Disbursement of Aid

After you submit all required documents and your financial aid package is finalized, your funds will be disbursed to your student account as follows:

  • Federal and State Aid (such as, Pell Grant, TEG, SEOG and Federal Direct Loans) will appear as anticipated aid on your bill and will post to your student account 10 days prior to the first day of class for the term.
  • SMU Academic Scholarships and SMU Grants will appear as a credit on your student account.
  • Private or Alternative Loans are applied as pending aid if the loan has been approved. Funds may be released 10 days prior to the start of classes. The private lender may take 3-4 weeks to disburse the funds to SMU after the loan has been approved and SMU has submitted the loan certification. Funds cannot be refunded to the students until the lender has disbursed the funds to the University.
  • Federal Work Study does NOT appear on the bill and does not reduce the amount owed. These funds are earned by the student if he/she participates in the work study program. For more information on Federal Work-Study, go to the Financial Aid Student Employment page or you can go to the menu bar at the top of this page and click on "Types of Aid" and then "Student Employment".