Frequently Asked Questions
Have questions about your student bill, the College Opportunity Fund, and/ or financial aid for this upcoming semester? We have answers!
You might even be able to save time by reviewing these frequently asked questions before contacting our office, as during the peak times of year our high phone call, drop-in, and email volumes may lead to longer wait times for responses.
Student Billing
How do I view/ pay my bill?
When is the Spring 2026 semester bill due?
February 10th
What happens if I do not pay my bill by the billing due date?
You’ll be charged a 1.5% payment deferral charge each month the bill goes past due and registration/transcript holds may be applied.
If you are enrolled in a current term payment plan you can disregard this.
When will I receive my financial aid refund?
The earliest date a student may receive a direct deposit refund in their personal bank account for the Spring 2026 semester is January 14th. For students who have not opted for direct deposit refund, the 1st batch of refund checks will be mailed Monday, January 20th.
Any of the above dates or timelines can be delayed if a student is part-time or making registration changes. The delivery timeline of mailed refund checks depends on distance, carrier, and other factors.
For more information about refunds, visit our page on financial aid refunds!
I dropped/ added a class. When will my bill be adjusted?
Immediately! This happens in real time before the add/drop deadline. To see the most recent bill on RAMweb, you’ll want to select Billing and Tax Information > Billing Information > Up to Date Account Activity.
I have a past due balance from last semester. Will my financial aid cover it?
Your financial aid cannot pay out unless you are enrolled at least part-time. Chat with us if you have a past due balance that is preventing you from registering for the next semester with us here at CSU!
What is differential tuition?
An additional tuition charge that all juniors and seniors are charged, as well as sophomores and up in the College of Business. Read more here.
Can my registration hold/ transcript hold be temporarily lifted?
No, we cannot temporarily lift a registration hold. CSU requires your past due balance to be paid in full in order to register for future terms. Please contact The Hub about your potential options to pay the balance and get registered for classes.
A waiver to temporarily lift a transcript hold may be requested under certain conditions. Please contact The Hub for more information on this process.
Where do I send my college savings or 529 payment?
Checks for college savings or 529 plans should be mailed to the Cashier’s Office. Please be sure to include the student’s CSUID number when mailing checks.
Many 529 College Savings Plans offer an electronic payment option, which saves time and improves transparency with real-time tracking. When requesting a withdrawal from your 529 account, check with your plan manager to see if a digital distribution option is available.
Cashier’s Office
6015 Campus Delivery
Fort Collins, CO 80523
What is a SEVIS fee?
Colorado State University collects an administrative charge to cover administrative costs associated with the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). For more information about this fee, please visit the International Student and Scholar Services website.
What are Day One Access charges from the Bookstore?
The Day Once Access Program through the CSU bookstore provides students access to digital materials the first day of classes. Students are automatically opted into the program and must opt out if they wish to purchase the materials on their own. The opt out deadline is the final Add/Drop date of the semester, after which, the charge(s) will appear on the student account. For more information, please visit https://www.bookstore.colostate.edu/day-one
College Opportunity Fund
I am a Colorado resident, am I eligible for the College Opportunity Fund?
Yes! If you are a Colorado Resident enrolled in on campus classes, you are eligible for a $116 dollar per credit hour payment. COF is not considered financial aid so you will only see it on your bill, not your financial aid awards page. If you do not sign up for COF, you could be losing out on $1,740 per semester if you are enrolled in 15 credits. Click here to apply!
What if I have already used 145 credits with the College Opportunity Fund? Can I get more?
Yes. There are two ways to get more COF.
- The first is an Institutional Waiver. CSU will automatically process this waiver for you during your first eligible term. That Waiver is good for three consecutive terms and will end on the third term regardless of if you attend those terms.
- The second is a State Waiver. After your third term under the Institutional Waiver, you will have to appeal to state for more COF. The application for the State Waiver for additional COF funding can be found here.
Financial Aid
How do I see if my financial aid has paid out? Why haven't I received my financial aid?
Financial aid can only pay out 10 days prior to the first day classes, provided you meet all the disbursement and eligibility criteria. Once your aid disburses you will be able to see it as a credit on your bill. To view, navigate to the Billing and Tax Information page of RAMweb and select “Up-to-Date Account Activity”.
I want to go from full-time to part time. How will that impact my financial aid?
You must be enrolled in a certain number of credits to receive financial aid, in addition to meeting all other eligibility criteria. View the enrollment & eligibility chart here.
How do I accept my loans?
