Understanding My Bill
Learn more about your Seattle University billing statement. Navigate charges, payments, financial aid estimates, and access FAQs about credit balances and refunds.
The Billing eStatement is found in the Student Account Center and provides an overall view charges/fees, payments (including deposits), estimated financial aid, and total balance. The actual information shown on the invoice depends on the details of your individual registration, financial aid, personal or donor/sponsor payments and/or payment plan.
Billing FAQs
In mid-August, notifications are sent to the SU email addresses of students who have registered for fall quarter classes, advising them that their fall quarter eStatement is available at my.Seattleu.edu, from the Student Account Center. Authorized Users will also get a copy of this email.
For other quarters, eStatements become available approximately one week after pre-registration opens to any student who has registered for classes for that quarter. A monthly eStatement is generated and an email is sent to students and Authorized Users moving forward each month (even if the balance has been paid in full). These eStatements are a snapshot in time and do not necessarily reflect current account balances.
Email notifications continue to be sent to students' SU email addresses (and to Third Party Proxy users) whenever there has been a change on the account, causing a revised account activity to be available on the Student Account Center. A student's Account Activity is live information that will update immediately after any account changes or payments have been made.
Charges include tuition for the current quarter's registration, fees and, if applicable, room and/or meal charges, and payment plan setup fees. Recent changes to registration, housing or meal plans prior to the date of the invoice may not be reflected.
You can expect to see this type of information on your bill:
- Payments: Payments reflect any payments received, including financial aid and deposits, prior to the statement date.
- Estimated Financial Aid: Estimated Financial Aid reflects any estimated financial aid that is to be applied to the account. This aid will be accounted for when setting up a payment plan, even if the aid has not yet been disbursed.
- Total Balance: The final total in the far-right column, indicates the balance due or anticipated credit refund as of the statement date. A minus sign (-) before the amount due indicates a credit balance. In this case, payment is not needed, and students should see Credit Balance Processing for more information.
Financial aid recipients who have questions about the status of pending financial aid items should contact Student Financial Services.
Financial aid recipients have the right to reject or request a reduction in some or all aid funds awarded to them, even if that aid has been disbursed to their student account. To do this, students must submit the Financial Aid Revision Request Form found under the Forms and Documents section.
Cancellation of aid funds may result in an unpaid account with Seattle University unless the amount due is paid by the tuition due date for the current quarter. An unpaid balance on the student's account may prevent future registration and/or the ability to obtain diplomas, so the Student Financial Services Office highly recommends that students reach out to discuss all the possible ramifications before taking this action.
Credit Balance and Refunds FAQ
A credit balance is the result of payments, including the transmittal of financial aid, on a student's account exceeding charges. If there is a credit balance after all payments have been posted to the account, that amount can be transferred to the student's checking account via eRefund, which is setup on Student Account Center. If eRefund has not been setup, the check will be mailed to the student's current mailing address of record as shown on mySeattleU (where students can also go to update that address). Credit balance refunds are not processed until the first day of the quarter and receipt of physical checks may be delayed up to 10 days if the student hasn't provided a current, local mailing address.
A credit balance on a student's account that is the result of Estimated Financial Aid being deducted from the charges on the account, is not a true credit balance until the financial aid is actually disbursed. Thus, it is not available to the student until all financial aid for the quarter has been posted to the student's account.
A refund will automatically be generated if:
- There is a credit balance for the current term. This occurs when payments and/or financial aid actually disbursed (not pending or estimated aid) exceed charges.
- There are no other balances due to the University.
- The student is a financial aid recipient and is registered for at least as many credit hours as are shown on the financial aid award letter.
- A Parent PLUS Loan is not included in the student's financial aid award.
A refund will NOT be automatically generated if:
- A check overpayment was made on the student's account within the last 10 business days.
- The student is not currently enrolled.
- The term with the pending credit has not yet begun.
If you believe a refund on your account should have generated but it has not, please contact Student Financial Services for resolution.
There is a 21-day holding period for credits that result from an overpayment from a check or online e-check.
eRefunds direct deposit authorization allows the credit balance on a student's account, after all charges there have been paid, to be sent directly to the student's bank account. We recommend using this option in order to receive your funds as quickly as possible. For students who anticipate credit balance refunds after all charges on their student account have been covered, direct deposit is the quickest way to receive those funds.
- Log into mySeattleu.
- Select Student Account Center.
- Select the blue button for Student Account Center again (please avoid using Safari as your browser).
- Wait for the screen to load then select Refunds at the top of the page to start the process of adding a United States bank account for refunds to be sent to.
To ensure funds are available by the first day of the quarter, their financial aid needs to be finalized (all paperwork completed, submitted and processed) 30 days prior to the start of the quarter.
For students who choose not to set up eRefunds, credit balances will be processed as checks which are mailed to those students' mailing address of record at mySeattleU, where they can also go to update that address as needed. To update the mailing address, log on to MySeattleU and click on User Options then User Profile using the left-hand menu.
For information about refund dates and amounts, please see the Refunds of Tuition and Fees (75-09) policy.
Seattle University is required to return "unearned" aid to federal and state sources as explained in Withdrawing from Some Classes or Withdrawing from All Classes, depending on the student's situation. Seattle University-sponsored aid will be returned to its source based on the refund percentage due based on the official date of the student's withdrawal.
If most of the student's costs were covered by financial aid, most of their refund will be returned to those aid programs, with any remaining balance being refunded to the student.