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If you have a credit on your account, you may utilize this credit for a future semester or you may request a refund.  Refund requests can be made once a credit is on the account and add/drop period has closed*. Refunds are issued based on the actual credit available in your student account. No refunds are given based on pending financial aid or active payment plans.  Students should have their direct deposit information set up in the Nelnet Student Account Center (this only has to be done once, however, changes can be made at anytime in the Student Account Center).Failure to do this may result in a delay or rejection of your refund request.

*For any exceptions related to available refunds please e-mail requests to StudentAccounts@drew.edu. Restrictions apply, and all exceptions are evaluated on a case by case basis. Feel free to contact us with any additional questions.

Refunds are issued upon request on a weekly basis beginning approximately one week after add/drop closes and funds have been posted to the account. Below is more detailed information regarding our refunding process, however, please feel free to contact us if you have additional questions.

Note: International Payments made on the account will be refunded back via the original payment platform. 

Q&As

HOW WILL I RECEIVE MY REFUND?

Students who have enrolled in a term for the first time at Drew will receive a registration email from drewstudentrefunds@afford.com (ALL enrolled students will receive this email).  Registering for this portal access will allow you to make a selection regarding the receipt of your refund via Direct Deposit to your personal bank account.  You can register and manage your options at drewchoice.afford.com.

REFUND MANAGEMENT PORTAL >

No.  Student refunds are no longer provided by paper check.  Logging into the Refund Portal (drewchoice.afford.com) and selecting the Direct Deposit option will make your funds available to you the quickest.

Student refunds can only be paid to the student.

Settled credit account balance means that there are no more PENDING financial aid items or future credits expected that are creating the credit on the account balance.  No refunds are processed for a credit account balance that is created by pending financial aid (not yet received) or credits created by future payments on an active payment plan (potential credit).

During the add/drop period, students can make changes in their schedule which can also impact your eligibility for the financial aid awards you’ve been given (Scholarship, Grants, Loans).  Once add/drop closes, Financial Aid will conduct a reconciliation of awards during the week following add/drop.  This is when they will make any required changes to your aid awards based on your finalized enrollment.  Financial Aid may have to make changes even after the reconciliation as it depends on outside award sources (Federal/State verification processes), but add/drop closure is the first point at which we can make a reasonable determination of your account credit.

Students who need consideration for an early disbursement of their credit balance to pay for school related expenses outside of their Drew account can submit their request by sending an email to studentaccounts@drew.edu.  Please provide detailed information about those expenses and when they need to be paid.  Each request will be reviewed and every effort will be made to accommodate your request.  It is important to note that if changes occur to your account that create a balance due after an early refund disbursement has been issued, that balance is due immediately.

If/when Title IV Federal Funding is greater than institutional charges, a Title IV credit balance will occur in which the University is obligated to process a refund to the student for these excess funds. Students will be notified via email when this occurs. More information can be found on our Title IV FAQ Summary Sheet

Student Refund Standards

Drew University participates with Nelnet to provide students their credit refunds.  This was done to meet Federal Regulation as it relates to Student Refunding as required by the Federal Department of Education.

Additionally, as required, we are providing a copy of Drew’s Student Refund Contract with Nelnet for you to read.