESDAY SCHEDULE UNLESS MONDAY WAS A HOLIDAY, IN WHICH CASE TUESDAY BECOMES MONDAY

Pell Grant 8/15/22

8/15 means that the Pell grant will arrive in your school account on August 15th. To check if the amount has been disbursed, around 1-2 PM on August 15th, (you can replace this date with whatever your actual date is) check to see if the amount was “Posted” into your account.

To check if the amount has been posted, log on to CUNYFirst –> Student Center –> Financial Account –> Account Activity.

On this page, you should see your financial aid amount in the “Payment” column. This occurs on a Monday.

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3. Will I get a refund?!

Now that you have confirmed that your financial aid has been disbursed into your school account. Navigate over to your account balance. To do this login to CUNYFirst –> Student Center –> Financial Account –> Account Balance (left menu).

If you see a balance there, take note of this amount. Take this amount and subtract it from the amount that has been disbursed. If there is a remainder amount, you will be getting a refund.

If you have no balance, you will get a full refund of the amount that was disbursed.

Once you have confirmed you will be receiving a refund, ON TUESDAY AROUND 3-5 PM log on to CUNYFirst –> Student Center –> Financial Account –> Account Activity (left menu). You should see the amount you calculated in the “Refund” column.

Once you see this amount in the refund column, it means they have sent out your direct deposit or mailed your check. IF YOU DO NOT SEE AN AMOUNT IN THE REFUND COLUMN THAT MEANS YOU WILL NOT BE GETTING ANYTHING.

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UNIQUE SITUATIONS

Sometimes, some students get their aids approved well after the disbursement date. For instance, you filed for an income adjustment in the summer and got approved in Spring, (it can take that long) They now owe you for 2 semesters’ worth of Pell Grants. Those Pell grants will be given the same OLD disbursement dates, but in this UNIQUE SITUATION, the dates do not mean anything. You just have to wait till the school receives the money, and in 1 or 2 weeks, it will follow the same Monday-Tuesday schedule.

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4. DEPOSIT TIMELINES

If you opted for a paper check, it will be mailed to you using SNAIL MAIL and it could take up to 3 weeks for you to receive your paper check.

If you opted for direct deposit, the deposit timelines vary from bank to bank.

MVNO Banks such as “Chime” or “Cashapp” will release the funds usually on Wednesday, within 24 hours of the school sending it. I don’t like waiting all week for my money so for school deposits I specifically use MVNO banks.

Regular banks like Chase, BOA, etc, all follow the “check date” on the deposit which is a “Friday”. But sometimes can be delayed up to Monday.

ERPA Grants sent by Biden, DO NOT FOLLOW these timelines and have their own timelines, usually 1 or 2 weeks after the refund is issued.

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I hope this guide helps answer many questions a lot of you have about refunds. I wish you all the best of luck this semester.

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