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Refunds

Financial aid refunds are processed as soon as possible for qualifying students after financial aid has been disbursed to the student’s account. It is a federal regulation that financial aid cannot be disbursed until 10 days before the start of the term. Within two to three days after the first disbursement date, accounts with credit balances will be reviewed for financial aid refunds.

Payments made by personal check are held 14 days and ACH (electronic checks) for 10 days to confirm they clear the bank.

It is not necessary to request a student refund. All student refunds, except for Parent Plus loan refunds, are processed automatically after a review for accuracy.

Refund amounts are subject to review.

If you are a financial aid recipient and drop below half time, the account must be reviewed by the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid and the account may be recalculated before the University Cashier’s office issues a refund. This process can take a couple of weeks.

Students are required to sign up for electronic refund in order for the Cashier’s Office to most quickly deliver any credit balances directly to their bank accounts. This can be a US checking account of your choice. If you do not have a US checking account, please email us at cashier@unc.edu for additional options.

To sign up for electronic refund, login to the Student Center through Self Service in ConnectCarolina. In the Student Financials section, click on Pay Bills/Manage Student Finances. Click on Electronic Refunds and then Set Up Account. Pop-up blockers must be disabled to allow the system to display pages. Instructions on how to set up an electronic refund account.

Checking Account Options Available From Wells Fargo

UNC and Wells Fargo have teamed up to offer you optional added banking convenience with your Affinity UNC Debit Card. The custom designed Affinity card is only offered to current students, faculty and staff, by Wells Fargo.

Disclosures, Features, and Fees

Deposit products offered by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Member FDIC.

UNC receives financial support from Wells Fargo for services associated with the Affinity UNC Debit Card to help offset costs.  A separate Affinity UNC Debit Card  account is not required for students, faculty and staff to access other campus services; a standard campus ID card may be utilized

In most cases, credit balances are refunded directly to the student. Please be aware of the following exceptions:

  • Refunds of credit balances caused by parent plus loans exceeding student account charges will be refunded to the parent, unless the parent directs the refund to go to the student on their Plus Loan application.
  • When the credit is due to a potential over-award of financial aid, the credit may be held until the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid has reviewed the account. If financial aid is determined to exceed the federal definition of need, the over-award will be refunded to the appropriate financial aid fund.
  • When the credit is due to a payment that unreasonably exceeds charges, the University may return the funds to the payer.
  • In the case of posting errors, the University will reverse the error.
  • Otherwise, the credit is the property of the student. Students may request that credit balances that arise on their accounts be refunded to them or they may request that a particular credit balance be applied to charges in a future term. Standing requests to hold credit balances indefinitely will not be honored.
On the parent plus loan application the borrower (aka the parent) makes the decision on who should receive the overpayment from that loan.

If the borrower chooses “Me” or leaves the option blank on the Credit Balance Option of the application, the overpayment will either be sent to the parent via Trolley or the student via electronic refund. When the plus refund is ready to be refunded, the parent will receive two emails, which will contain pertinent instructions on what action the parent needs to take to receive the refund. It is important to note that when the parent receives the email directive that they act on it as soon as possible. Under federal regulation we have 14 days to get these funds to the parent so it is very important that the parent respond with their decision on how they would like to proceed with the refund.

To be eligible for a refund of tuition, program fees and fees, students must drop courses or withdraw from the University by the specified dates for each term.

Financial Aid recipients should contact the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid about adjustments needed on the account.

Dropping courses: A drop is withdrawing from a course while remaining registered for other courses in the term. Dropping a course during the drop/add period may result in a reduced tuition charge if the drop reduces total hours to a lower tuition rate tier. The courses must be dropped by the University census date. See the University Registrar’s Calendar. Dropping a course after the last official day to drop a class during the term will not reduce tuition.

Withdrawing: A withdrawal is dropping all your courses after the term has started. If the withdrawal is effective during the withdrawal refund period, tuition and fees will be reduced according to the withdrawal refund schedule.

Students are responsible for all tuition and fees remaining on their account.

There are many banking options in the Chapel Hill area.  When selecting a bank, an accessible location, availability of ATMs (Automated Teller Machines) and bank fees are important considerations.

If you do not have a US bank or cannot get a US bank account, we can send an email from Flywire, our 3rd party secure service for International payments. Simply contact refund@unc.edu with a valid email address and your PID to begin this process.

The Flywire process is not available for the following countries: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria.

Additional Information