The financial aid office at a school uses your information to figure out how much federal student aid you may receive at that school. If the school has its own funds to use for financial aid, it might use your FAFSA information to determine your eligibility for that aid as well. (The school might also have other forms it wants you to fill out to get school aid, so check with the financial aid office to be sure.) Your information also goes to your state higher education agency, as well as to agencies of the states where your chosen schools are located.
https://studentaid.ed.gov/fafsa/next-steps
If you have a credit balance (if financial aid awards and any other credits are greater than your total bill), you'll receive a refund. Your financial aid credit is automatically refunded to you at the beginning of each quarter, after all fees and charges are paid.
https://students.ucsd.edu/finances/financial-aid/after/money.html
1 Make sure you've submitted all required documents to the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office. 2  Check your UCSD e-mail inbox for any messages from the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office about updating your file.  Check your financial aid award status online to verify that you've submitted all required documents.
https://students.ucsd.edu/finances/financial-aid/after/money.html
After you meet all requirements, all financial aid funds (except for work-study checks) are credited to your student account. Check your financial aid award status online to verify that you've met all requirements.
https://students.ucsd.edu/finances/financial-aid/after/money.html
1 Financial aid awards will be divided equally by the number of quarters you'll attend (usually 3).  Financial aid and scholarship disbursement dates vary from quarter to quarter. Disbursements begin in September (for fall quarter), January (for winter quarter), and March (for spring quarter).
https://students.ucsd.edu/finances/financial-aid/after/money.html
Be sure to look over your SAR to make sure you didn’t make a mistake on your FAFSA. Find out more about the Student Aid Report, its purpose, how the type of FAFSA you file determines when you’ll get the SAR, and what you should do with it. The SAR won’t tell you how much financial aid you’ll get.
https://studentaid.ed.gov/fafsa/next-steps
You can check the status of your FAFSA immediately after submitting it online. You can check the status of a paper FAFSA after it has been processed (roughly 7–10 days from the date mailed). 1  Option 1: Go to www.fafsa.gov and log in.  Option 2: Contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center.
https://studentaid.ed.gov/fafsa/next-steps
After you meet all requirements, all financial aid funds (except for work-study checks) are credited to your student account. 1  Check your financial aid award status online to verify that you've met all requirements.  Financial aid awards will be divided equally by the number of quarters you'll attend (usually 3).
https://students.ucsd.edu/finances/financial-aid/after/money.html
The financial aid office at your college will determine how much financial aid you are eligible to receive. Your eligibility for most federal student aid depends on a variety of factors, including your Expected Family Contribution (EFC), your year in college, your enrollment status, and the cost of attendance at the college you will be attending.
https://fafsa.ed.gov/help/fotwfaq23.htm
Note: Your EFC is not the amount of money your family will have to pay for college nor is it the amount of federal student aid you will receive. Think of the EFC as an index number used by your college to calculate how much financial aid you are eligible to receive. For more information, contact the financial aid office at your college or see Funding Your Education: The Guide to Federal Student Aid at http://studentaid.ed.gov/resources.
https://fafsa.ed.gov/help/fotwfaq23.htm
when do you find out how much financial aid you got
You can find out how much financial aid you got in September for fall quarter, January for winter quarter, and March for spring quarter. The results for financial aid come out in September (for fall quarter), January (for winter quarter), and March (for spring quarter).