How Financial Aid Pays

Here’s how the process works:

  1. Your instructors must verify your attendance in at least one of the first two sessions for each of your classes.
  2. The money is credited, or disbursed, to your student account. Your tuition, fees, books and supplies (if you used financial aid funds in the bookstore) will be deducted from your financial aid.
  3. If there’s still money remaining, you’ll receive a refund through direct deposit or a paper check. The Cashier’s Office processes refunds weekly. When you receive your refund depends on when your class(es) start.

Here are other things that determine how your financial aid pays:

  1. Course in Program of Study.  Your financial aid eligibility is determined by taking courses that are part of your program.
  2. Attending Hours.  Your aid will pay as your classes begin.

There are two exceptions:

  1. If you receive work-study, you’ll be paid every two weeks.
  2. If you are a 1st year student (30 earned credits or less at WCC) and have never borrowed a student loan, federal regulations require WCC to wait 30 days after classes begin to credit loan funds to your account.

Here is how to use your financial aid in the WCC Bookstore:

  1. You must authorize the bookstore to receive some of your funds. This is done by going to MyWCC, click on the Financial Aid tab, Dashboard, Award Offer tab, click Title IV Authorization, then Barnes & Noble Bookstore Transfer Authorization. Read the authorization, accept and submit.
  2. The following day, you will have up to $75 per credit hour in the WCC Bookstore.
  3. Check your spending limit on MyWCC during the bookstore dates for the semester – the dates are below.

Refund dates for the Winter semester

Session(s) Start date Funds pay to account First refund date
15 weeks, 12, 10, 7 1/2, 5 weeks Jan 8 Jan 25 Feb 1
Second 12 weeks Jan 30 Feb 15 Feb 22
Second 5 weeks, Second 10 weeks Feb 13 Feb 29 Mar 7
Second 7 1/2 weeks Feb 29 Mar 21 Mar 28
Third 5 weeks Mar 26 Apr 11 Apr 18
Swipe left to see full chart

Refund dates for the Summer semester

Session(s) Start date Funds pay to account First refund date
12 weeks, 10, 7 1/2, 6 weeks May 6 May 23 May 30
Second 10 weeks May 20 Jun 6 Jun 13
Second 6 weeks Jun 19 Jul 4 Jul 11
Swipe left to see full chart

If you’ve authorized your financial aid to go to the WCC Bookstore, money will be available between April 8, 2024 and May 20, 2024. Learn more about using Financial Aid at the Bookstore.

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