If your loan funds have been fully or partially returned, it usually indicates that we received an update from your school’s financial aid office. This could be due to a request you made or an action taken by the financial aid office. Common reasons for this include changes in enrollment status (such as being enrolled less than half-time or not enrolled), the loan no longer being needed, failure to meet state minimum requirements for disbursement, incorrect school details on the application, or a request to cancel the disbursement.
Any partial or full refunds sent directly to Earnest by the school will be applied to your principal balance effective as of the date those funds were disbursed. This means that any interest accrued on the refunded amount will be removed, making it as if you had taken out a loan only for the amount disbursed and retained.
If you are returning excess funds yourself, the entire amount must be submitted to us within 60 days of disbursement to qualify for a disbursement refund. Partial refunds that are not sent by the school do not qualify for a disbursement refund. Partial refunds that are not sent by the school are applied as a manual payment and you will be responsible for any accrued interest. Refunds sent by the school, however, don’t have a specific time limit. While we recommend having excess disbursement refunds sent directly by the school, it's a good idea to check with your financial aid office first. Each school may have its own policies on handling excess disbursement refunds.
If you need additional information from our team or have questions, please contact us by clicking the ‘Get in Touch’ button at the bottom of this article.