Refunds and Direct Deposits

We process all student refunds which include financial aid, fellowship stipends, and tuition overpayments.

For information about refunds of tuition upon withdrawal from the university, see Tuition Refund Schedule.

Account Credits and Refunds

Refunds of credit balances are issued to your domestic bank account. Exceptions are made for Federal Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS Loans).

Refunds of financial aid funds begin the Wednesday prior to the start of each term. Processing of aid refunds can take up to two weeks.

Refunds are issued two ways:

1. Direct Deposit – Direct deposit is the quickest, easiest, and most secure way to receive your refund. You can expect to see your funds within three business days after processing. 
   • View these instructions on how to enroll in direct deposit.
   • Don't yet have a US bank account? You can open an account at the Stanford Federal Credit Union, even if you're an international student.
     • Stanford Federal Credit Union student homepage & SFCU Flyer (PDF, 1MB) 
     • Instructions for opening an SFCU account for international students
2. Paper Check – If you are not enrolled in direct deposit, you will be sent a paper check using the mailing address listed in Axess. 
   • Please confirm your personal information in Axess is up to date. 
   • On average, paper checks take between 7 and 10 business days to process and mail (longer for mailing to international addresses).

It is still important to review your account even after receiving a refund. There may be times when you may have a balance owing even though a refund was sent.

Cash overpayments remain temporarily on your account to apply to future charges. Any remaining cash overpayments will be refunded after the Final Study List Deadline of the subsequent quarter. For visiting summer-session students, cash overpayments are typically refunded toward the end of August. If you have a pending cash overpayment on your account, we’re happy to refund this in advance of the regular schedule, at your request. Please note that refund requests should be initiated by the student; we cannot process refund requests from authorized payers. Student overpayment refund request.   

Questions and requests may be directed to the Student Services Center.

How to enroll in Direct Deposit

To receive your refunds through direct deposit, follow these steps to enroll. Please note student refunds are sent to only one bank account.

For security reasons, when you add or update your direct deposit information, you will be asked to verify your birthdate and (if applicable) Social Security number.

1. Go to Axess at axess.stanford.edu
2. From the Student role, choose the "My Finances" tab and select Direct Deposit 
3. Select Add Account
4. Enter information into fields*:
   • Routing number: Bank routing number (usually 9 digits; must be a U.S. bank account)
   • Account Number: Bank account number of checking or savings account (usually 10-12 digits; do not enter a credit/debit card number)
     • Account Type: select checking or savings 
     • Deposit Type: select percent
     • Amount or Percent: enter 100
     • Deposit Order: enter 1
     • Please note: Set up only one account. Using the split or multiple-account option will result in a deposit error.
5. Verify your information and select Submit

*If in doubt, contact your bank for the correct numbers to use for direct deposit.