The University Student Financial Assistance office begins to disburse loans, institutional aid, and Maryland legislative scholarships to student accounts approximately ten days before classes begin for students who have completed the requirements (except for work-study, which is paid biweekly). After the term has already started, disbursements occur nightly to the student accounts.

Federal Pell Grant and the Howard P. Rawlings Educational Awards are credited to student accounts after the freeze date. The freeze date is the date that registration is locked/frozen to determine the amount of the Federal Pell Grant and other grants to disburse. 

Private scholarships and any other awards you may be receiving from independent sources will be credited to your account upon receipt of these funds by the Student Accounts Office.

If you have financial aid funds that exceed the charges on your student account at the time of disbursement, you will receive a refund, which may be used to pay other educationally related expenses. The refunds are processed by the Student Accounts Office. Visit https://www.umaryland.edu/financialservices/student-accounting/disbursements-and-refunds/ for more information.

Financial aid previously disbursed may be adjusted due to changes in the student’s enrollment load, residency reclassification, or a receipt of additional funding.

Adjustments to Initial Award Package

Adjustments to the initial award package may be necessary if additional information is received that is different from the assumptions used to determine the original package. If you are receiving additional awards that are not included in your financial aid package, you must notify our office. Awards that may affect your eligibility include, but are not limited to, state scholarships, private scholarships, tuition waivers, and assistantships.

Please note that any changes to the FAFSA data may result in an adjustment to your financial aid package, including, but not limited to:

• Review of your FAFSA due to verification.
• Enrollment less than full-time (12 credits undergraduate/9 credits graduate). We recommend that you contact our office to discuss how part-time enrollment may impact your award(s).
• Please note students must be enrolled in at least six credits to receive a Federal Direct, Parent PLUS, or Graduate PLUS Loans.
• Corrections made by staff due to conflicting university data.
• Withdrawal from the university.

You will receive an electronic notification each time your award package has been adjusted.

Note: Award disbursement and student account summary information is available on SURFS.

Refunds

Students who drop credits, who are reclassified as Maryland residents for tuition purposes, or who officially withdraw from the University may be entitled to a refund of tuition and fees for the semester. The refund schedule is published by the Registrar's Office. If financial aid has been credited or otherwise disbursed to a student who is subsequently due a refund, part or all of the refunds may be reclaimed and redeposited in the appropriate aid account. The refund policy is published in each school catalog.

Withdrawals

Students who withdraw from the college before 60 percent of the semester has been completed will have their financial aid recalculated based on the period of time in attendance for the term. Federal regulations require that a percentage of federal Title IV financial aid funds be returned as repayment for non-completion of the semester. The Student Accounts office calculates the amount of funds to be returned based on the Department of Education’s repayment formula. Copy of the Title IV Refund/Repayment formula calculation is available on the financial aid website.