529 College Savings Plans and State Pre-Paid Programs
Distributions from 529 College Savings Plans and State Prepaid Tuition Programs may be utilized to satisfy your Student Account balance.
Both programs require plan holders to contact your 529 College Savings Plan administrator no later than 60 days before the start of each Academic Quarter for information on how to make withdrawals or initiate direct payment.
All plan holders are also strongly encouraged to have their student enroll you as an Authorized User for the University of Chicago Student Account. This will allow you to have access to online billing statements needed to present as documentation for withdrawals and to view payments as they are received.
529 College Savings Plans
529 College Savings Plans are a tax-advantaged savings account specifically used for higher education expenses. 529 Savings Plans require the account holder to coordinate qualified distributions for qualified expenses. Most 529 Savings Plans allow withdrawal for tuition, fees, books, housing and dining and any required fees for study at an accredited University.
Many 529 College Savings Plans now have a digital distribution option which saves time and improves transparency with real-time payment tracking. When requesting a withdrawal from your plan, look to see if a digital disbursement is available.
Electronic 529 payments are also accepted from participating 529 plans/vendors for education expenses using our online payment system. Log into my.UChicago or Authorized User Portal to make a payment directly from your 529 Savings Plan.
529 Savings Plan administrator may distribute funds directly to you OR they may distribute directly to the University of Chicago.
If your 529 Savings Plan Administrator distributes directly to the University of Chicago please confirm inclusion of the Student NAME, ID NUMBER in the payment.
529 Mailing Address: University of Chicago Office of the Bursar, 6030 S Ellis Chicago, IL 60637
If your 529 plan distributed funds to you directly you should then utilize one of our self-payment options to satisfy your Student Account balance.
529 Savings Plan payments are considered currency payments and are not subject to review as a financial aid resource. If not received in a timely manner, delinquent Student Accounts are subject to Student Account Holds and late fees so please be aware of Quarterly billing and due dates.
All 529 College Savings Plan funds are considered currency and if all funds are not utilized by direct charges for a quarter a refund of 529 Funds will be issued directly to the student. Please contact your fund administrator directly for instructions on managing this refund or tax implications.
State Prepaid Tuition Programs/College Illinois or Out-of-State
All State Sponsored Prepaid Tuition Programs are pre-defined benefit plans with defined benefit amounts.
If you are a beneficiary of a State Sponsored Prepaid plan, please follow the steps below:
Complete the Third Party contract in my.UChicago Finances > Account > Third Party Contract to allow The Office of the Bursar to directly invoice your provider.
Report your intent to use your benefit, University, Year and Quarter(s) of enrollment. Once you have reported this information your Plan Administrator will provide this information to The Office of the Bursar 6030 S Ellis Chicago, IL 60637.
The Office of the Bursar will place a temporary credit in the amount of your benefit on your Student Account until funds are received.
If your benefit amount does not satisfy your entire Account Balance you are responsible for payment of the remaining balance by the bill due date. If not received in a timely manner, delinquent Student Accounts are subject to Student Account Holds and late fees so please be aware of Quarterly billing and due dates.
All Prepaid Benefits are considered Third-Party payments and if a student withdraws these funds will be returned to the provider.