Late Payments
Per the university's Past Due Balance policy, failure to pay the bill in full by the first day of the semester or to make all required monthly payment plan payments by their due date may result in the assessment of late payment fees and interest charges, financial holds, and other collection activity. Late payment penalties may be assessed each month that the account has an overdue, outstanding balance. The late payment fee is $150 and is charged once per semester. Interest charges are applied monthly at a 12% APR. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that payment arrangements are made in a timely manner in order to avoid these fees. If you are disputing late fees and/or interest charges, please fill out the Late Payment Fee & Interest Charge Appeal form. All requests must be received by our office within 60 days of these fees being assessed. Please allow 7-10 business days for processing. Appeal decisions are final and will not be subject to further review.
- Past Due Accounts
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Accounts that are past due are encumbered by the University. A student whose account is encumbered may not register for future semesters, may not receive grades, diplomas or transcripts. Accounts that are more than 90 days past due may be referred to an agency and/or attorney for collection. The student may then responsible for all charges, costs and fees due to or incurred by the University, as well as all costs, fees and charges incurred by the agency and/or attorney, including attorney's fees.
- Chapter 31 and 33 Students
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GW students who are eligible to receive benefits from the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) under Chapter 31 Vocational Rehabilitation and Services (VR&E) and/or Chapter 33 Post 9/11 GI Bill ® must submit a request for certification for each semester or summer session in which they elect to receive funding. Once the certification is approved, GW will not impose any penalty upon students unable to meet their financial obligations to the University due to delayed tuition and fees payment and/or delayed disbursement funding from the VA. This includes, but is not limited to, assessing late fees, denying access to classes, libraries or other institutional facilities, or requiring any covered students to borrow additional funds to cover past due balances caused by delays in VA funding.
- Holds
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The Student Accounts Office applies financial holds for outstanding balances, returned checks and bad addresses. These holds prevent students from registering for additional courses, receiving transcripts and receiving their diploma.
- For actively registered students not receiving GW tuition remission, a hold is added to accounts with an outstanding balance of $2,500 or more. Students receiving tuition remission will have a hold added for balances of $75 or more. This hold can only be removed once the balance is below the threshold. The system automatically releases non-collection holds within a four hours of receipt of payment.
- For inactive students, a hold is added to any account balance of $25 or more. The balance must be paid in full before the hold will be lifted.
- A hold is added to the account if a payment is returned to us for any reason. If your payment was returned due to insufficient funds, the hold can be removed 10 calendar days after the outstanding balance has been paid in full. Additionally, a $35 Returned Payment Fee is automatically applied when a payment is returned. If two payments are returned to the University due to insufficient funds, a hold will be added and all future payments must be made by guaranteed funds (e.g., wire transfer, cashier's check).
- A hold is added to the account when GWeb does not display a valid address. This hold does not block university services. This hold can be removed once the address and/or valid dates have been updated in GWeb.
- All requests for a hold removal should be directed to: [email protected] or 202-994-7350
If a hold is added due to an outstanding balance and the outstanding balance remains for more than 90 days, the account may be referred to an agency and/or attorney for collection.
GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government Web site at https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.