Welcome Parents!
We recognize the enormous role you have played in readying your son or daughter for college. We hope you find the resources on the page helpful. This Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section for parents and family, answers some of the most commonly asked questions the One Stop staff receives.
2024-2025 New Student - Parent Orientation
If you cannot find answers to your questions here, please email onestop@scu.edu or call 408-551-1000. We are happy to assist you!
Bursar FAQs
Billing is processed electronically by the 1st of each month and will include:
- Charges: tuition, housing, orientation fees, ACCESS card charges (if applicable) and other misc. fees
- Credits: deposits, payments, anticipated and disbursed SCU aid, Federal & private loans and reported external scholarships.
An e-bill notification will be sent to the student's SCU gmail account and to any Authorized Payer that the student set-up.
As a parent, please select the "statements" section of your Authorized Payer account to view the recent billing statement. If there are any updates after the bill is published a new billing statement will not be generated. The updated balance will be available on the "Overview" section of your billing portal.
Payment must be made on or before the posted payment deadlines in order to avoid a registration hold and a late payment fee. Please plan ahead to ensure that payments sent via US mail are mailed in sufficient time to arrive on time. Please also be mindful of extended bank closures/holidays and plan ahead accordingly so that payments arrive on time.
**Important Reminder: You may receive a bill each month. Although the payment deadlines per term are set, students may accrue miscellaneous fees from other departments (or when adding money to an ACCESS card) that may show up on a billing statement for a non-payment deadline month. Please make it a habit to check your billing statements on your SCU Pay portal every month.**
Payment deadlines for all programs:
Undergraduate Students:
Fall: August 21st
Winter: December 21st
Spring: March 21st
Summer: May 21st
Graduate Students:
Fall: August 21st
Winter: December 21st
Spring: March 21st
Summer: May 21st
Law Students:
Fall: July 21st
Spring: December 21st
Summer: May 21st
JST Students:
Fall: August 21st
Winter Intersession: December 21st
Spring: January 21st
Summer: May 21st
You may pay with checks*, cashier checks*, online through your Authorized Payer portal with e-checks (ACH).
We do not accept cash.
Investment account payments must be mailed by regular mail.
International students may use Flywire to wire money to Santa Clara University directly.
We do not accept credit or debit card payments.
SCU offers an in-term payment plan option for an additional fee of $40 for each term you enroll in the payment plan.
Please note: that you must re-enroll online for each term for this in-term payment plan option.
You can learn more about the payment plan option here.
Make checks payable to Santa Clara University.
Be sure to include your student's name and your student's SCU ID number on the memo line in the bottom left hand corner of the check.
Mail checks to the following address:
SCU Payment Processing
PO.Box 550
Santa Clara, CA 95052-0550
If you would like to mail checks overnight, please use this address:
Santa Clara University
Attn: Bursar's Office
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053
*Make sure the SCU ID number and student name is on the note/memo section of the check so we can process the payment.
529 Plans: Some plans now have a digital distribution option (electronic ACH) which saves time and improves transparency with real-time payment tracking. When requesting a withdrawal from your college savings plan, check with your plan administrator to see if a digital distribution options is available.
Please contact your 529 Plan and send them your student's billing statement. It may take 2 weeks to arrive in our office so plan accordingly.
Have the 529 Plan company make checks payable to Santa Clara University and have them mail the checks to one of our addresses listed above.
If your 529 asks for Santa Clara University's tax ID number, please provide them with the following #:
94-1156617
Some plans now have a digital distribution option (electronic ACH) which saves time and improves transparency with real-time payment tracking. When requesting a withdrawal from your college savings plan, check with your plan administrator to see if a digital distribution options is available.
If the electronic ACH option is not available you will need to initiate a check payment to be delivered to SCU. Please note that it takes 2 weeks to receive a check. You should initiate the check payment first week of the month that payment is due to ensure that it arrives in our office by the payment deadline.
