If you are eligible for an undergraduate Middle Class Scholarship, awards are being finalized and will be available mid-winter term.
Dream Loan
A college education is an investment in your future and student loans are a tool to help you finance it. A loan is money you can borrow and pay back with interest, therefore, it is important that you understand the terms and conditions prior to borrowing.
The California Dream Loan is a subsidized loan provided by The Regents of the University of California and the State of California to Dreamer students who demonstrate financial aid eligibility.
You must file the application each year to continue to receive aid.
Submit any additional documents requested by the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships by the deadline.
Qualify for the non-resident fee exemption under the AB540 criteria.
California Dream Loan
Basic Eligibility Requirements A California Dream Loan is provided by UC Irvine to students who are eligible to complete the California DREAM Application (CADAA) and qualify for the tuition exemption under AB 540. If you qualify, the loan will be part of your aid package. Students who are eligible to complete a California Dream Application (CADAA), must apply annually.
Enrollment Requirements At least half-time status (6 or more units)
Annual Loan Limits Annual amounts depend on financial need and other aid received.
When does repayment start 6 months after you graduate, leave school, or drop below half-time enrollment.
Interest Rates
For loans borrowed for 2022-23, 4.99% during repayment (this rate matches the Federal Direct Subsidized Loan); no additional loan fees.
Promissory Note Heartland Educational Computer Systems, Inc. (ECSI) is the loan servicer. Once you accept the loan on “MyAid,” you will receive an email from Heartland ECSI providing instructions and a PIN on how to complete your promissory note and other loan documents.
Entrance Counseling Educational Computer Systems, Inc. (ECSI) will provide you with instructions after you accept your loan.
Repayment -Standard Repayment: up to 10 years with a minimum of $50 a month payment
-Income Based Repayment (subject to lender approval at the start of repayment...contact ECSI at (888)549-3274): up to 20 years with a monthly payment amount generally equal to 10% of your discretionary income
Other Requirements Exit Counseling is required when you cease attendance in at least half-time enrollment. Your last quarter may precede graduating, transferring to another school, or taking a leave Heartland Educational Computer Systems, Inc. (ECSI), the loan servicer, will contact you with instructions for completing your exit interview.
Before you borrow: Check our student loan tools, become educated, and think carefully before you accept any loans. You are not required to accept this or any other loan to keep any awarded free money.
California Dream Loan FAQS
See what questions other students have asked about Dream Loans.
A: The Dream Loan provides eligible AB540 undergraduate and graduate students with the option to borrow loans to help cover the cost of attending UC.
A: You must:
Be an AB 540-eligible undergraduate or graduate student
Be a California DREAM Act Application filer
Be financially needy
Not be eligible for Federal Loans
Not have your educational expenses for the school year already fully met by financial aid
A: You may be awarded up to $4,000 a year.
A: You may borrow up to $20,000 during your career at UCI.
A: No. It is money you borrow that must be repaid with interest. Interest is the cost to borrow money. You will be charged a percentage of the loans' unpaid amount as interest.
A: The rate changes every school year. It will always be set to the same interest rate as the Federal Direct Subsidized Loan. For the 2022-23 school year, the interest rate is 4.99%.
A: Interest will not accrue until six months after you graduate or drop below half-time enrollment. This six-month period is called your grace period.
A: No.
A: No. Whether you borrow the loan or not is up to you.
A: No. You will receive the amount of the loan in equal disbursements - a disbursement for each term for which you are enrolled that school year. For example, if you borrow a 3,000 loan, you will a $1,000 disbursement in the fall, a $1,000 disbursement in the winter and a $1,000 disbursement in the spring.
A: You have up to ten years to repay the loan under the standard repayment plan. You have up to twenty years under the Income Based Repayment plan (subject to lender approval at the start of repayment...contact ECSI at (888)549-3274).
A: You will be expected to make monthly payments.
A: Yes, there are late fees of four dollars a month.
A: After 180 days of non-payment, you will be placed into default. Loan default is the failure to repay a loan according to the agreed-upon terms of the loan. You want to avoid this from occurring because legal action may be taken against you to get the money back.
A: In certain situations, you may request a deferment. This postpones your loan payments without placing you in default. You are eligible to defer your loans if you are enrolled at least half-time in school, unemployed, experiencing financial hardship or serving on active duty in the military. No interest will accrue while your loans are in deferment. Sometimes, you may be granted forbearance if you are experiencing certain types of financial hardships. During forbearance, your loan payments are postponed, but interest still accrues on the loan.
A: Yes, if you wish and you have the means to do so. The loan can be pre-paid at any time without penalties or pre-payment fees. Doing so will save you money because you will be paying less interest on the loan in the long run.
A: If you should die or become permanently and totally disabled, the entire amount of the loan (plus the interest) is cancelled. You will no longer be obligated to repay the loan.
A: You will be required to complete a loan counseling session the first year you borrow the loan (entrance counseling) as well as complete a similar counseling session again when you graduate from UCI or drop below half time enrollment (exit counseling).