How Financial Aid is Disbursed (Paid)

Paying Your Aid For Fall 2023

With the exception of Federal Work-Study funds which are earned over the course of the semester, financial aid is disbursed (paid) directly to student accounts in two installments prior to the start of each semester.

On July 11th, the Student Accounts Office sent the first billing statements for the fall 2023 semester.  If your financial aid award has been finalized and you are packaged with a Scripps College Grant or Scholarship, we will automatically attempt disburse your Scripps College Grants and/or Scripps College Scholarships to your student account.  In order to credit your Scripps College Grants and Scholarships to your student account, you must have already completed and submitted all required documents like the Scripps Grant Recipient Form. When you receive your bill for fall 2023, you should see these awards as credits on your student account.

For the fall 2023 semester, the scheduled disbursement date for federal and state aid is Monday, August 21, 2023.

These funds should credit to your student account on that day.

  • Federal Pell Grant,
  • Federal SEOG Grant,
  • Cal Grant A or B, or
  • Federal Direct Loans (Subsidized, Unsubsidized or Parent PLUS Loans)

Because we cannot disburse federal and state aid until August 21st, the sum of those accepted awards will display as “Expected Aid/Loans” in the Calculation of Amount Due section on the bottom of your first bill.

What You Should Do

Check Your Documents:  To ensure that all of your aid credits to you student account on time, visit your My Financial Aid Portal and click on the Documents & Messages page in the menu. Please make sure that you have submitted all required documents.

First-time borrowers of Federal Direct Loans must complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN) and Direct Loan Entrance Counseling before we can disburse your loan.  If you have not already done so, you can complete both of these items by logging into studentaid.gov, using your FSA ID and password. If you are borrowing a Scripps College Loan, don’t forget to submit the required paperwork directly to our office.

Accept Your Aid:  Also, while in your My Financial Aid Portal, click on the Accept/Decline Financial Aid page in the menu to accept or decline your aid. If you have declined an award, we will not attempt to disburse it to your account. If you wish to borrow a loan for an amount less than the amount included in your package, you can specify the amount you wish to borrow there.

What You Should Know

Book Stipend checks are generally issued two weeks before the start of class each semester and placed in students campus mailboxes.  If you are awarded a Book Stipend as part of your financial aid award and you are participating in a SAGE program, your Book Stipend check will be mailed to your home address.

Federal Work-Study funds will not be appear on your student account and students should not anticipate using work-study funds to pay their tuition bill.  Work-study funds must be earned over the course of each semester. You are only paid for the hours you work. Scripps’ Career Planning and Resources provides a centralized online database called Handshake to post all on- and off-campus jobs including work-study, non-work-study, and internship positions. This system is shared across the 7Cs, so you can find and apply for campus work across the Consortium. You are not required to earn the amount of your award and there is no penalty if you earn less. These funds are generally used to pay for personal expenses during the course of the academic year.

E-Refunds or Check Refunds of Credit Balances

If the total amount of financial aid exceeds the charges on your student account, you may enroll in the e-refund via the Student Accounts Office CASHNet website.  E-refunds and check refunds of credit balances are available on or after the first day of class each semester.  Funds transferred to your bank account via the e-refund process are generally available in 1-2 business days. Check refunds generally take 7-10 business days.  If you would like to request an E-Refund or a check refund of any credit balance on your student account you may complete and submit Refund of Credit Balance Form online.