Your student account statement or your student snapshot may show an entry of pending financial aid. Pending financial aid reflects accepted financial aid that is expected to pay over into your student account. The “Amount Due” box reflects the amount due after pending financial aid is taken into account.

The appearance of pending financial aid does not necessarily mean that all appropriate paperwork has been completed and returned to the Financial Aid office. To check on the status of financial aid paperwork (i.e. status of your pending financial aid), you would need to contact the financial aid office at (202) 885-6100 or via e-mail at financialaid@american.edu.

Please keep in mind that certain types of financial aid will not show in the pending financial aid box. Loans from outside lenders, as well as scholarships from outside sources will not show in the pending financial aid box. The student should have information about all the aid they are expecting, and may deduct any loans or scholarships that do not appear in the pending financial aid box from the amount due. The student would just need to make sure their outside lenders or scholarship agencies get their funds to American University.

If the amount due is shown as a negative figure (credit balance), there is no need to make payment on the account. However, if you request a refund of your credit balance, a refund check will not be processed as long as your financial aid is still pending.

For information regarding refund checks, please see the following page: Student Refund Policy.