Financial Aid Awards and Refunds

To reduce costs and conserve resources, financial aid offers are not mailed to students. Students will receive an email when offers are finalized. Please review each document and contact a Financial Aid specialist if you have questions.

The financial aid package listed in Self-Service is your total offer. You may choose to accept all of it or only certain portions, but if you decline any part of it, you will not be offered additional aid to make up for that.

All first-time loan borrowers must sign a Master Promissory Note and complete online entrance loan counseling.

Once you have accepted the package, you do not need to do anything on Wake Tech's payment deadline date. Although your classes aren't shown as paid, you will not be dropped from them for nonpayment. Financial aid funds will not be applied to your charges until after your attendance is verified.

The financial aid offer is based on full-time enrollment (12 or more credit hours per semester) for an entire year. You must report any changes in your enrollment status, such as dropped classes or a withdrawal from the college, to the Financial Aid Office.

Most federal and state financial aid cannot be used to pay for the following:

• Workforce Continuing Education courses (Wake Tech's Propel program provides financial assistance for specific WCE programs)
• Classes being audited
• Courses that a student has "tested out of" or successfully challenged
• Courses not required for completion of a program of study at Wake Tech

In addition to notifying the Financial Aid Office of changes in enrollment, you also must report any additional aid received during the year, such as employer reimbursement for classes or an outside scholarship, that was not considered in calculating your financial aid eligibility. If these additional resources and your financial aid package combine to exceed your need, the excess is considered an "over-award." The Financial Aid Office has the right to adjust an aid package when an over-award occurs, as well as when changes occur in the information used to determine the package or in federal regulations.

Once you have accepted all or part of your financial aid package, the amount will be put in your account to be applied toward your tuition and fees. You can also, with valid student ID, use financial aid funds to buy books and supplies for classes at the Campus Bookstore.

If you are taking courses in a combination of sessions that include the second eight-week term, your financial aid will, in most instances, be paid in two disbursements.

Tuition Payment Plan

Even with financial aid, paying for college might squeeze your budget a bit, so Wake Tech offers a payment plan option that allows you to split your tuition payments into two or three installments. The Tuition Payment Plan is not a loan program – you incur no debt, there are no interest or finance charges assessed and there is no credit check. The cost to enroll is $25 per semester, which is added to the first installment payment.

Refunds

If financial aid funds remain in your account after paying tuition and fees and buying books and supplies, that balance can be refunded to you, although some types of aid may not qualify for a refund. Class attendance impacts eligibility for refunds. You must attend through at least the 60% point of the semester or term, and failure to remain enrolled and attend classes as required may result in the loss of awarded aid. You are responsible for repaying aid that was not earned.

Wake Tech uses BankMobile to process refunds. When you receive your refund is based on the preference you designate with BankMobile. If you do not select a refund preference, payment could be delayed by up to two weeks.

Refunds will be processed according to the following schedule:

Fall 2022

Spring 2023

Summer 2023

*To receive a refund, Wake Tech must receive funds from the funding source by the date specified. If you are awarded a Direct Loan, you must complete entrance counseling and sign the Master Promissory Note and acknowledge the Financial Aid Terms and Conditions before funds are released. You also must be enrolled for at least six credit hours when your funds are disbursed.

**Denotes earliest disbursements for enrollment exclusively in classes in the second eight-week session (10/15/2022 to 12/15/2022 or 03/07/2023 to 05/10/2023).

***Denotes earliest disbursements for enrollment exclusively in classes in the second eight-week or second five-week sessions (start dates of 05/31/2023 and later).

If you are taking courses in a combination of sessions that include second eight- or five-week , your financial aid will in most instances be paid in two disbursements.

Wake Tech reserves the right to change refund dates as needed to accommodate workflows in Financial Services or the Financial Aid Office. The adjustments should not vary by more than one or two days.

If a student does not claim a refund that has been issued, the disbursement will be voided, and the funds returned to the appropriate federal or state agency.