Disbursements and Refunds

Disbursement Information

Students enrolled in the traditional fall/spring terms will receive half of their funds (minus fees) for fall semester and half for spring semester.     If students are enrolled in only one semester or the loan term is only for one semester there will only be one disbursement.

Bills are  posted on your my.pitt.edu account in mid-July for fall semester and mid-November for spring semester.   For more information on billing, please contact the Student Payment Center.

If you receive Law School Scholarship or Endowment it will disburse to your account 10 days prior to the start of the term.  

Federal Stafford Loan funds and Federal Graduate Plus Loan funds will disburse by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)directly to the school. EFT funds cannot be credited to your account any earlier than 10 days before the first day of classes. EFT funds will automatically be credited to your student account and you will be notified via email at your @pitt.edu email account by the Student Payment Center. Spring loan disbursements will not be applied any earlier than January 2nd.

If you are a first-time borrower federal loan borrower at Pitt, you will need to complete an Entrance Interview Session before the funds can be received and credited your student account.

Private loan funds will be disbursed either by check or EFT approximately 10 days before the first day of classes. If you receive your private loan funds by EFT they will automatically be credited to your account. If you receive these funds by check and if the check is made co-payable to you and the school, you will need to go to the Student Payment Center to endorse the check before it can be credited to your account.

Refund Information

Many students receive financial aid that exceeds the amount of the charges on their student account because financial aid is awarded to also help pay for expenses that are not billed by the University such as books, supplies and living expenses.    After all of the charges on your student account are paid, you may have a credit balance that will be refunded to you.   All refunds are processed by the Student Payment Center and made payable to the student.    

  • Amounts received in excess of your charges will be refunded to you automatically, unless restrictions require that excess amounts be returned to the source.
  • Refunds cannot be processed until funds are received and posted to your student account.
  • In accordance with federal regulations, the University cannot begin processing refunds until ten days before the official starting date of the term.
  • We cannot issue a refund related to Stafford and other guaranteed student loans until the loan funds have been actually posted to your account and you have a credit balance as a result.   Please note that Anticipated Aid is not yet posted to your account and cannot, therefore, be refunded.
  • If you have registered for Direct Deposit in PittPAY, your refund will be deposited directly into your bank account two to three business days after the date of the refund transaction in PittPAY under Transaction History. The funds will be immediately available for you to use once they are deposited into your account.
    • To sign up for Direct Deposit, log into the student portal at https://my.pitt.edu and search for PittPAY.
    • Select Direct Deposit from the PittPAY menu and follow the instructions on the screens.   Make sure you have a check from your bank account in front of you because you will need the routing and account numbers to complete the process in PittPAY.
  • If you have not registered for Direct Deposit in PittPAY, a refund check will be automatically generated and sent to you at your mailing address from our vendor in Rhode Island.   You should receive the check three to five business days after the date of the refund transaction on your student account.   You will then need to endorse the check and deposit it into your bank account.  Some banks may not make the funds available to you to use for three or more business days, until they are certain the check has cleared through the banking system.
  • Stop Payment Requests: If you do not receive your refund check within a reasonable time period, you should contact the Student Payment Center. They will verify the required information with you. Requests to trace a check through the banking system must be made at the Student Payment Center, in person or in writing. This process takes up to seven (7) working days. If the bank finds that the original refund check has not been cashed, the Student Payment Center can stop payment on the check and issue a new check to you.   You will be charged a fee for this service.   The fee will be waived if you sign up for Direct Deposit.