Anticipated Aid
If you are determined to be eligible for any grant or scholarship funds, those funds will automatically be placed on your student account as estimated financial aid. For applicants who applied by the priority deadline, these funds will be posted as estimated financial aid prior to the payment in full deadline for the term.
Once you have accepted any federal student loans offered to you online, these funds will appear on your student account as estimated financial aid within 24 hours.
You must pay for any tuition or fees not covered by your financial aid by the payment in full deadline each term.
If you register using anticipated financial aid, but are later discovered to be ineligible for that aid, full payment of tuition and fees must be received by the payment in full deadline or within 10 business days of the date of notification, or you may be dropped from your courses.
You may become ineligible for your aid if you:
- Change your enrollment
- Do not meet the satisfactory academic progress standard from one term to the next
- Do not sign promissory notes or complete entrance counseling (if required)
- Receive federal aid at another institution during the same or overlapping enrollment period
How Aid is Disbursed
Financial aid funds are credited to your account following the course drop deadline for full-tuition refund, after your enrollment is confirmed and any required entrance counseling or promissory notes are completed.
Financial aid in excess of tuition and fees is refunded within 14 business days after the financial aid funds are credited to your student account. The preferred refund method is by direct deposit electronic refunds, which are deposited into your U.S. bank account. You may create your eRefund profile through the Financial Services option in MyDCE. If you do not have an eRefund profile or a U.S. Bank, a paper check made payable to you will be mailed to the address on record with the Registrar’s Office.
Entrance Counseling and Promissory Notes
If your financial aid package includes a Federal Direct Loan, you are required to complete entrance counseling and sign a promissory note online before your federal loans can be disbursed to your student account. The entrance counseling process explains the rights and responsibilities of federal loan borrowers.
If you are a Federal Direct Loan borrower, you will need your FSA ID, issued by the US Department of Education, to complete the entrance counseling and sign an electronic master promissory note at https://studentaid.gov/.
Some Direct PLUS Loan borrowers may need to complete an additional counseling session. These borrowers will be notified by the Department of Education of this requirement.
Exit Counseling
The mandatory exit counseling outlines federal student loan borrowers’ rights and responsibilities and covers repayment options. You must participate in exit counseling before you do any of the following:
- Graduate
- Drop below half-time status
- Withdraw from all your courses
Exit counseling for Federal Direct Loans can be completed online at https://studentaid.gov/. You need your FSA ID to access the federal site.