Financial Aid is awarded for the year but is disbursed (released to the Student Account) and applied on a per term basis. Aid for one term can only be applied to balances due for that term. Example: Fall Semester aid cannot be used to cover a past due balance from the previous year or held on the Student Account and applied to spring.
Cal Poly Charges Tuition-Registration one term at a time as a student becomes enrolled in classes for that semester. On Campus Housing and Dining charges are usually posted for one term at a time, and then split into monthly due dates and amounts automatically.
When thinking about Financial Aid at Cal Poly, it is important to understand three key concepts - Deferral, Disbursement and Refunding.
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Deferral
The purpose of financial aid is to help you fund your education costs and pay balances each semester in a timely manner.
Delays in the disbursement of financial aid can result in aid being released AFTER the due date.
If you have Financial Aid pending, Cal Poly knows your aid will be disbursed, so we grant you an extension of the grace period for payment for the item type(s) that will be touched by that pending aid.
Deferral is that extension of the grace period for payment from the system wide due date (visible to the student through their "Money Matters" tab, to supporters through "Share My Information" reports and through online payment portals under "Activity Details") until the day after all of your aid for the term has disbursed.
The "Deferred by Financial Aid" indicator appears in the Money Matters tab, Account Balance Summary and most Share My Information reports next to any charge type that has been granted the extension. Note: the "Deferred by Financial Aid" indicator is not currently viewable in the online payment portals.
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Disbursement
Disbursement takes place when the Financial Aid Office sends your aid for the semester to Student Accounts so that we can apply that award towards balances that are financial-aid-eligible.
Disbursement is the defining line between our two offices. Any questions about aid prior to Disbursement should be directed to the Financial Aid Office. Questions regarding what happens AFTER Disbursement should be directed to Student Accounts.
The Application of Financial Aid is handled by the Student Accounts Office. Aid is applied to unpaid financial-aid-eligible balances for that term (only), first to Registration-Tuition, then to Housing and finally to Dining.
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Remaining Balance Refunding
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Once your Financial Aid Award has been Offered and Accepted, and once Registration-Tuition for the semester has posted each term, the process will play out as listed above.
