{"id":24703,"date":"2017-09-15T13:18:25","date_gmt":"2017-09-15T17:18:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/?page_id=24703"},"modified":"2026-10-22T12:03:27","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T16:03:27","slug":"student-account-balances-refunds","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/admissions\/phd-mfa\/fellowship-aid\/frequently-asked-questions\/student-account-balances-refunds\/","title":{"rendered":"PhD & MFA: Student Account"},"content":{"rendered":"

Attention<\/span>: Some of the MyBU Student screens and online forms may be unavailable on smart phones.\u00a0 We highly recommend using a non-mobile device to access websites.\u00a0 If you encounter any issues with your web browser, please try using a different web browser.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Please note<\/span>:<\/p>\n

Our\u00a0 GRS financial aid office assists students seeking financial aid<\/strong> and we process financial aid awards.\u00a0 We process scholarships that credit to a student’s account to offset some<\/strong> of these charges<\/strong> (ex: insurance, for qualifying students) but we cannot remove<\/strong> charges from your student account.\u00a0 For questions regarding the nature of charges on your student account<\/strong>, please contact the\u00a0 University’s Student Financials office (formerly known as Student Accounting Services) at studenta@bu.edu<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is the Student Account?<\/h4>
<\/p>\n

Your Student Account is a portal that shows an official ledger of your charges (tuition, fees, housing, meal plans, etc.) and credits (scholarships, non-service awards, loans, and other types of financial aid).\u00a0 The portal is\u00a0maintained by the University’s Student Financials Office (formerly known as Student Accounting Services).\u00a0 Please refer to the Student Account<\/strong><\/a> resource page for details.<\/p>\n

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I am a fully funded GRS PhD or MFA student and I received a bill.<\/h4>
<\/p>\n

The University’s Student Financials Office (formerly known as Student Accounting Services, SAS) will periodically send out payment reminders to students who have a balance on their account.\u00a0 This usually happens at the end of June<\/strong> for the upcoming fall semester and end of October<\/strong> for the spring semester.\u00a0 These emails are automated and the deadlines do not align with the required time needed by your school’s financial aid office to process your financial aid.<\/p>\n

Please visit your MyBU Student<\/strong><\/a> > Financials > Student Account <\/strong>page and click on Export Posted Details to see your account statement.\u00a0 Some charges, such as Convenience Points<\/strong>, the Sports Pass<\/strong><\/a>, 1042-S Withholdings<\/strong><\/a>, MBTA Passes<\/strong>, Late Fees<\/strong>, and Health Services Charges<\/strong>, are never covered by any fellowship. Please make arrangements to pay the balance by the payment deadline<\/strong><\/a> for the semester.<\/p>\n

Regarding tuition scholarships specifically:<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you qualify for a tuition scholarship (please refer to our Tuition Scholarship FAQs<\/strong><\/a><\/strong> for details) you should see your award credit to your student account by the start of the semester<\/strong>.\u00a0 As long as you do qualify for the scholarship, you may disregard these specific charges on your student account and emails from the Student Financials Office.<\/p>\n

Regarding insurance scholarships specifically:<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you qualify for an insurance credit (please refer to our Student Health Insurance Plan FAQs<\/a><\/strong> for details) you should see your award credit to your student account by the start of the semester<\/strong>.\u00a0 As long as you do qualify for the scholarship or credit, you may disregard these specific charges on your student account and emails from the Student Financials Office.\u00a0 While the full cost of the health insurance plan appears in the Fall semester, eligibility for a medical insurance credit is determined on a semesterly basis (it is tied to stipend earnings) and the credit may be split, with half of the credit disbursing at the beginning of the fall semester and the other half at the beginning of the spring semester.\u00a0 If you qualify for a medical insurance credit in the Spring semester, you do not need to pay the remaining balance of the basic premium upfront. \u00a0However, you do need to pay all other outstanding charges that are your responsibility.<\/p>\n

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How do I make a payment?<\/h4>
<\/p>\n

Please refer to the Boston University’s Student Financials Payment Options<\/strong> <\/a>website.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

I was awarded a scholarship and paid all other outstanding charges, so why do I still see a balance?<\/h4>
<\/p>\n

You may have added a class after our office awarded your scholarship.\u00a0 If you are a PhD or MFA student with a full fellowship and you recently added or dropped a course, your scholarship may need to be updated. GRS generally applies the same amount of scholarship to the fall and spring semesters assuming the student will continue to enroll in the same number of credits in both semesters.\u00a0 Once the initial scholarship has been applied, we wait until the end of the semester\u2019s add\/drop period<\/strong><\/a> (mid-October\/late February) to manually reconcile everyone\u2019s registration and scholarship. The majority of our PhD & MFA students continuously add and drop classes over a six-month period which is the reason why we wait until the end of the add\/drop period before we start to manually reconciling scholarships. Please feel free to contact GRS Financial Aid team<\/span> at grsaid@bu.edu<\/strong><\/a> to request an immediate adjustment of your scholarship once you have finalized<\/strong> your course selection for the semester; otherwise, we will adjust it in late October\/early March. Please include your BU ID<\/strong> when emailing our office.<\/p>\n

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Do you offer a payment plan?<\/h4>
<\/p>\n

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GRS) does not offer a payment plan.\u00a0 The University offers a Pre-Payment Plan<\/strong><\/a> that allows you to break down your expenses for each semester into five monthly installments, rather than a lump sum payment.\u00a0 The Fall semester plan runs from the preceding May through September, the Spring semester plan runs from the preceding October through February.\u00a0 For more information about the payment plan, please visit the Student Financials Office Payment Plan FAQs<\/a><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

I paid for my tuition and fees and then received a scholarship. How can I get this money returned to me?<\/h4>
<\/p>\n

If you have a valid credit on your account you can request an electronic refund to Student Financials<\/strong> office via the Graduate Student Refund Request Form<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 The Student Financials<\/strong> office can be reached at studenta@bu.edu<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

I borrowed a loan to cover my outstanding charges and received a \u201cTitle IV\u201d refund that has left a balance on my student account. Why did I receive this refund?<\/h4>
<\/p>\n

Federal regulations mandate that the University is permitted use federal loan funds to cover only certain charges (tuition and mandatory fees) and the remainder is then refunded to you.\u00a0 Other charges, such as medical insurance, convenience points, and sports passes, cannot be deducted unless you authorize it.\u00a0 You can authorize the use of federal loans to cover charges such as medical insurance by filing a Federal Financial Aid Credit Authorization<\/strong><\/a> through\u00a0MyBU Student<\/strong><\/a> (select \u201cStudent Permissions\u201d from the Financials navigation in the left-hand menu).\u00a0 Please visit the Student Financials<\/a><\/strong> office page for more information on refunds.\u00a0 The Student Financials<\/strong> office can be reached at studenta@bu.edu<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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