Student Financial Services

1. When will I receive an invoice from 9PAY?
2. How do I make my 9PAY payments?
3. We scheduled payments last year; do we need to reschedule my 9PAY payments?
4. Who do I contact if I did not receive my application approval email confirmation?
5. What happens to the $50 Application fee if I decide to cancel?

6. How can I make changes to my 9PAY budget?
7. Do I include work study in my 9PAY budget?
8. How can I confirm the posting of my 9PAY payments by the University? 
9. Is there a way to distinguish who made what payments?
10. How do my 9PAY payments correspond to the term allocations posted to my student’s account?

11. An “Expected 9PAY Funds” amount is posted on the tuition and fees invoice. What does it mean? 
12. I’m on the 9PAY payment plan. Why do I have a balance on my tuition account? 
13. Why is there a “9PAY Plan Adjustment” on my student account / tuition and fees invoice?
14. Why is there a “Transfer Payment to 9PAY” on my student account / tuition and fees invoice?
15. What happens if my payment is late or I failed to make my 9PAY payments?

Initial Setup and Confirmation:
1. When will I receive an invoice from 9PAY?
You will not receive an invoice for 9PAY. The Office of Student Accounts sends an email that confirms approval of your 9PAY application and documents your payment schedule based on the budgeted amount you submitted. Please take a moment to review the email. Your 9PAY payments should be scheduled online as a direct debit from your bank account or you may remit personal checks monthly. 9PAY payments are due on the 1st of each month – starting July 1. If you did not receive an approval email, please contact the Office of Student Accounts.

2. How do I make my 9PAY payments?
Your 9PAY payment options are outlined within your approval email. Also, you may review 9PAY payment options within the “Apply for 9PAY” link using your Guest or student CAESAR system access. Additional information about payment options may be found at  http://www.northwestern.edu/sfs/payments/9PAY/index.html.
 
3. We scheduled payments last year; do we need to reschedule my 9PAY payments?
Yes, you have to schedule your payments every year based on your new application for the new school year. Your budgeted and monthly payment amount may need to be modified due to the change in your student expenses and financial aid for the new academic year.

4. Who do I contact if I did not receive my approval email?
If you did not receive your approval email, please contact the Office of Student Accounts.
We will resend your confirmation email.

5. What happens to the $50 Application fee if I decide to cancel?
The application fee is nonrefundable; your student account will still be charged the application fee if you cancel.

Budget and Payments:
6. How can I make changes to my 9PAY budget?
All 9PAY budget changes will need to be made in writing. Please email us at studentaccounts-ev@northwestern.edu regarding the new budget information. If you are the a Guest, include the student name and ID in the email.

7. Do I include work study in my 9PAY budget?
No, the student will receive a paycheck once they have a work study position on campus. Those funds will go directly to the student and should not be included in your 9PAY budgeted amount.

8. How can I confirm the posting of my 9PAY payments by the University?
Using your Guest or student system access to CAESAR, first locate in CAESAR > View My Account > then click “View 9PAY activity” in the upper left corner. All of the 9PAY payments and related 9PAY activity for your student ID appear in this view.

9. Is there a way to distinguish who made which payments?
A student may have more than one Guest submitting 9PAY payments. Payment identifying information is stored in the transaction history of the corresponding Guest or student. Only the student has the ability to identify the sources of all payments posted on their behalf.

10. How do my 9PAY payments correspond to the term allocations posted to my student’s account?
The 9PAY payments are applied to the undergraduate student accounts as follows:
July 1, August 1, and September 1 payments » fall quarter
October 1, November 1, and December 1 payments » winter quarter
January 1, February 1, and March 1 payments » spring quarter
Many of our graduate and professional program term allocation schedules vary based on the program’s term calendar. However, all payment due dates are the same.

Term Posting and Tuition & Fees Invoice:
11. An “Expected 9PAY Funds” amount is posted on the tuition and fees invoice. What does it mean?
Based on the 9PAY budgeted amount you submitted, this posting represents the calculated allocation for this specific term only. Each term a similar entry will be posted. The sum of your Expected 9PAY Funds postings for all terms should match your annual budgeted amount for this academic year if all of your monthly payments are submitted accordingly.

12. I’m on the 9PAY payment plan. Why do I have a balance on my tuition account?
Once all of the term transactions are posted to the tuition and fees invoice for each term, the invoice may reflect a balance due or a credit balance. The initial budgeted amount on the 9PAY application is normally calculated using the best available information at the time of submission. If the 9PAY monthly payments are submitted according to schedule, the tuition and fees invoice will reflect the overall net impact on the student‘s account. If the invoice has an “Adjusted Balance Due” an additional payment is required.

13. Why is there a “9PAY Plan Adjustment” on my student account / tuition and fees invoice?
A “9PAY Plan Adjustment” may be posted to your student account due to a change in the budgeted amount for the term or academic year. Also, periodic audits are performed on the entire 9PAY installment plan account. If your scheduled monthly payments have not been paid to satisfy the “Expected 9PAY Funds” term posting, your 9PAY account has a shortage of funds received and an adjustment is required.

14. Why is there a “Transfer Payment to 9PAY” on my student account / tuition and fees invoice?
A “Transfer Payment to 9PAY Plan” entry is normally posted to correct a payment posting error or transfer a credit balance from your student account to satisfy all or a portion of a monthly 9PAY installment payment. 

15. What happens if my payment is late or I failed to make my 9PAY payments?
If a scheduled monthly 9PAY installment plan payment is late, your 9PAY account is subject to a $10.00 per month late payment fee. If two or more installment plan payments are not paid, the Office of Student Accounts reserves the right to cancel your 9PAY participation for non-payment. All standard University policies and procedures would apply.