Financial Aid Refund

Refund Information

• What is a Financial Aid Refund?
  Once your financial aid has been applied to your student account, you may be eligible for a financial aid refund. A financial aid refund is available to you if your financial aid has paid your total USD bill and a credit remains on your account. Estimated financial aid must be posted to the student's account in order for a credit to exist and for a refund to be processed.
• How Do I Receive My Financial Aid Refund?

  Financial aid refunds are sent via direct deposit or paper check. Please allow 2-3 business days for direct deposit to be credited to your personal domestic bank account. Please allow 5-7 business days to receive your paper check to your mailing address on file. 

  To sign up for direct deposit, please log onto the MySanDiego Portal and go to the My Student Account page. Once there ensure you have disabled any pop-up blockers before clicking on My Online Student Account. You will be able to enroll in direct deposit through the Direct Deposit-eRefunds link.

  Keep in mind that any refunds from a Parent PLUS Loan will be mailed to the address indicated on the Parent PLUS Loan application for the parent unless the parent authorized the release of any refunds directly to the student.

• Federal Regulations - Cash Management

  In an effort to protect students and ensure their best interest, the U.S. Department of Education published new cash management regulations (34CFR668.161-167) via the Federal Register on October 30, 2015. The Program Integrity and Improvement rules require the University of San Diego to maintain, account for, and disburse Federal Title IV funds in accordance to these regulations. In addition, refunding credit balances associated with Federal Title IV should always be in the best interest of the student. This information is published to comply with these regulatory reporting requirements.

  On June 5, 2008, USD entered a banking services agreement with U.S. Bank. The agreement, and subsequent amendments, do not include services for handling student related Title IV credit balance refunds. However, since many USD students bank with U.S. Bank, the U.S. Department of Education requires that we publish the contract for public review by September 1, 2016 (See below).  USD and U.S. Bank also have written agreements related to the U.S. Bank ATM and branch office located on campus.  Those agreements are also available for public review (See below).

  Effective September 1, 2017, USD is required to disclose the total consideration, monetary and non-monetary, paid or received by the parties under the contract and update this information within 60 days of the new award year (academic year). In addition, USD is required to disclose contract data, such as number of students with U.S. Bank accounts and the mean and median costs associated with these accounts, within 60 days of the new award year.

  Effective July 1, 2018, USD is required to conduct reasonable due diligence reviews, at least every two years, to ascertain whether the fees imposed under the T2 arrangement are, considered as a whole, consistent with or below prevailing market rates.  Additionally, USD is required to ensure all contracts for the marketing or offering of accounts pursuant to T2 arrangements to the institution’s students make provision for termination of the arrangement by the institution based on complaints received from students or a determination by the institution that the fees assessed under the T2 arrangement are not consistent with or are above prevailing market rates. The university has complied with both of these requirements as of April 30, 2020.

  Students ARE NOT required to have a bank account with U.S. Bank in order to receive their refund via direct deposit. USD encourages students to shop around to find a banking partner that fits their financial situation and needs. A good place to start is checking out Bankrate (http://www.bankrate.com).

  NOTE: All disclosures relating to these new regulations and banking services contract will be made to this webpage.

• US Bank ID Card and Banking Services Agreement

  Please click on the following links for the complete documents:

  • ID Card and Banking Services Agreement
  • On-Site Branch Bank License Agreement
  • ATM Agreement
  • US Bank DOE Data for T2 Schools
  • US Bank Deposit Account Agreement

We understand that you will be facing many expenses when you arrive at USD; therefore, we process refunds as quickly as possible.

Refunds for a semester will be processed automatically when the term begins. Therefore, no refunds will be issued prior to the start of the semester. A refund also cannot be processed until there is a credit balance on the student account. Please note: If all financial aid requirements are met, loans, grants and scholarships begin posting to the student’s account 10 days before the beginning of the start of classes.

Additional Refund Information

• Credit balances resulting from a check payment are refunded 10 business days after payment is received.
• All refunds of check overpayments from personal sources, including payments from a trust up to $5,000 are refunded to the student.
• Payments made from a trust account, resulting in an excess of $5,000 will be returned directly to the trust account.
• If there is an excess distribution of funds from a 529 plan payment it will be refunded to the 529 plan directly.  Please refer to Publication 970 and consult your tax advisor or 529 plan administrator regarding the excess funds and tax implications.