Disbursement
What does disbursement mean?
Disbursement means the payment of money. Disbursement is how your financial aid or scholarship award (money) is paid to you.
Enrollment before disbursement
Before you can receive your awarded funds at the beginning of each semester, you must be enrolled in enough units to be eligible. Learn about enrollment requirements and other conditions you must meet before you can receive your financial aid.
How are funds disbursed?
Funds are disbursed to students via Direct Deposit after basic tuition and fees, out-of-state tuition, and on-campus housing and meal plan payments are deducted. Any refund will be on hold while an outstanding balance is on a student's account.
Parent PLUS Loan funds are mailed to the parent borrower or, the parent borrower may authorize any remaining loan funds not needed to pay university charges to be deposited to the student's designated bank account. Learn more about Parent PLUS Loan disbursement.
How much will I receive?
Log into my.SDSU and select the "Financial Account" tile to review your charges. The amount of a financial aid refund will depend on how much you owe and the amount of your financial aid award. Remember that your financial aid will first be used to pay outstanding university charges (tuition and fees and residence hall room and board if you are living in university housing). You will not receive any funds until your university charges are paid in full for the semester.
Receiving your funds
Learn when funds become available to you and how you will know.
Includes information on release of funds for Parent PLUS Loans, Study Abroad and CSU
Visitor Program.
Who disburses funds?
The University Bursar's Office manages the disbursement of all financial aid and scholarship funds.
Be prepared
Remember to bring enough money with you at the beginning of each semester to pay your expenses until financial aid funds are available. Learn how much money to bring!
Track your university housing costs
It is your responsibility to keep track of the amount of financial aid disbursed and applied toward your university housing costs, and to pay remaining costs when due. Each electronic billing statement will have a summary of the housing payments due during the semester.
Where your award money goes
Your financial aid award is first disbursed in accordance to due date. Then, funds are applied in this order:
- First to help pay your basic tuition and fees
- Then to help pay out-of-state tuition, if you are not a California resident
- Then to help pay on-campus housing and meal plan charges
- Remaining funds, if any, are deposited to your designated bank account via direct deposit