Student loans may be accepted on RAMweb. To accept, reduce or decline your loans navigate to the awards page of RAMweb by selecting Menu > Financial aid> Offers and Requirements > 24-25 academic year> Offers tab. Students who are first time loan borrowers will need to complete entrance counseling and a master promissory note on StudentAid.gov before their loans can pay out.
Parent PLUS loans cannot be accepted on RAMweb or FAMweb. To apply for and accept a Parent PLUS loan, a parent must complete a loan application and the Master Promissory Note at StudentAid.gov.
How do I complete electronic forms or other financial aid requirements (verification)?
I have completed my Entrance Counseling, and/ or my Master Promissory Note. Why does RAMweb still show those requirements to be completed?
It takes about 3 to 5 business days for us to receive these once they’ve been submitted.
When will my employee study benefits be processed?
Employee Study Privilege forms are processed by the Registrar’s Office and Human Resources. Please be aware that it may take 3 to 4 weeks after the add/drop deadline for the Employee Study Privilege to be reflected on your account. Additionally, we ask that you note that those using the Employee Study Privilege will be automatically exempt from the payment due date and the following payment deferral charge.
Why is my WUE not on my financial aid offer letter?
WUE is a tuition discount that will only be viewable on the student bill. It will not be part of the financial aid offer letter.
Scholarships
I just received another scholarship. Will my financial aid be adjusted?
Your financial aid cannot exceed your estimated cost of attendance. If your offered financial aid (grants, loans, scholarships, work study) meets or exceeds your cost of attendance, we will need to reduce your other financial aid to make room for your scholarship.
We reduce the least desirable aid first, however your need-based aid (grants, scholarships, work study) cannot exceed your financial need. Financial need is determined by subtracting your Student Aid Index (SAI) as determined by FAFSA from your Cost of Attendance. Please contact us if you have questions about how your financial aid is affected by a scholarship.
How do I send my scholarship check to you?
New: All scholarship checks are processed by the Cashier’s Office. Their mailing address is listed below.
Please Provide Us with the Following Information:
- Student’s full name
- Student’s CSUID number, if known. (Do not include the student’s Social Security Number. In accordance with state and federal laws, Colorado State University has discontinued the use of Social Security Number as primary identifier for students. If Social Security Number is the only known identifier, use only the last 4 digits, e.g., xxx-xx-4321.)
- Student’s home address, if no CSUID number can be obtained
- Name of scholarship
- Contact person’s name
- Address and phone number of agency/contact person
- Is the scholarship for fall and spring semesters or one semester only? If the donor does not specify, we will split anything above $2000 between fall and spring semesters.
Verifying Registration for Scholarships:
Students can verify registration for scholarships before the term begins by printing their registration schedules from RAMweb and submitting them to requesting entities accompanied by the Registration Verification Letter.
Send the Scholarship Payable To:
Colorado State University Cashier’s Office
6015 Campus Delivery
Fort Collins, CO 80523-6015
Note: We are unable to send grade transcripts to donors from our office. However, students can request an official transcript for a fee, or print an unofficial transcript via RAMweb. Go to RAMweb and login using your NetID, then select Transcript (Official) or Transcript (Unofficial) under the Records section.
Are there scholarship opportunities I can tap into?
Yes! Visit our scholarships pages on our website for more information.
My scholarship donor needs a letter to verify my enrollment. How can I get one?
Some donors require verification of enrollment – luckily, there is a self-serve scholarship verification letter on RAMweb. Select Financial Aid from the Main Menu and then click on the Scholarship Registration Verification link.
In some cases, you may also even be able to send your scholarship donor a printout of your schedule from RAMweb.
When will you process my dependent tuition scholarship for my eligible family member(s)?
The tuition scholarship will be processed after the add/drop deadline each semester, because enrollment can change until that date. Please note those using the tuition scholarship will be automatically exempt from that semester’s payment due date and the payment deferral charge if the application is received prior to the due date.
Residency
How do I petition for in-state (Colorado) residency?
Check out the Office of Financial Aid’s website to find out if you are eligible to petition for residency and learn more about the residency orientation you will need to complete in order to receive a residency petition. We encourage you to complete the orientation as soon as possible if you intend to petition for residency in the future.
What happens if I miss the deadline to petition for in-state residency?
The Office of Financial Aid is not able to accept late residency petitions. Submissions after the stated due date – found on the Office of Financial Aid’s page for the Residency Process and Deadlines – will not be accepted after the published deadline date.
- Mailed petitions must be postmarked by the deadline date.
- If you are a new student admitted to CSU no earlier than 30 days before the posted petition deadline or after the posted petition deadline, please contact the Tuition Classification Officer team as soon as possible to inquire about the petition process for your circumstances.
