A refund is generated by a credit balance on a student’s account after the bill is paid in full or if a department award is designated for a direct refund.

Sign Up for Direct Deposit

Get Funds Fast

Direct Deposit is a fast, convenient, safe, and reliable way to have payments you receive deposited directly to your bank account.

To sign up for Direct Deposit, check your Direct Deposit status, and/or manage your Direct Deposit account, log into CalCentral.

Select ‘My Finances’

See the ‘Financial Resources‘ section on the right

Direct Deposit is the second bullet

  • If your account is active, it will display in green: “Status: Active” and provide you with the last 4 digits of your bank account number
  • If you do not have an active Direct Deposit authorization, it will display “Status: Not Active”.
  • To add or change your Direct Deposit authorization, click on ‘Manage Account‘ to be taken to the Direct Deposit management page.

You will be notified by e-mail one business day before each deposit is sent to the bank. Without Direct Deposit, students will have a paper check issued. Students must pick up paper checks from Cal Student Central in Sproul Hall Rm 120, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Only the student to whom the check is payable may pick it up. Checks that are not picked up within 30 days will be mailed to the local address on file. Be sure to keep your contact information current via CalCentralChecks not cashed in a timely manner are subject to cancellation.

No matter what method is used to process the refund, if you have an email address in CalCentral, a notice will be sent advising that the refund was generated.

Personal Payments – Over-payments from personal funds are released for refund 15 days from the date of payment. You will get an email letting you know when your refund is available.

Financial Aid – If your financial aid payments exceed your charges, the extra funds will be issued to you as a refund approximately one week after payments are posted. Refunds are issued as early as one week before the beginning of each term. The actual timing of your refund depends on when your financial aid was applied to your account. International students receiving scholarships in excess of their tuition and fees will need to take additional action. Check CalCentral to monitor your aid payment dates so that you can estimate the date of any expected refund. You will get an email letting you know when your refund is available.