When your student loan disbursement has been received by Tufts, you will be notified in writing by the Office of Financial Aid (OFA). If all eligibility requirements have been met including entrance interviews, and if the disbursement overpays your student account, the Bursar's Office will automatically generate a refund check. Refund checks are cut twice a week to be available on Wednesdays and Fridays after 2:00.
Refund Check Distribution
All students' refund checks are automatically mailed to SIS Local addresses, except Dental School DMD students, who receive their checks in their campus mailboxes. For this reason, it is important for you to maintain your SIS address records (see Student Address Changes) (also see Stop-payment Fees). If you want to pick up your check at the Bursar's Office, instead of having it mailed, you need to contact us when you receive your disbursement notice.
Distribution Exceptions
In the first week of both the Fall and Spring semesters, the Bursar's Office usually holds refund checks for pick up instead of mailing them out. This is because many students have not yet had an opportunity to change their addresses in SIS and because many students need their checks as quickly as possible. If this temporary procedure of holding checks is followed, you will receive advance notice at your Tufts e-mail address.
Cancellation of Borrowing
If you receive a refund check, but intend, within 14 days, to cancel all or part of your loan disbursement, your check should not be cashed. Instead, you should write VOID on the face of the check and return it to the Health Sciences Bursar's Office. You should then contact the Office of Financial Aid to request that they initiate the return of the funds to your lender.
If, within 120 days, you wish to have the School repay all or any part of an education loan (Stafford, Perkins, Alternative, etc.), after you have deposited or cashed this check, then you will need to first make a payment to your Student Account at the Bursar’s Office to cover the return.
Because there are specific Federal regulations regarding the cancellation of loans, it is helpful to discuss your plans with the OFA in advance. Ideally, decisions on borrowing should be made prior to disbursement.
If you do not intend to cancel your loan, any refund check should be cashed or deposited within thirty days of receipt.
Holding Credit Balances on your Student Account
Some students request that we hold credit balances on their account toward future charges. Such requests must be submitted in writing to the Bursar's Office. No credit balances may be held beyond the end of the academic year, (technically defined as the last day of the loan period).
Other Student Refunds
Though most refunds are done automatically, if you have an overpayment resulting from other than a Federal loan disbursement, such as an Alternative loan or an outside scholarship, you should request a refund from our Office. This may also apply to students using the AMS/TuitionPay Plan and to students on full military scholarships. We can accept your request by phone, e-mail, U.S. mail, or in person. Such requested refunds are generated on the same schedule as above.
Stop-Payments on Student Refund Checks
If your refund check is not received by you within 10-14 days of issuance, you need to contact the Bursar's Office. A stop-payment will be placed and we will reissue the check. Tufts University is charged by our bank for stop-payments. A fee of $25 will be charged to your account if the lost check was the result of an incorrect SIS Local address, or if the check was placed in a Dental School DMD personal mailbox.
