The Cost of Attendance & Your Financial Aid Disbursement

The Cost of Attendance

The Cost of Attendance (COA) determines your maximum financial aid. Individual aid sources are limited by program maximums. Total aid from combined sources, including Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford and Grad PLUS loans, scholarships, and Federal Work-Study cannot exceed the school-approved Cost of Attendance. The COA determines the maximum you can receive in financial aid.

Your COA and financial aid package is made up of direct costs and indirect costs. Direct costs are those expenses that are billed to your student account, while your indirect costs are expenses that go directly to you, the student in the form of a refund/over-payment check.

Your Financial Aid Disbursement

Once your financial aid has been processed, the disbursement will happen automatically during the second week of each quarter. You will not have to do anything except double-check your Self-Service account that everything was applied correctly. Your direct expenses will be paid automatically, and your indirect expenses will be refunded to the method you elected to receive.

Obtaining Your Financial Aid Refund

The dates on which loan funds will be posted to your student account are listed on the Financial Aid Calendar. It will take at least three to five days for your refund request to be processed after the disbursement date.

Setting Up Direct Deposit

You will need to set up direct deposit through your Student Self-Service account on your Helixnet Apps Portal. Follow the steps outlined below.

Once funding has been credited to your student account and all RFU charges have been paid for the quarter, your account may reflect a negative balance, which simply means you have a credit on your account. Credit balances are intended to cover part or all living expenses for a given quarter. The amount of your credit balance will depend upon the aid amount you accepted.