- Incomplete petitions will not be accepted and/or reviewed and your tuition classification and tuition assessment will remain non-resident for that term.
- Residency statutes do not permit retroactive tuition re-classification.
- Guest Students whose applications are processed after the first day of classes for each semester and who want to petition for in-state tuition classification, must contact the Tuition Classification Officer team. Petitions must be submitted by the end of course add/course drop for the semester.
Do I submit a regular residency peititon if I am military-affiliated?
Learn more about how you might qualify for an in-state tuition exception here: https://financialaid.colostate.edu/military-members/
If you are veteran, or dependent of a veteran, click here to learn more about GI Promise: https://financialaid.colostate.edu/residency-exceptions-veterans-and-dependents/
Student Resources
Troubleshooting tips for logging into RAMweb or RAMrecords
- Verify that your NetID and password are correct.
- If you forgot your password, you can change it at netid.colostate.edu
- CSU Online students can reset their password via online.colostate.edu
- Try logging in using the direct link:
- RAMweb – Applicants & Current Students
- RAMrecords – Alumni & Former students
- Clear your browsing history, cookies, and cache.
- Try using a different web browser, such as Chrome, Firefox, or Opera.
- Restart your computer.
How do I reset my NetID password?
If you have forgotten your NetID password, you can reset it easily on the NetID website.
Visit https://netid.colostate.edu/ or Google “CSU netID” and it should be the first result. You will see this page:
In the menu in the top right, under My Account , click Recover Password:
You will be brought to the following page:
Enter your NetID as well as a personal email that you set up as your recovery email when you created your NetID. Do NOT use your CSU email. Click the box next to I’m not a robot and then click Send.
You will receive an email to the email you entered within a minute or two. The email will have a link which will take you to a page where you can reset your password.
NOTE: Your new password may take up to 15 minutes to fully activate; if you cannot log into anything right away after changing your password, wait a few minutes and try again.
How do I retrieve my RAMrecords password, if I forgot it?
Follow the instructions via this RAMrecords password retrieval tool webpage.
How do I retrieve my CSUOnline password, if I forgot it?
Follow the instructions via this CSUonline password retrieval tool webpage.
Who can I ask the other questions I may have?
Parent/ Support Network Resources
I got asked about FERPA consent, what does that mean?
What it is:
“FERPA” stands for the federal law known as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. § 1232g et seq.).
The FERPA Student Consent to Release Education Records form allows an authorized third party (e.g., parent, grandparent, guardian, support person) to contact The Hub on your behalf and discuss your education records. This consent form allows students to provide legal, expressed consent to that authorized person to access either:
- Financial Aid Records: Includes, but is not limited to, status of file, offers and disbursement of funds information, Satisfactory Academic Progress status, and any other information contained in the financial aid application or file.
or
- Billing Records: Includes, but is not limited to, amounts due for tuition and fees, sources of payment for tuition and fees, refund information, holds as it relates to parking citations, library fines, financial aid repayments, payment plans, and any other information contained in student account records
Alternatively, the student can complete the form to select that their authorized 3rd party can access:
- All Education Records: Includes, but is not limited to, all academic, financial, residency, and personal information
Students can provide or revoke permission for education records to be released by using the Student Consent to Release Education Records form available on the Financial Aid section of RAMweb.
What it isn’t:
It does not provide access to your medical, student conduct or housing records. For more information on accessing those records, see:
In addition, this form does not provide FAMweb access.
If you would like to learn more about FERPA, including how to contact our office with FERPA in mind, please visit our FERPA Guide webpage.
I heard about Parent Loans - what are those?
Federal Parent PLUS loans are another helpful resource that can be utilized by parents to help students pay for their experience here at CSU. These loans, offered by the federal government, typically offer lower interest rates and more flexible repayment options than private loans.
Unlike grants or work-study, a loan is money that must be repaid – you are legally obligated to repay your loans (even if you do not complete your program), so we encourage you to fully read and understand the terms and conditions of each loan type before accepting a loan.
The minimum requirements for consideration of any federal loan is a complete Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), admission into a degree-seeking program, at least half-time enrollment and cannot be in default on a federal educational loan or owe a repayment of Federal Title IV aid.
Where do I send my college savings or 529 payment?
Checks for college savings or 529 plans should be mailed to the Cashier’s Office. Please be sure to include the student’s CSUID number when mailing checks.
Many 529 College Savings Plans offer an electronic payment option, which saves time and improves transparency with real-time tracking. When requesting a withdrawal from your 529 account, check with your plan manager to see if a digital distribution option is available.
Cashier’s Office
6015 Campus Delivery
Fort Collins, CO 80523