Make checks payable to Santa Clara University and mail to:
SCU Payment Processing
P O Box 550
Santa Clara CA 95052-0550
Please make sure your student’s name and SCU ID number is located on the check or remittance advice for accurate & timely posting.
Some 529 plans and college savings plans will require proof of enrollment and/or a billing statement. One Stop can help instruct you on how your student can request proof of enrollment.
Santa Clara University Tax ID: 94-1156617
A late payment hold will be applied to your student's account, which would restrict the student from adjusting their class schedule. Please note that if you miss a payment deadline, a $100 non-refundable late payment fee will also be placed on their account.
For delinquent holds to be removed, the overdue bill must be paid. Depending on the form of payment, the hold will be released according to the following timeline:
- For cashiers check or money order, the hold will be released within 24 business hours
- Online Payment will take 7 calendar days
- Personal check payment will take 10 calendar days
Some payment holds cannot be paid online, depending on the hold. Please call for more information.
For poor payment histories, some account holds will remain for multiple terms, depending on the payment history.
Only the student can sign up parents and other individuals as Authorized Payers.
Please share this link with your student:
- How to Create an Authorized Payer
If you forgot your password, your student will need to "Resend Payer Invitation" so that a new temporary password is emailed to you. (Instructions to resend are the same as the link above. The only difference is that your student would select the pencil icon next to your Authorized Payer name to resend the invitation.)
Authorized Payers receive billing notification emails and can view/pay the bills. FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974) allows designated persons to receive detailed information about your student's account.
Please follow the link below for more information about the Form 1098-T
Santa Clara University requires all degree seeking students enrolled at least half -time in their school or college to have health insurance (excluding certificate and online programs). ALL F-1 visa students, regardless of number of units, are required to have insurance.
This requirement helps to protect against unexpected high medical cost and provides access to quality health care.
Students must complete the health insurance waiver before the deadline to waive, which is provided on the Cowell Health Center webpage.
- Please go to MYSCU Portal
- Scroll down and click on "Gallagher" to access the online insurance waiver. You will be directed to the Gallagher website.
- Log into Gallagher and click on "WAIVE"
- Once you complete the insurance waiver by providing your health insurance information, choose COMPLETE & SUBMIT
- After completing the application, you will get an email to your SCU email account stating that the waiver has been submitted.
- Once the waiver is approved, it should take 3-5 business days for the waiver to be reversed from your account.
Financial Aid FAQs
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the application used to determine eligibility for federal and state student grants, federal work study and federal loans. The U.S. Department of Education accepts applications for an upcoming academic year starting December 31st of the prior year. Go to https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa.
Students should complete the FAFSA for each Academic Year they wish to be packaged with federal aid.
The federal school code for SCU is: 001326
In order to be eligible for financial aid you must meet the following criteria:
- Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen in a degree or certificate program of study at least half-time
- Make satisfactory academic progress
- Not be in default on a federal student loan
- Not owe a refund on any federal financial aid grant
- Have a valid Social Security number
- Enrollment status will be calculated based only on those courses that are required for a student's degree or certificate program or that can be applied as an eligible elective credit.
Undergraduate Students:
Student must be enrolled in at least half-time status to be eligible for federal aid.
- Full-time: 12 units
- Half-time: 6 units
Graduate Students:
Student must be enrolled in at least half-time status to be eligible for federal funding.
Please note that some Scholarships awarded by your Graduate Program may be awarded based on the amount of units that you are enrolled in so please be sure to check with your Program!!
- Graduate Students: The unit requirement for each program is different. Please check the information below to see how many units you need in order to qualify:
Counseling Psychology & Education
- Full-time: 9 units
- Half-time: 4.5 units
Graduate Engineering
- Full-time: 8 units
- Half-time: 4 units
Graduate School of Business (Includes MSIS)
- Full-time: 9 units
- Half-time: 4.5 units
Pastoral Ministries
- Full-time: 8 units
- Half-time: 4 units
Law School JD/LLM
- Full-time: 12 units
- Half-time: 6 units
If your student received an email award offer notification, please have the student log onto Workday to accept or decline their aid.
