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Disbursements and Refunds

Disbursement is the process of crediting financial aid to your student account at PCC.  Financial aid is first applied to tuition and other charges. Excess funds are delivered to students via direct deposit or an email from Checkbook will be sent with instructions to your PCC email account on how to select a student refund preference. The disbursement date is not the date that funds will arrive at your home or bank account, allow additional time for delivery.

Financial aid can be used only for classes that apply to your program of study. If there is not enough financial aid to cover tuition and other charges, you will need to pay the balance or set up a payment plan for the balance.

Different types of financial aid have different eligibility criteria and disbursement dates. See below.

Disbursement dates

Financial Aid is disbursed to your student account to cover tuition and fees sometime after 7 p.m., generally on the date listed below. 

Review the table to determine your estimated disbursement date. If any of your classes has a different start date than what is listed below, contact the financial aid office for estimated date. 

Try our new Pell Grant Estimator to estimate the amount of your Pell Grant.

SUMMER 2024 Pell Grant Recalculation Date (PRD) is 6/12/2024 at 7pm.

Summer Class Dates

Grant

Scholarship*  

1st Loan
Date

2nd Loan
Date

30-Day Delay Date

5/29/2024-8/8/2024

5/28/2024

5/28/2024

6/12/2024

7/10/2024

6/28/2024

5/29/2024-7/25/2024

5/28/2024

5/28/2024

6/12/2024

7/10/2024

6/28/2024

5/29/2024-7/3/2024

5/28/2024

5/28/2024

6/12/2024 7/10/2024 6/28/2024

6/12/2024-8/8/2024

6/11/2024

6/11/2024

6/12/2024 7/10/2024 6/28/2024

7/5/2024-8/8/2024

7/4/2024

7/4/2024

7/13/2024

7/14/2024

7/13/2024

1st Loan Disbursement Date: First loan disbursement will occur only if you are not a first time borrower, are attending 6 or more credits and have no outstanding requirements (red X icons). Loan disbursements may be delayed if you have outstanding requirements.

30-Day Delay Loan Disbursement Date: First loan disbursement if you are a first time borrower, are attending 6 or more credits and have no outstanding requirements (red X icons). Loan disbursements may be delayed if you have outstanding requirements.

2nd Loan Disbursement Date: Occurs if you are still attending or have completed 6 or more credits in the term and have no outstanding requirements (red X icons).

*Scholarship: Most scholarship disbursements occur 1 calendar day prior to the start of your first class with the exception of the following scholarships: 

  • Pima Athletics Scholarship disbursements occur 5 calendar days after the start of your first class.
  • Pima Foundation Scholarship, Pima Foundation Renewal Scholarship and Earn to Learn Scholarship  disbursements occur 15 calendar days after the start of your first class.

Cancellation: You may cancel your disbursements by submitting the Federal Aid Reduction/Cancellation Form within 14 days of receiving the disbursement notification.

How to receive your refund

Visit the Accounts Receivable Services webpage for financial aid and other refund information or call (520) 206-4574.

The actual amount of your Pell Grant is determined the day before our classes start. This is called the “Pell Recalculation Date.”  It means on this date your enrollment is locked and your financial aid is based on that enrollment.

To maximize your award, it is important to finalize your course schedule before Pell Recalculation Date. If you add a course, such as a late start courses, after the Pell Recalculation Date, your award will not be increased.

2023-2024 Pell Recalculation Dates:

  • The Pell Recalculation Date for Fall 2023 is 9/7/2023 at 7 pm
  • The Pell Recalculation Date for Spring 2024 is 2/1/2024 at 7 pm
  • The Pell Recalculation Date for Summer 2024 is 6/12/2024 at 7 pm
  • Remember that grants are based on your enrollment. If you drop a class that has not started yet, your grant will be adjusted to reflect that you are not taking that class.
  • Try our new Pell Grant Estimator to estimate the amount of your Pell Grant.
  • Related, if you stop attending a class, you likely will need to return the funds that were disbursed to you. 
  • Summer Pell: If you took 12+ credits in the fall and in the spring, you can get a summer Pell grant, if you take at least 6 credits. You will not receive the disbursement until you begin attending classes to earn all 6 credits. That means, if a one 3-hour class starts in May and another 3-hour class starts in July, disbursement for both classes will happen in July.
If you have a PCC Scholarship award listed in your MyPima account, it will disburse the day before classes begin.
  • Some scholarships require you to take a certain number of credits. In those cases, the scholarship will disburse only if you are enrolled in the required number of credits.
  • Non PCC scholarships will disburse after funds are received from the donor but no earlier than one day before classes begin.  If you are expecting a non-PCC scholarship and do not see if listed in your MyPima account, you might want to contact the donor to see if the funds have been sent to the College.
  • Students receive work study will receive the funds every two-weeks in the form of a pay check. The amount you receive will be based on the number of hours you work. 
  • Your first check or two will be mailed to your local address. It is advised that you set up a direct deposit as soon as you are hired.

Direct Student Loans

PCC disburses Direct Student Loans twice per semester or period (or four times during the academic year.)

  • Each year a student loan is accepted, the student loan borrower should complete the Annual Student Loan Acknowledgement (ASLA) at www.studentaid.gov/asla.
  • The first is at the start of classes and the second is at the midpoint of the semester.
  • The loan funds will disburse once you are attending 6 credit hours worth of classes and have met all other eligibility criteria.
  • If you are enrolled in non-16 week courses, you date of disbursement will be different from published dates.
  • Disbursements might be delayed if you have any red X icons in your Financial Aid Requirements in MyPima, enroll in late-start classes, if your schedule reflects less than six credit hours, and/or if you do attend your courses.
  • Your first loan disbursement of the semester will not occur until you are attending 6 credit hours worth of classes. That means students taking late-start classes might not receive disbursement until those classes begin.
  • First-time Direct Loan borrowers are required to wait 30-days from the start of the semester for the first disbursement of their loans, regardless of their course schedule.


Private Loan Funds

Pima disburses private loan funds once per semester or period, which, is twice per academic year. Funds normally disburse on the first day of class, once students begin attending classes. The loan is subject to a final credit approval with the lender.

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