Financial Aid Disbursement
What offices help create your Direct Deposit or Refund Check?
The Financial Aid & Scholarships Office transmits (disburses) your financial aid awards electronically to the Cashiering & Student Accounts Office several times per week. When this transfer occurs, your financial aid will credit to your UNLV billing statement.
The Financial Aid & Scholarships Office does not create your physical direct deposit or paper refund check. The Cashiering and Student Accounts Office is responsible for this transaction.
Even though the Financial Aid & Scholarships Office disburses financial aid several times per week to the Cashiering & Student Accounts Office, electronic direct deposit refunds or paper refund checks occur once per week.
To have your financial aid pay or get a Direct Deposit or Paper Refund Check
You must:
- Have the correct number of credit hours. If you are enrolled in a different number of credits from what you stated within your financial aid online award activation, your financial aid will not pay. If you need to register for more credits, please do so. If you cannot, then you will need to contact Financial Aid & Scholarships to report a change in your enrollment (PDF).
- Activate your financial aid awards (PDF) as instructed in your mailed financial aid award notification.
- Maintain satisfactory academic progress to keep your financial aid eligibility.
- Check your admission status. Non-admitted/non-degree-seeking students cannot receive federal, state, and institutional aid and most scholarships.
- Make sure that the residency status we awarded you with, Nevada, Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE), Good Neighbor, or Out-of-State, is correct. If your award details show a different residency status, you will need to contact our office.
- Have completed Entrance Loan Counseling and completed the electronic Master Promissory Note (MPN) if you are a first-time subsidized or unsubsidized loan borrower.
- Be a full-time student and have completed the Millennium Acknowledgement form. See avoid Millennium Scholarship disbursement delays.
- Make sure you have no additional outstanding forms you were required to complete. Some students are selected for a process called "verification" and must submit IRS tax information and other supporting documents.
Electronic Direct Deposit Refund
Electronic Direct Deposit occurs once per week. Direct Deposit is the fastest way to receive a financial aid refund when your financial aid exceeds the amount owed on your Cashiering and Student Accounts billing statement.
If a student had their financial aid disbursement occur before Tuesday, most students will receive their electronic direct deposit refund at their bank either Friday or Saturday of the same week. If the financial aid disbursement occurred after Tuesday, the direct deposit will occur the following Friday or Saturday.
Sign up today (PDF).
Paper Refund Checks
Paper refund checks are created once per week. A paper refund check is issued when your financial aid exceeds the amount owed on your Cashiering and Student Accounts billing statement.
If a student had their financial aid disbursement occur before Tuesday, most students will have their refund check mailed by the following Monday. If the financial aid disbursement occurred after Tuesday, the paper refund check may take up to two weeks to be processed and mailed to you.
Paper refund checks are mailed to the address you have on file with UNLV the first day of classes. Direct deposits (PDF) are more timely and students are encouraged to sign up.
Check Your Billing Statement
Through online registration
Under your Award Details the term "disbursed" will appear next to each award that has been paid out to your UNLV fee account. Please note that it may take 24 hours for the disbursed financial aid to be reflected on your UNLV fee account.