- Accept/Decline Financial Aid Award (Parents should not be accessing the student only Workday portal)
The Financial Aid Office will notify students by email if there are any updates to their financial aid offers.
Returning students are always packaged in the summer for the upcoming Academic Year.
Now that your student has accepted their federal direct loans, the student will need to complete two loan requirements that can be done on studentaid.gov.
Master Promissory Note (MPN)
The Master Promissory Note (MPN) is a legal document which the borrower signs as a promise to repay your loan(s) and any accrued interest and fees to the U.S. Department of Education. It also explains the terms and conditions of your loan(s). Unless your school does not allow more than one loan to be made under the same MPN, you can borrow additional Direct Loans on a single MPN for up to 10 years.
The Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN) must be signed by the borrower prior to the school certification and prior to the disbursement of any loan funds to the student's account. The completion of the MPN is generally signed at the time the application is submitted and can be signed electronically during the application process.
If the borrower applies for the loan each year, then the borrower only has to complete the MPN once – the first year these funds are borrowed for you. The borrower, however, must re-apply for a new loan every year.
Online Entrance Counseling
If you accept a Federal Direct Loan, federal and institutional regulations require you to complete an entrance counseling tutorial. You will learn important information about repayment, deferment, forbearance and cancellation. Students meet this requirement by completing the online entrance counseling tutorial at studentaid.gov.
If you have not previously received a Federal Direct Loan, the federal government requires you to complete the online entrance counseling to ensure that you understand the responsibilities and obligations you are assuming.
Does the student have to borrow the full amount?
Your student can request to lower the loan amount by emailing onestop@scu.edu. Parents with Direct PLUS Loans can also have the amount of their loans adjusted this way. Please include the following items in an email:
- Your name
- ID number
- The name of the loan you wish to have reduced along with the specific amount requested.
Yes. The FAFSA must be completed to obtain a Federal Direct PLUS Loan, even if the family only wishes to obtain this loan. In addition, it is the custodial parent that is required to file the FAFSA with the student – regardless of which parent (custodial, non-custodial or step) wishes to obtain the Federal Direct PLUS Loan.
Santa Clara University Financial Aid Office does not mail Federal Direct PLUS Loan application materials. Parent(s) need to apply online at studentaid.gov.
To accept the Federal Direct PLUS Loan, you must log onto studentloans.gov and fill out the Federal Direct PLUS Loan application, along with the Master Promissory Note.
Work study is a federal student aid program for college students with financial need that helps them get part-time jobs.
- Federal work-study is utilized by having a job and earning a paycheck as work-study earnings
- Federal work-study is intended to help students pay for books, supplies, personal expenses during the academic year
- The offer has limited funding and is offered to students based on their need eligibility
- Income is counted as financial aid, and not as regular income, which increases a student’s eligibility for financial aid
- The employing department pays 25% of the work-study wages, while the remainder is sourced by the federal work-study fund
Federal work study does not get applied to your student's account balance.
A list of FAQ’s can be found on the financial aid website here .
Registrar FAQs
In compliance with FERPA, The Federal Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended, Santa Clara University (SCU) is prohibited from providing a student's financial and non-directory academic information to any third party including parents, spouse, guardian, etc., without the student's authorization. This information includes various student financial or academic information, but is not limited to: all student billing items, awarded financial aid, housing, enrollment status etc.
If you call our office asking about your student's financial/academic information, we will not be able to disclose anything unless you are on the FERPA Release. Even if you are the payer, you need to be on a FERPA Release for us to discuss the account in detail.
FERPA does not allow us to discuss grades.
More information on FERPA can be found here: www.scu.edu/ferpa