Receiving Your Aid

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Overview

Your financial aid awards (with the exception of work-study, external scholarships, tuition remissions, and third party contracts) are applied to the charges for a given term that appear on your bill through a process called disbursement (see our Important Dates page for a listing of disbursement dates), provided you are:

  • Awarded financial aid
  • Enrolled
  • Eligible for disbursement

If you apply late for financial aid, your financial aid may be delayed or you may become ineligible for disbursement. Loans may not disburse if additional requirements are needed. See our Getting a Loan page for more information.


Enrollment Requirements and Aid Adjustments

Your Award Notice displays your financial aid eligibility based upon full-time enrollment each term. However, the amount of financial aid that will disburse to your account for a given term will be based on your registered credit hours for that term. For example, if you register half-time, the amount of aid that will disburse to you will be adjusted to match your half-time eligibility. It is important to note that not all financial aid awards are adjusted based on your enrollment status but almost all financial aid awards have a minimum enrollment status requirement in order to disburse.

The following chart illustrates an example of aid adjustments at the undergraduate level for Fall 2023. The amount of your need-based aid awards is determined by your financial need, as determined by the FAFSA. Half-time enrollment, at minimum, is required for federal student and parent loan funds to disburse. Many institutional scholarships require full-time enrollment in order to disburse. Grant and loan amounts listed below are based on a 0 Expected Family Contribution (EFC) for the 2023-24 aid year.

Financial Aid Award* Full-time
(12+ hours)
Three-fourths time
(9 to 11 hours)
Half-time
(6 to 8 hours)
Less than half-time
(1 to 5 hours)
Green & Gold Scholarship $1,000 $0 $0 $0
Wright Start Scholarship $500 $0 $0 $0
Federal Pell Grant $3,698 $2,773 $1,849 $925
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant $400 $300 $200 $100
Federal Direct Subsidized Loan $1,750 $1,750 $1,750 $0
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $0
Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $0

Grant and loan amounts listed below are based on a 5000 Expected Family Contribution (EFC) for the 2023-24 aid year.

Financial Aid Award Full-time
(12+ hours)
Three-fourths time
(9 to 11 hours)
Half-time
(6 to 8 hours)
Less than half-time
(1 to 5 hours)
Federal Pell Grant $1,223 $917 $612 $0
Wright State University Need-Based Grant $550 $412 $275 $137
Federal Direct Subsidized Loan $1,750 $1,750 $1,750 $0
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $0
Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $0

Aid adjustments for gift aid (e.g., Federal Pell Grant, etc.) will adjust as your balance for tuition adjusts due to changes in your registration. For example, dropping a class may result in a reduction of your tuition balance and, conversely, adding a class may result in an increase to your balance for tuition. Each time you change your registration, the amount of financial aid disbursed to you will be evaluated for aid adjustment and the aid disbursed to your account may be increased or decreased accordingly. Your financial aid awards may also be adjusted after your tuition balance is determined if you officially or unofficially withdrawal for the term, receive a refund of institutional charges, or become eligible or ineligible for financial aid.


Fee Payment and Refunds

If you meet all eligibility requirements at the beginning of each term, your accepted financial aid will authorize or memo as credits towards your bill. Once your classes begin, if you continue to meet eligibility requirements, your financial aid will disburse to your student account for the given term and the Office of the Bursar will apply your financial aid as payment towards your fees. Any remaining financial aid awards left on your student account after your bill is paid will be issued to you (or your parent in the case of a Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan) in the form of a refund. All Federal Title IV credit balance refunds will be issued to you within 14 days of the date it was applied to your student account. Refund monies can be directly deposited into a personal bank account. For more information about fee payment, refunds from excess financial aid awards and direct deposit contact RaiderConnect.