Student Aid
Paying Your Bill
Information related to paying your Student Account Statement.
Aid Disbursement
After you have completed the steps to finalize your aid and semester classes begin, your financial aid will disburse into your account and be credited towards your tuition bill. Pay special attention to your LionPATH account for any Holds and To Do List items as this may prevent the timely disbursement of your aid.
Monitor your PSU email for messages regarding aid disbursement and refunds.
Disbursement of Federal Direct Loans and the Pell Grant
Per federal regulation, we can begin the disbursement process of federal funds no earlier than 10 days prior to the semester begin date.
You will receive your loan disclosures from your Federal Direct Loan Servicer indicating that the semester begin date will be your actual disbursement date, however, this is only an estimated date of disbursement.
The process to request Federal Direct Loan funds and disburse them into your student bursar account will take approximately 3-5 business days.
Be aware that once the funds disburse, they will no longer show as anticipated aid. But within the same day, you will see the funds posted to your Student Financial Account.
Disbursement of Private Alternative Loans
The disbursement of alternative loans will begin at the same time as the Federal Direct Loans.
Keep in mind that with alternative loans there is a 10-day rescission period where disbursements are held in order for you to change your mind and cancel the loan.
Pay special attention to your loan disclosures to determine the actual disbursement date of your alternative loan funds. Apply early to prevent any delays. We cannot move the disbursement date of your loan.
Disbursement of other aid sources
Other aid sources such as state grants and outside scholarships will disburse into your bursar account when the funding has been received by Penn State. Please check with the relevant outside agency to determine an estimated disbursement date of your funds.
If you still owe on your bill
It is best not to wait until the Federal loans disburse to make payment arrangements for the remaining balance on your bill as this may result in a late fee. Instead, take the full balance owed minus the net amount of your expected financial aid and pay the remainder before the due date. Your Account Statement will not update until a new one is generated on the first of the next month.