Step 4: Financial Clearance and Cash Advance Check
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This step addresses the first Harvard University account notice that you will receive from Student Accounts, in July for financial clearance for fall registration and eligibility for a fall cash advance check. This page is designed to provide a basic understanding of these topics.
- Note: This page only refers to financial aid for the 2017-2018 academic year. Applications for 2018-2019 financial aid will open soon on the SFS Self-Service Portal, and this information on the clearance process will be updated later this spring.
Steps to Financial Clearance
Steps to Financial Clearance
- Understanding Billing at Harvard University
- Your 1st Student Account Notice
- Fall Registration
- Fall Cash Advance/Refund Checks
Understanding Billing at Harvard University
- Harvard Law School’s Student Financial Services Office awards financial aid, notifies the central University Student Financial Services Office of anticipated financial aid credits, and ensures that students have financial clearance for fall registration, spring registration, pre-registration & graduation. All student billing & receivables functions are centralized run University-wide by Harvard University’s Student Financial Services Office, located on the 9th floor of the Smith Campus Center.
- Student Account Notices are generated on the 10th and 25th of each month. Charges such as tuition, University Health Services Fees, Harvard Student Health Insurance (SHIP), & dormitory room (if applicable) are billed half per semester, once in July, and a second time in December. Likewise, your total anticipated financial aid credits for the academic year are divided in half and offset the charges on your student account. Other charges may be monthly, or “as incurred” and are due on a regular monthly basis. The central University Student Financial Services Office prefers that students make their payments as e-payments, although checks and wires are acceptable. You student account balance cannot be paid by credit card. For more information regarding e-payments and accepted methods of payments, please visit the Student Billing section of our website.
Your 1st Student Account Notice
- In July, you will receive a student account notice from the central University Student Financial Services Office via your official HLS email account that you can login to view your student account balance.
- Students who are admitted after July student account notices are sent out (including all transfer students) MUST work directly with HLS Student Financial Services to ensure their outstanding charges are resolved in time for fall registration. All students must have either paid or applied for enough financial aid in order to cover all charges posted to their student account prior to being allowed to register for fall classes.
- You will need your Harvard University ID and Harvard Key to gain access to your student account. All admitted students should have received an e-mail from the HLS Admissions Office providing them with their new Harvard University ID. If you have not received your Harvard University ID, you will need to contact the HLS Admissions Office.The Harvard University ID will enable admitted students to create a Harvard Key. The Harvard Key is a highly secure password that only the student will know. It is used to access several internal Harvard University web applications, one of which is your online student billing account.
- All secured financial aid that appears on the “Accept Awards” tab of “My HLS Financial Aid” as of July 25th will be reflected as anticipated financial aid credits on your student account. You should expect to see half of your total academic year charges and half of your total financial aid for the academic year on your student account.
Fall Registration
All students must be financially cleared in order to to participate in fall registration. This means that you need to ensure that your student account balance is covered by August 15th, either by anticipated financial aid credits, a payment, or a combination of both. The following will occur if satisfactory payment arrangements are not made with Student Financial Services prior to Fall Registration:
- You will not be able to participate in Fall Registration or the Course Add/Drop process.
- You will not be eligible to receive a cash advance/refund check (if applicable).
- A late fee of $250 will also be assessed and posted to your billing account.
Fall Cash Advance/Refund Checks
If your anticipated financial aid credits exceed the total of the charges on your student account, you will be eligible for a fall cash advance check that can be used for living expenses. Eligible students will receive their cash advance checks around fall registration. Students who are eligible for a cash advance check should budget those funds for living expenses, including rent, for the entire fall semester. Spring cash advance checks will be mailed to local addresses in late December (if anticipated financial aid credits are greater than charges on your account). For more information see the Cash Disbursements section.
Student Account Examples
| Example 1 | Example 2 | Example 3 | |
| Stafford Loans Only | Loans up to Budget | Grant Recipient* | |
| Total Financial Aid Package | |||
| Stafford Loans | $20,500.00 | $20,500.00 | |
| Supplemental Loan | $71,700.00 | $2,500.00 | |
| Mandatory Base Loan (total amount) | $49,800.00 | ||
| Grant Amount | $39,900.00 | ||
| Annualized Aid Amount | $20,500.00 | $92,200.00 | $92,200.00 |
| Anticipated Financial Aid Scenarios | |||
| Loans | $10,250.00 | $46,100.00 | $26,150.00 |
| Grant | $0.00 | $0.00 | $19,950.00 |
| Total Anticipated Aid | $10,250.00 | $46,100.00 | $46,100.00 |
| Standard July Charges | |||
| Fall Tuition | $30,825.00 | $30,825.00 | $30,825.00 |
| UHS | $571.00 | $571.00 | $571.00 |
| Student Health Insurance | $1,565.00 | $1,565.00 | $1,565.00 |
| Total Charges | $32,961.00 | $32,961.00 | $32,961.00 |
| Fall Semester Result (Total Charges – Total Anticipated Aid) | $22,711.00 Payment Due | $13,139.00 Credit | $13,139.00 Credit |
| *Grant Amount is based on student having only the mandatory student contribution of $2500 with no parent contribution | |||
Notes:
- Bear in mind that these are general examples to give you an idea of how anticipated financial aid and your fall charges interact on your student account.
- The anticipated aid numbers also do not account for any potential fees if you have Direct Stafford Loans or GradPLUS loans.
- The student receiving Stafford loans only (Example 1) has not applied for any additional supplemental loan funding and will need to apply for more loans or make full payment in order to be financially cleared for fall registration.
- The student receiving loans only (Example 2) has applied for a supplemental loan up-to-budget and is eligible for a fall cash advance check for living expenses.
- The student receiving a grant (Example 3) is eligible for a fall cash advance check for living expenses and has elected to apply for a supplemental loan to bring them up to the set student budget of $92,200.
- In all these examples housing/rent was not addressed. If you will be living off-campus in housing not affiliated with Harvard University, you should expect to utilize your own personal resources and/or cash advance check, if eligible, to pay off-campus rent. If you will be residing in a dormitory, your room will appear on your student account as a semester charge both in July and December. If you will be residing in Harvard Real Estate Services’ housing, your monthly rent will be billed to your student account. You must pay your rent charges on your student account each month.