<p>Hello, greetings everyone. I'm a first semester freshman. A few days ago I received my financial aid refund (leftover money). Though the amount is a lot less than I expected. I remembered receiving a financial aid award list in the mail, which showed the amount of awards I get. I never withdrew any class, I never rejected any awards. So why is the difference so....unexpected. </p>
<p>Fall semester:
Pell: $2,755
TAP: $1,537</p>
<p>Semester Tuition Bill: $1,750
My financial aid refund check: $375</p>
<p>P.S.
The date I received my check seem so early since the semester haven't started yet. The date on the check is 9/9/2010 and my semester classes start at 9/11/2010 on esims, but 9/13/2010 officially.</p>
<p>You’ll have to contact the bursar’s office for details. Was tuition the only charge on your actual bill? Most schools also have other fees (comprehensive fee, activity fees, health insurance, etc.) Your refund probably doesn’t include any NYS aid…most schools won’t refund that until later in the semester and TAP is late this year anyway because the state budget wasn’t passed until August. The refund distribution schedule may be on the school’s website.</p>
<p>Thank you for your advice. The tuition bill clearly stated a total of 1,750…So I was surprised that I received so little. A little basic math can tell you that my $375 refund was a bit off. Also I was surprise I received it so early. So I was wondering If I might get another check about 3 weeks in the semester or I should just go to the office to check things out.</p>
<p>Do you have at least 12 credits? If not, any grants would have been prorated based on enrollment.</p>
<p>Schools can disburse aid 10 days prior to the start of classes. My school does this. Refunds can go out before classes begin. If the student drops, he/she will owe money back. Dropping some classes may result in a reduction in grant money. Dropping all classes will result in having to pay back the refund. Some schools will give you the refund immediately; others wait up to 30 days.</p>
<p>My daughter’s school also credits some FA to her bursar’s account at different times. Her small state grant is always credited about 1 week after most of her other aid. her SMART grant is credited after the 2 week add/drop period. usually the state grant hits before the 1st refund date. The SMART hits after that date so she gets a 2nd refund check for that about 2 weeks after the 1st (they do refund checks every other week at her school). </p>
<p>So there may be something in your aid that is paid out on a different schedule.</p>
<p>Yes, you should definitely contact your school if you can’t find the information on their website or in the award letter they sent you. Based on the amount of your tuition, I’m guessing this might be a SUNY CC. If so, it’s possible that the $375 you received is for books - I know all the CC’s in our area distribute $300-600 in advance of classes to Pell eligible students and then refund other excess aid at some point after classes begin (at our SUNY cc it’s done in two payments after the 5th and 10th week of classes and this info is given in the FAQ section of the financial aid website). You might want to confirm that no fees are going to be tacked onto tuition…that part seems odd. It should come up quickly if you search their website for tuition + fees.</p>