“I authorize the University to apply financial aid proceeds to all current charges, in addition to tuition and fees, that are incurred for educational related activities, including books, supplies, miscellaneous fees, charges and fines, and other expenses. I understand that if I do not authorize the University to do so, I am responsible for paying the balance on my student account.”
- What happens to the remaining funds after it's been used for those cases?
- How does it work for textbooks? Just automatically whichever classes you're taking?
It depends if the funds are refundable to you if not used. Pell and other federal funds are, so if any left over after tuition and other fees on your student bill are paid, they will be given to you (debit card, check, ACH to your checking account - whatever method your school uses and you select). Some school sponsored book stores allow your books to be charged to your account, and those would be paid from your scholarships before the refund. You can also buy books from other sources, and of course those would not be on your account.
If you don’t sign this, it’s fine, but then you’d have to pay for anything not covered up front - books, room and board, other fees.
@twoinanddone Thanks for the quick resposne, you nailed those two questions for me. But unfortunately,I now have some follow up questions.
So if I do not agree to sign it, would I receive checks in mail instead, which I will have to personally manage it to pay for student bills? And if I do agree, would it mean that they will handle all the checks until very end when it’s been all calcualted throughout the year?
edit: sorry for the very similar questions, but I am too confused and concerned as I already have a family member on loan. I can’t risk any mistake.
If you don’t sign it, you will be expected to pay all bills when they are presented to you, including room and board. Your excess financial aid often isn’t refunded to you for 4-6 weeks after the semester starts, so you will have to come up with the money for non-tuition bill items like room and board.
I don’t see a downside to signing. You won’t get your refund any faster and you may have to pay quite a bit before the term even starts if you only allow the FA to be applied to tuition. How much are you expecting to receive as a refund?
Last year my daughter’s bill was due on Aug 11, and included her tuition, fees, r&b. There were credits on there for all her scholarships, which were slightly more than her tuition so covered some of her r&b. If she didn’t sign the waiver, I would have had to pay the entire r&b amount by Aug 11, and then received a refund of any amounts in excess of tuition sometime in Sept. The school gives credit on the bill for the scholarships even if the school hasn’t received the funds yet from Pell, the state, and sometimes outside scholarships. If you haven’t signed the waiver, then the school expects to be paid when billed. The school will not release any refunds until it receives the funds, and for DD’s state awards, that is after the add/drop date, 4-6 weeks into the semester.