Financial aid can help cover charges on your Northwestern student account, including tuition, fees, housing, and meal plans. You can view your account balance and charges in CAESAR.
Most financial aid is automatically applied to your student account. In most cases, you do not need to take any additional action for your aid to be credited to your bill, as long as you have completed the requirements needed to receive your aid.
Other credits and payments, such as tuition deposits, housing deposits, and personal payments, also reduce your balance
Check your account:
You can monitor charges, financial aid credits, payments, and any remaining balance through your student account in CAESAR.
Aid that appears on your Student Bill on CAESAR
Most financial aid is disbursed directly to your student account in order to cover your charges.
Federal student loans and federal grants are disbursed directly to your student account and they are automatically applied to certain charges on your account. These include charges for tuition, allowable fees, and room and board.
Other charges on your student account, which can include library fines, parking fines, room damage charges, and health service fees, may be covered by Federal Title IV financial aid if you authorize the University to use this aid to pay for all charges billed to your account. You may also limit your Title IV payments to tuition, allowable fees, and room and board charges via CAESAR when you respond to your financial aid offer. You can change this authorization at any time by notifying the Office of Student Finance.
If you do not see federal student aid, such as a grant Parent PLUS loan, that you expect to see on your student bill, please email our office so we can research your account. Federal work-study funds will not appear as a credit for your student bill; please read the section below to learn more about how students earn federal work-study funds.
All institutional scholarship and grant aid from Northwestern is disbursed directly to your student account.
Grants, scholarships or other educational aid provided by your state. If you do not see aid there you expect to see, reach out to our office to provide information about the outside grants.
Private student loans that are certified by our office with your lender are always disbursed directly to your student account.
Loan funds sent by check that require endorsement and are applied to your student account.
Payments Made Directly to Your Personal Bank Account
Federal Work-Study earnings are not applied to your student account balance. Instead, you are paid directly for the hours you work.
All work-study paychecks must be deposited into a personal bank account through direct deposit. You can set up direct deposit through the Faculty and Staff Information System (FASIS).
Most financial aid is applied directly to your student account to cover tuition and other charges. However, if your aid and other credits exceed your charges, you may have a credit balance and be eligible for a refund.
Many students use refund funds to help pay for living expenses, such as housing, food, books, and transportation.
Who receives refunds automatically?
The following students automatically receive refunds and only need to contact Student Finance if they do not want a refund:
Kellogg students
Law School students
Medill graduate students
All other students must request a refund each term.
Financial aid may be listed on your student account as "anticipated aid" until the beginning of the term and/or until the funds are actually received. If the quarter has started and you still have anticipated aid that has not disbursed to your account, make sure you have completed all of your requirements so your aid can be processed:
Accept your loan: Make sure you have accepted your loan in CAESAR > Student Homepage > Financial Aid > Accept/Decline Financial Aid. Select the appropriate year, and accept the loan(s) you wish to borrow.
Complete application/loan requirements: Check your CAESAR To-Do List for outstanding loan or application requirements, and complete any missing items as soon as possible. Common outstanding items include entrance counseling or the Master Promissory Note for federal loans. If you believe you have completed the requirements, but your CAESAR checklist is not updated, please contact our office so we can verify or troubleshoot.
Anticipated loan credits will be removed from your account if you do not complete all necessary requirements, and this may result in a balance due to the University. Once you accept your loan(s) and complete all of your requirements, the funds should disburse within 5-7 business days. If you have accepted your loan and completed all of your requirements but your loan is still not disbursing, please call our office to speak with a financial aid counselor.
If your outside scholarship is still listed as "anticipated" after the start of the term, it is likely that your scholarship check has not yet been received. Contact your scholarship provider and request that they send your check to our office, Attn: Scholarship Coordinator.
If you have other aid still listed as "anticipated" after the start of the term, check your To Do list on CAESAR for outstanding requirements. If there are none listed, contact our office to speak with a financial aid counselor.
Funding Advances
If all of your aid/loan requirements are complete but your aid refund is not available through CAESAR at the beginning of the quarter, you may be eligible to request a partial financial aid refund, called a "funding advance." You may request an advance in person at the financial aid office for up to $1,000 via direct deposit (1-2 business days). Advances may be issued up to a maximum of $1,000 per month, as long as the credit is available in your account.
Advances cannot be issued against outside scholarships, athletic scholarships, merit scholarships, or work-study earnings.
Short-Term Loans
Students may be eligible to borrow a short-term, interest-free loan from Northwestern to help with unanticipated expenses that are not covered by financial aid. If you are in need of this resource, you must meet in person with a financial aid counselor to determine how best to proceed regarding your specific circumstances and expenses. Alternative options or accommodations may be available depending on the situation.
You may be eligible to borrow a maximum of $500 in a quarter, and the loan must be repaid to the University by the end of the quarter in which it is borrowed. No loan interest or fees are charged for short-term loans; however, failure to repay your short-term loan on time may result in late payment fees and/or registration holds.
Short-term loans may only be made during periods of enrollment, and are not available during reading week, finals week, or breaks between quarters. Be sure to bring your valid Wildcard ID to the financial office when requesting a short-term loan. Same-day processing is available if the request is approved and received by Depository Services before 4pm, Monday through Friday.
If the Financial Aid on the Bill Doesn’t Appear Correct...
Please reach out via email to undergradaid@u.northwestern.edu so we can help guide your next steps. We may be able to help you submit information regarding private loans, outside scholarships, or other sources of financial aid. If the amount of financial aid doesn't appear correct, we may be able to clarify or troubleshoot if there is an error.
If You Have Questions About Your Bill's Charges
If, on the other hand, you have questions about the charges on the bill (tuition, fees, health insurance, etc.), refer to the specific department for contact information on your paper invoice, or contact the Student Finance office for assistance.