Receive aid
Financial aid awards are not disbursed through your personal bank account.
Generally, all OSU scholarships, grants and loans are credited (disbursed) to your university account with the OSU Bursar’s Office. You'll be able to see your aid in your OSU Bursar account beginning the first week of classes.
Things that can prevent you from getting your award
Your eligibility for aid is based on your educational costs, your enrollment plans, your financial need, and the availability of funds at the time of your award. If any of these factors change after your original award has been made and/or disbursed, it may cause an adjustment to your eligibility and/or mean you'll need to repay some or all federal, state, university, and/or private disbursements that you are no longer eligible to receive.
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Failure to attend class throughout the semester
If you enroll for classes and you do not withdraw, yet you fail to attend class throughout the semester, you may be required to return funds to the OSU Bursar's Office. Your financial aid eligibility will be recalculated based on the last date of attendance as reported by the instructor(s). Any aid based on classes for which attendance cannot be determined will be returned to the aid programs. You will be required to repay all aid returned.
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Not meeting multi-year scholarship requirements
You may have to complete a specific number of hours and attain a specific GPA each academic year to retain the scholarship. If you are unsure of the requirements, review your scholarship award information and acceptance form or contact the department or agency who granted you the award.
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Not meeting graduate student tuition waiver requirements
Check with your academic department to determine the enrollment requirements to receive a graduate scholarship/tuition waiver.
Take action now if any of these apply to you
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Did you receive any non-OSU scholarships or awards?
In general, students cannot receive more financial assistance than their cost of attendance. You may have received awards from private companies, agencies, or other organizations outside the OSU Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid. See how to report that information over at Adjustments to Financial Aid.
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Is this your first semester receiving a subsidized or unsubsidized loan at OSU?
You'll need to electronically ’sign’ a master promissory note and complete loan entrance counseling before the first disbursement of your loan. Continuing borrowers who have already been awarded and have accepted their loan(s) for the year do not have to complete these requirements again.
- Go to studentaid.gov and follow the directions to electronically sign your Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loan Master Promissory Note. You'll need the FSA-ID you received when you filed the FAFSA.
- Complete the Entrance Counseling requirement on the web at studentaid.gov.
Once you complete both steps, OSU will be notified automatically (you don’t need to bring anything back to us); however, please allow 2-3 business days for us to receive the information.
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Did you receive a Federal Work-Study (FWS) award?
If you were offered Federal Work-Study funding, you can receive money from the Federal Work-Study Program as wages in exchange for hours worked.
If you received and accepted an offer of Federal Work-Study, the next step is finding a job. To view the available positions (both on and off campus), log on to the OSU Career Services Hire OSU Grads website and search for Federal Work-Study positions.
The details of how you'll receive payment are outlined when you complete payroll signup for your job. Most FWS recipients are paid every two weeks, though some graduate positions are paid on a monthly basis. -
Are you eligible for a refund from receiving excess aid?
In rare cases, the amount of aid you were awarded might exceed the actual cost you owe for tuition and fees for the semester, resulting in a credit on your OSU account. If this happens, the Bursar's Office will process any refund that may be due to you as a direct deposit to your bank or as a check that's mailed to you, once any outstanding charges on your OSU account have been paid. If you have questions about when or how remaining financial aid will be sent to you, contact the Bursar’s Office.
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How to get your refund
New students (and their parents, if using the Parent PLUS Loan) should review and answer the two "Title IV Fund Authorization" questions on the Student Portal as quickly as possible, as the answers can affect your refund.
Looking ahead to next year
If you have not already completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
and plan to do so for the upcoming year, we encourage you to do so now (after October
1). We continue processing applications all year; however, if you haven't completed
the process by July 1, you are in danger of not getting your financial aid by the
time your first bill is due in September.
If you have any additional questions about disbursement of your financial aid after checking your status online, please visit with one of our counselors or email us at finaid@okstate.edu.