Financial aid is disbursed to students at the beginning of each term. Before your aid can be paid, you must have a financial aid Award Notice and you must complete the requirements below. 

• Submit any requested documents: If you were asked to submit any follow-up documents for verification, you must provide them to the Student Financial Aid Office.
• Credit hours: Inform our office if you will be less than fulltime and receiving loans. Loans require at least halftime enrollment. Keep in mind that: Some scholarships require full-time enrollment; being wait-listed does not count toward your enrollment level; you must enroll in a course by drop/add each term to be considered for financial aid for that course.
• Direct Loan Recipients: If you were awarded a loan you will need to complete a Master Promissory Note and Pre-Loan Counseling at studentloans.gov. If you have previously borrowed your promissory note remains valid for 10 years and you do not need to sign another one unless you have been out of school for one year or more.

Enrolled Less than Full-Time? If you are not enrolled full-time by the end of drop/add, your aid will be adjusted and you will receive a revised award amounts reflecting your level of enrollment. You must be at least halftime to be eligible for loans. Submit a Loan Enrollment Verification form if you will be less than fulltime and receiving loans.

 Once you have completed the requirements above, you will receive your aid within two weeks.

Grants, Scholarships, and Loans

Grants, scholarships, and loans are applied directly to your UNM Bursar’s Account to pay for tuition, fees, university housing, and other charges. Aid awarded for a specific term can only be used to pay for charges for that term and will only be disbursed to you during that term. 

Work-Study Funds

Students earn Work-Study funds by working in positions with eligible employers. Wages are typically paid bi-weekly through the employer's payroll system. Work Study funds are not disbursed in a lump sum rather students work for the funds For more information about the Work-Study program, see Work-Study & Student Employment Jobs.

Private Scholarships

If you have a private scholarship check and the scholarship sponsor or donor sends funds to the university, the funds will be applied directly to your university student account, one-half in the Fall Term and one-half in the Winter Term, unless otherwise specified by the scholarship sponsor. Payments are usually processed within two weeks of the start of each term, upon full-time registration. If your signature is required on the check you will be notified via email with instructions on where to endorse the check.

If your scholarship sponsor sends your scholarship check directly to you, inform the Scholarship Office at 505-277-8900.

If you have financial aid funds that exceed the charges on your student Bursar Account at the time of disbursement, you will receive a refund, which may be used to pay other educationally related expenses. (Note that if subsequent charges are made to your account, you are responsible for paying them.

Your refund will be issued in the form of either a direct deposit into your bank account or a check mailed to your current address.

Set up Direct Deposit

The Office of Financial Aid recommends that students use Direct Deposit which is available through UNM’s Loboweb. It is the best way to ensure your aid funds are received in a timely manner. To have your financial aid refunds deposited directly to your bank account follow the instructions found here.

Parent PLUS Loans: If your parents are borrowing through the PLUS Loan program, they may elect to have any excess funds refunded either to them or to you. 

Unwanted Loan Refund: If you receive a refund for a loan and you do not want the funds, you must cancel the loan by submitting a financial aid change form. Upon receipt of the form we will cancel the loans and return to the lender. Once the loan has been removed from your Student Account you can then make a payment to the Bursar’s Office to repay the cancelled loan.

If a balance remains on your student account, you are responsible for paying it even after receiving a financial aid refund.