How Aid is Disbursed
Financial Aid is awarded and disbursed on a term-by-term basis. Students should expect one disbursement per enrolled term for each of their financial aid funds awarded for the academic year.
Any charges for which you are billed by Elmhurst University and are responsible for paying (tuition, fees, room and board, etc.) are reflected on your student account, which is accessible via TouchNet on the My Elmhurst Campus Portal. These charges can be paid in multiple ways, including through the use of financial aid.
If you are using financial aid to cover a portion of your balance, anticipated aid credits may be included on your bill. You can use these anticipated aid credits to determine how much you owe the University beyond financial aid. Depending upon your financial aid package, these anticipated aid credits can include:
- Institutional scholarship or grant aid
- Federal or state grant aid
- Federal or private student loan funds you are expected to receive for that term
- Outside scholarship funds that have been received and processed by the Office of Student Financial Services
Anticipated aid credit will no longer appear after Student Financial Services receives the actual funds and/or disburses the financial aid to your account.
After accounting for any credits, your bill will indicate a remaining balance due for the term, and you will need to pay that balance directly to the Office of Student Financial Services. You are responsible for ensuring that full payment or payment plan arrangements are made by the stated due date.
Aid Applied to your Student Account
Most financial aid is disbursed directly to your student account in order to cover your charges, including:
Federal Title IV financial aid is disbursed directly to your student account and is automatically applied to certain charges on your account. These include charges for tuition, allowable fees, and housing and food.
All institutional scholarship and grant aid from Elmhurst University is disbursed directly to your student account.
Elmhurst University financial aid cannot be refunded and cannot exceed tuition charges in combination with other tuition-restricted aid. Elmhurst aid designated for non-tuition costs will apply towards those respective charges.
You are required to bring outside scholarship checks to Student Financial Services so that funds can be disbursed directly to your student account.
State of Illinois financial aid assistance, including the Illinois MAP Grant, is disbursed directly to your student account and is automatically applied to tuition and mandatory fees. Eligibility for the Illinois MAP grant may reduce eligibility for other tuition-based awards.
Private student loans that are certified by our office with your lender are always disbursed directly to your student account.
Private loan funds are typically disbursed at least 10 days after certification.