Refunds & Direct Deposit

Student Financial Operations

Refunds may occur when payments or credits exceed the charges they are eligible to pay.
Refunds are processed according to University payment application procedures and the
requirements associated with each payment source.

Refund Basics

Refunds may result from:

Schedule changes
Excess financial aid
Overpayments, including some scholarships
Health insurance waivers

How Refunds Are Determined

Payments are applied to eligible charges according to University payment application priorities and restrictions.

Payment plan payments generally take priority over personal payments, including credit card and check payments.

When multiple payment sources are used, subsequent payments or account adjustments may cause an earlier payment to become eligible for refund. The most recent payment is not necessarily the payment that will be refunded.

*** Certain payments, including financial aid and 529 plan funds, may be restricted to specific charges. As a result, a refund may be issued even when other charges remain outstanding on the student account.

Who Receives the Refund

Refunds are generally issued to the student, with the following exceptions:

Parent PLUS Loans: Refunded to the parent borrower unless a Parent PLUS Loan Release Form is on file.
Credit card payments: Refunded to the original credit card, regardless of who made the payment.

When multiple payment sources are used, the refund may be returned to an earlier payment source rather than to the person who made the most recent payment.

How Refunds Are Issued

Eligible student refunds are processed through Heartland ECSI RefundSelect.

Set up direct deposit:
* Log in to my.SMU
* Select Financials from the left-handed menu * Click MyRefundSMU

Need assistance? See the Direct Deposit Setup Guide on the SMU website.

Refund Timeline & Payment Methods

Method	Processing Time
Direct Deposit	1–2 business days after processing
Paper Check	5–10 business days by USPS mail
Reissue of Paper Check	2-week waiting period

Paper checks are mailed to the home address on file in my.SMU

For more information on Heartland ESCI RefundSelect, visit: RefundSelect Information

Refunds by Payment Type

Payment Method	Refund Process
Personal Payments	Available 2 weeks after payment posts
529 Plans (Flywire)	Refunded to student
International Wires	Refunded to sender, minus $35 fee
Credit Cards	Returned to original card; service fees are nonrefundable

Outstanding Refund Checks

Refund checks that have not been cashed within 90 days will be voided.

The funds will be handled according to the requirements of the original funding source and applicable University procedures.

Depending on the source of the funds, this may include returning them to the appropriate financial aid program or other funding source.

Questions?

For additional information regarding refunds, contact StudentFinancialOps@smu.edu