Refunds

Refund Processing

Students with a valid credit balance are eligible to receive a refund.  Refunds can be processed when the following conditions have been met:

  • Classes for the applicable term have begun.
  • Your “Anticipated Aid” has been received and credited to your student account.
  • If the credit balance is the result of an overpayment by check or an online payment, 10 days have passed since receipt of the payment.

If the above conditions have been met, refunds are processed according to the method of payment received by Boston University**

  • Electronic or paper check payments require a 10 day waiting period before being refunded as a check or direct deposit.
  • Credit card payments are credited back to the credit card that was used for payment.
  • If your balance was paid through either Flywire or Convera, the refund will be sent back to the original account from which the funds were transferred
  • If it is determined that your refund must be made co-payable to an outside sponsor, lender or other third party, your refund will be processed as a check to the agency.

**NOTE:  While refunds will generally be processed automatically, students with a valid credit balance may initiate their request by emailing studenta@bu.edu.  Email requests should include your name, BU ID number, and requested refund amount.  In addition, you should ensure your Student Choice Refund profile has been updated accordingly, as indicated in the next section.  If you are a financial aid recipient with a valid credit balance, please reach out to your respective financial aid department to initiate your refund request.  Contact information can be found here.  More information on financial aid refunds can be found below.

Electronic Refund Information

Boston University has partnered with Nelnet Campus Commerce as an electronic (ACH) refund provider.  Nelnet’s Student Choice Refunds (SCR) product allows students to store their checking or savings account for ACH refunds.

To create or update your SCR profile, visit MyBU Student  and select “Financials” from the left navigation menu, then select “Student Account Balance” and “Nelnet Payment and Refunds.”   You will then be in Nelnet’s QuikPAY environment.  Select “Manage Refunds” to continue into Nelnet’s SCR portal.  If you are accessing the portal for the first time, you will be immediately displayed the SCR enrollment screen.  On the first page, you may choose to add a secondary email address, to which all SCR related emails will be sent.  Then, on the next page you will enter your bank account information.  This information will be used for all future electronic refund requests. After initially storing your bank account details, you may edit the information at any time by visiting the “Manage Refunds” link in Nelnet’s QuikPAY environment.

Financial Aid Recipients:

If the credit on a student account is the result of pending financial aid items, it means that Boston University has not received the funds. Students with pending financial aid may not have a refund issued until the awards have posted to your student account.

It is important to note that refunds of financial aid items will not be processed until the first day of the semester. You will need to make plans for any costs or expenses you have before the start of the semester.

Federal (Title IV) Refunds

Federal Title IV funds may include:

  • Federal Pell Grant
  • Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant(SEOG)
  • Federal PLUS Loan
  • Federal Graduate PLUS Loan
  • Federal TEACH Grant
  • Federal Direct Subsidized Loan and Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans.

In compliance with federal regulations, automatic refunds will be processed for all Federal Financial Aid recipients whose total federal funds exceed allowable semester expenses, unless the student or parent borrower (for PLUS loans) authorizes the University to retain the funds to cover other expenses. Allowable expenses include, and are limited to, tuition, fees, and contract room and dining plan.

Title IV refunds will be issued in one of the following ways:

  • Electronically to the bank stored on your Student Choice Refund (SCR) profile.
  • If you have not created an SCR profile, the Title IV refund will be issued as a check, and mailed to your local address.
  • If PLUS loan funds comprise all or part of the Title IV refund, parents may authorize the student to receive the funds. If the parent has not authorized the student to receive the funds, the Title IV refund will be issued as a check made co-payable to the PLUS loan borrower, and sent to the borrower’s address.

Since federal regulations prohibit the University from using excess federal funds for non-allowable charges (including medical insurance, late fees, Convenience Points, library fines, and prior balances) a federal refund may result in an outstanding balance. Students and parent borrowers (for PLUS loans) can prevent this by completing a Federal Financial Aid Credit Authorization Form and submitting it to Student Accounting Services. Students can file a Federal Financial Aid Credit Authorization through MyBU Student , select “Student Permissions” from the Financials navigation in the left-hand menu, or by downloading the Federal Financial Aid Credit Authorization form.