About the Statement of Account
Your statement of account is the itemized summary of the financial transactions posted to your student account. Charges posted to your statement of account include tuition, fees, and housing and dining fees (if you live on campus); other charges related to your attendance as a student may also be posted here. Payments posted to your statement of account include financial aid you have received, and other payments made toward the bill.
How to Access Your Statement of Account
- Navigate to buckeyelink.osu.edu and click My Buckeye Link in the Quick Links section at the top right of the page to log into your student account. Use your Ohio State name.# and password as your log-in credentials.
- Click the Finances tile, then choose Statement of Account from the left sidebar menu.
Important Information
Statements of account are generally available between four and six weeks before the start of a term and can be accessed through your My Buckeye Link account. Ohio State does not mail or email your bill to you. Check your statement regularly, as changes can occur throughout the semester.
How to Read Your Statement of Account
- Term – statements of account are generated based on term of enrollment. Ohio State assesses tuition for Autumn and Spring semesters and Summer term.
- Balance Due as of Today – the total past due (greater than one day) and current (due within 29 days of today) charges assessed to your account. In most cases, this will match your term balance, but if you owe for a prior or future term in addition to this one, it may be higher.
- Enrollment Hours – how many credit hours you are currently enrolled in. Your enrollment hours, in combination with other factors, help determine what types of financial aid you are eligible for and how much you receive. 12 credit hours is full time for undergraduate students; 8 credit hours is full time for graduate students. Full-time course loads for professional students may vary.
- Tuition Guarantee – undergraduate students are part of a tuition guarantee cohort, which sets rates for tuition and mandatory fees for each entering class of first year students and freezes those rates for four years. Graduate and professional students are not part of the tuition guarantee program. Learn more about Ohio State’s Tuition Guarantee.
- Tuition and fees – these are the core charges assessed to your student account. Costs may vary depending on your residency status (in-state or out-of-state), program of study, and course enrollment. Some fees change based on the number of credit hours you're taking, while others are charged at the same rate regardless of enrollment. Except for Student Health Insurance and Student Legal Services, all charges are mandatory. Learn more about the different types of fees and the programs, services, and resources they help fund.
- Housing charges – if you live on campus, your housing and dining charges are assessed to your student account. If you live off campus or commute, these do not appear on your account. Learn more about Housing charges and dining charges.
- Due Date – for most students, this is seven calendar days prior to the start of the term, but there are a small number of exceptions. Pay your fees by the date listed to avoid a late fee.
- Payments – will appear here once they have been applied to your account. Funds may come from a variety of sources, including personal payments, financial aid (such as grants, scholarships, and loans), external organizations, and Ohio State tuition waivers (employee, dependent, and graduate).
- Refund (if applicable) – if a financial credit balance occurs on your account, you may receive a refund. Most often, refunds are issued when you receive more financial aid than is needed to pay your bill; these extra funds are usually used to cover personal expenses, books, and supplies. Refunds issued to you appear in the charges column of the statement to offset the credit balance which produced the refund. Learn more about refunds.
- Important Information – includes account-specific messages and updates that may impact your student account. This section is dynamic and the information displayed will vary based on your individual circumstances. Review it carefully for important notices and deadlines.
Other Account Activity
Occasionally, you may see additional activity on your account, such unapplied payments, pending financial aid and tuition option payment plan installments. What you see and when will vary based on your specific circumstances.
UNAPPLIED PAYMENTS
Unapplied payments occur when the payment on your account has exceeded the total charges and the payment has nowhere else to go. In many cases, this is the start of the refund process. However, not every unapplied payment is eligible to refund. If you have questions about unapplied payments or refunds, contact Buckeye Link.
PENDING FINANCIAL AID
Pending financial aid appears on your account after your bill is generated but before your aid is disbursed. It helps you estimate how much you'll owe once your financial aid is applied. Most students see pending aid on their statement 3 to 4 weeks before the fee payment deadline, though it may appear at other times during the term.
During the financial aid disbursement process, there is a brief period (typically about 24 hours) when pending aid is removed from your account before the actual aid is applied. If you view your account during this time, you may see a temporary balance due. This is expected and will resolve once your aid is posted.
TUITION OPTION PAYMENT PLAN (TOPP)
Ohio State’s Tuition Option Payment Plan (TOPP) allows you to divide the cost of tuition, fees, and housing (if you live on campus) into installment payments. If you enroll in TOPP, your installment schedule and amounts will be listed at the bottom of your statement. Learn more about TOPP.