You may pay your balance due in full by your due date, or you can elect to enroll in a PittPAY Payment Plan and pay in installments over time instead. Our optional Payment Plan is designed to help families spread out the balance due on the student account over a series of regular installments.
Depending on the date you enroll in a Payment Plan, you may be eligible for up to six installments for fall or spring terms, or up to 3 installments for summer term. Payment Plan installments will be automatically deducted on the 5th of each month from the bank account or credit card you specify when enrolling in the plan.
- View Installment Schedule
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Payment Plan If you enroll on or before Total Installments First Payment Last Payment $45 Fall Plan May 4 6 May 5 October 5 June 4 5 June 5 October 5 July 4 4 July 5 October 5 August 4 3 August 5 October 5 $45 Spring Plan November 4 6 November 5 April 5 December 4 5 December 5 April 5 January 4 4 January 5 April 5 February 3 February 5 April 5 $45 Summer Plan May 4 3 May 5 July 5 June 4 2 June 5 July 5
Eligibility
- All students who owe more than $300 per term qualify.
- Authorized Users can enroll in a payment plan on behalf of their student.
- Students and Authorized Users must be willing to allow automatic withdrawals from a personal U.S. checking account or scheduled charges to debit or credit card.
- The student account must be in good standing. If the student has past due balances, he or she must contact University Collections to find out about alternative payment arrangements.
Payment Plan Ownership
Students or one of the student's Authorized Users can enroll in a Payment Plan in PittPAY. If the student enrolls, the student is owner of the plan; if an Authorized User enrolls, that individual is the owner of the plan. This is important because only the owner of the plan can change the payment method. Both the student and ALL of the student’s Authorized Users will receive Payment Plan notifications by email.
Notification and Processing Timeline
Students and all of their Authorized Users receive all payment plan notifications generated from the Payment Plan. Student notifications go to them at their Pitt email address.
| Timeline | Notification |
|---|---|
| 15 Days Before |
Rebalance Reminder Notification email letting you know your plan will be rebalanced in five days |
| 10 Days Before |
Rebalancing If you have actual charges on your student account, your Payment Plan balance will be adjusted to match your student account balance. Remaining installments will be adjusted (equally) to ensure payment in full when the final installment is processed. Login to PittPAY to review these changes. |
| 5 Days Before |
Autopay Reminder Reminder email letting you know your autopayment will be processed on the 5th. Make sure you have enough funds available in your bank account or credit card to cover the upcoming payment. |
| 5th of the Month |
Installment is Processed Monthly automatic installment is processed by autopay from your checking account or debit or credit card. You will be notified by email when the payment has been processed. |
Cost to Participate
There is a $45 non-refundable sign-up fee for the Fall, Spring, and Summer plans. The sign-up fee is deducted from your bank account or charged to your debit or credit card as soon as you complete the enrollment process in PittPAY.
Payment Plan Rebalancing
Since you can enroll in a Fall Payment Plan before the University has determined tuition, fees, or room and meal plan rates for a new academic year (this typically does not occur until mid-July) and before you have registered for classes for any term, you may need to estimate your Payment Plan Balance in the early months. Later, once tuition and fees are actually posted to your student account, the Payment Plan will switch from the "Estimated" phase to the "Actual" phase and we will periodically rebalance your Payment Plan to match the student account balance.
For example, if the charges on your student account decrease because you dropped some classes, the Payment Plan balance will also decrease during the monthly rebalancing process. Automatic rebalancing makes sure your student account balance will be paid in full by the end of the Payment Plan period.
Here's how it works:
Estimated Phase
Before you have actual charges posted to your student account, you will build an estimate of your Payment Plan in PittPAY using the Payment Plan Estimator, and you will be asked to provide information about other credits you anticipate will apply to your student account. These tools will assist you in estimating the "out-of-pocket costs" you will need to pay over the course of your Payment Plan period. During this estimated phase, monthly installment amounts are based on your estimated balance, divided by the number of installments remaining in the Payment Plan.
Actual Phase
Once you are registered for classes for the term and have actual charges posted to your student account, we will periodically adjust your Payment Plan Balance to match the student account balance. This process is called rebalancing and it happens every month, about ten days before each installment is processed. Rebalancing knows to subtract the anticipated financial aid displayed on the Account Summary and Account Activity tabs when it calculates your Payment Plan balance.
Payment Plans and Financial Aid
Scholarships, grants, and loans from all sources will apply to your student account and reduce the balance due. Anticipated Aid also reduces the student account balance temporarily, until the aid is actually disbursed to apply to the student account. That means that financial aid is always taken into account when calculating the amount of the payment plan installments. Your charges less your Anticipated Aid, or the aid that has already been disbursed and applied to your student account, will reduce the overall student account balance that is then divided by the number of installments remaining to determine the amount of each payment plan installment.
Enrollment Process Overview
To enroll in a payment plan, log into PittPAY above and select the Payment Plans tab. You will see the payment plan options available to you. The earlier you enroll in a plan, the more installments you can have, so be sure to note the expiration date on each offer. Your installment schedule will update dynamically as you follow the prompts and enter your information in the Budget Worksheet. Once you decide to activate a plan, you will receive an email from PittPAY confirming your enrollment. Login to PittPAY any time to see the status of your plan.
Payments Overview
Paying with eCheck, Credit or Debit Card
You can select "eCheck" as your payment method to avoid paying the non-refundable convenience fee associated with each transaction paid by debit or credit card. If you choose to make your monthly installments by credit or debit card, you will be charged a non-refundable convenience fee for each transaction.
Changing your Payment Method
Only the Payment Plan owner has the ability to change the payment method. To do so, the owner should:
- Log into PittPAY using the the login buttons at the top of the page.
- Select the Payment Plans tab
- Click on the Manage autopay button, then change or update the payment method for upcoming installments
- Any changes or updates to the Payment Method must be completed no later than one calendar day before the date of the scheduled automatic installment.
For example, if a payment is scheduled for October 5 and the Payment Plan owner would like to change the bank account the automatic installment payment will be drawn from, he or she must do so by midnight, Eastern Time, on October 4. Otherwise, the installment payment will be drawn from the old bank account instead of the new one.
Failed Payments
You will receive multiple notifications before any installment is processed to give you an opportunity to make sure sufficient funds are available to process each upcoming installment. Once your payment plan is in the Actual Phase, if an installment fails for any reason, the Payment Plan will be automatically terminated. This might occur if a credit card transaction is declined, an eCheck is returned for insufficient funds, or your bank account is closed. You will also be charged a $25 non-refundable fee for each failed payment plan installment. If you wish to enroll in a new plan after this occurs, you may be charged another non-refundable sign-up fee.
Multiple Payment Plans
Students can have only one active payment plan at a time during an academic term. Even if a student has more than one Authorized User, they may only have one payment plan for a payment plan period. For example, two Authorized Users cannot both have a fall term Payment Plan for the same student.