Office of the Bursar


A Unit of the Corporate Controller's Office

Refund Policy

Withdrawal/Drop Refunds

The tuition bill payment will be refunded in full if you do not register and do not incur charges in University residence halls. If registration has been completed and you subsequently withdraw or drop to part-time, the refund will be made according to Penn State's Tuition Adjustment Schedule. Beginning with the first day of classes, students that drop below full-time or drop below their originally registered credit level may be assessed a tuition penalty. Adjustments for tuition will be determined on the effective date of the drop. Any adjustment of charges will be made according to Penn State's Tuition Adjustment Schedule.

Refund of Excess Financial Aid

Penn State will refund the credit balance which is the result of Federal financial aid in a student's account within TWO weeks of either the date the aid was credited to the student's account or the first day of the semester, whichever is later. For the quickest delivery of this refund, students should sign up for RAPID REFUND by using eLion. Please select "Students" then enter the User ID and Access Account password. Next, from the menu on the left side of the screen, select "Refund Information." Student refunds can be electronically deposited into a bank account by clicking on the "Sign up for Rapid Refund" button and entering your bank account information. Students can also choose to have their refund mailed to a home or local address. Refunds that are delivered via mail will be delayed. For those students who do not indicate a refund preference, refunds will be mailed to the home address at a later time.

PLUS Borrowers

If the parent borrower is due a refund of the PLUS loan that exceeds the student's University charges, the refund may be directly deposited into the parent's bank account. Parents should enter the bank account information on the ACH Authorization Agreement. The ACH Authorization Agreement can be obtained on our Forms page. If the refund should be deposited into the son or daughter's bank account, please enter his or her bank account information on the ACH Authorization Agreement. The completed form should be mailed to the Office of the Bursar, 103 Shields Building, University Park, PA 16802.

Following is information on how the Federal Direct Parent PLUS loan is applied to the student account and how refunds of excess financial aid are handled.

Generally, the PLUS funds are applied to the student's tuition and fees charges first, and then the student's other financial aid funds are applied. Typically, the PLUS funds are used in full, and the student's other financial aid causes the credit amount on the student's account. If there are excess funds, they are therefore refunded to the student directly, either by the Rapid Refund program, which directly deposits the funds into a bank account specified by the student on eLion, or by paper check made out to the student and sent to the student's permanent address.

If a parent is entitled to a refund, he or she can choose to have these monies directly deposited into a checking account. For details, please go to http://www.bursar.psu.edu/forms.cfm. Parents also have the option to enter their student's ACH information so the excess monies are deposited into their student's bank account.

Refund Summary

A refund will be issued to the student if:

  • The student has financial aid that exceeds his or her tuition and fees charges.
  • The parent has submitted an ACH authorization to have his or her refund from the PLUS loan issued to the student.
  • 22-days have passed since a personal check payment has been posted to the student's account.

A refund will be given to the parent if:

  • The amount of the PLUS loan is greater than the student's tuition and fees charges.
  • 22-days have passed since a personal check payment has been posted to the student's account and the amount of the PLUS loan is greater than the semester charges.

Please Note

If you have a credit balance on your Bursar Account, and you have made a credit card payment within the last 45 days, the credit card will be refunded up to the amount of the payment first. Then, any remaining credit balance will be refunded through direct deposit (ACH) or paper check.



This information is available in alternative format upon request.