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Refunds

A refund occurs when credits on the student account are in excess of the current charges. Refunds are generally created by a financial aid disbursement or the result of a cash over-payment.

Students with a federal Title IV aid credit balance:
The excess funds on your student account must be disbursed within 14 days of that credit balance being generated. It is therefore important to set up your refund preferences prior to the term to ensure the funds are sent via your preferred method; otherwise, funds will be sent to you via US mail.

Please note: Non-financial aid refunds will be returned to the original source of payment.

Steps to Request and Receive a Refund

  1. Verify That You Are Eligible for a Refund

    Use CAESAR to check your account (CAESAR > Student Homepage > Account and Payments tile > View My Account). You must have a credit in your Account Balance (not Anticipated Aid) to be eligible for a refund.

  2. Sign up for Direct Deposit

    If you have not yet established direct deposit, follow the instructions for setting up direct deposit through CAESAR. Direct deposit is the quickest way to receive your refund.

  3. Request a Refund

    Use CAESAR (CAESAR > Student Homepage > Account and Payments tile > View My Account > Request a Refund) to specify the refund amount (if different from your balance) and select a refund format (mail or direct deposit); see step-by-step instructions: Request a Refund.

  4. Receive Your Excess Funds

    When your refund has been processed, you will receive a generic e-mail notification at your Northwestern email address. The amount remaining in your account is refunded to you either by check or via direct deposit to your financial institution.

If You Forward Your Refund to a Non-Us Bank

The Automated Clearing House (ACH) payment system rules require that refund requests made via direct deposit to a US bank and then forwarded in their ENTIRETY to a bank in another country must use specific formatting requirements for the transfer which are not currently available. Therefore, if your refund transaction will be forwarded in its entirety to an account outside the US, you will need to select a paper check for your refund as this type of fund transfer cannot be accommodated by the University’s systems.

If your intent is to transfer only a portion of the funds from your direct deposit payment but not the entire amount, you can continue to receive your refunds by direct deposit.