A. Financial aid is money set aside by the Federal Government and State of California to help families pay for a college education. Financial aid can come in the form of grants, scholarships, work-study jobs, or loans.

A. You can apply for financial aid every year by completing the FAFSA or California Dream Act application To be eligible for the best financial aid, you must submit your application prior to March 2nd each year.

A. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the first step to applying for financial aid, including loans, grants and work study. It does not cost anything to apply for financial aid. Please visit studentaid.gov/sa/ UCI's school code is 001314.

A. Financial aid is intended to bridge the gap between what you and your family can afford to pay for college and the cost of college. Except in cases of exceptional need, it typically covers only a portion of the cost of college expenses. Get a breakdown of UCI's costs.

A. You must reapply for financial aid each year, the application cycle opens on October 1st (with the exception of the 2024-25 aid year, which opens on December 31st) and ends on June 30th. Although is highly recommendable that you submit your application by March 2nd (with the exception of the 2024-25 aid year, which will be March 4th), which is the priority deadline for many programs. The composition of your aid "package" may vary depending on the income and assets that you report on your application and the funds available in individual aid programs.

A. Non-resident students incur higher costs of tuition, and funding is very limited. While federal financial aid in the form of Pell and loans may help offset these higher costs, you are likely to still have to cover much of the additional cost.

A. If you are not a US citizen, you still may be eligible for federal financial aid if you are determined to be an eligible non-citizen. Review the eligible noncitizen criteria https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/eligibility/requirements

A. No. Since your parents’ citizenship doesn’t affect your ability to complete the FAFSA form, they don’t need SSNs. If your parents don’t have SSNs, they must enter 000-00-0000 when the FAFSA form asks for your parents’ SSNs

A. No. You are not eligible for federal student aid. However, you may be eligible to apply for financial aid with the California Dream Act Application California Dream Act application and the requirements for AB 540 Exemptions and waivers https://www.ucop.edu/residency/

A. No. International students are not eligible for federal and state financial aid programs. There are, however, a number of privately funded scholarship programs for International students. One useful online resource for International student scholarships is https://global.uci.edu/students-and-alumni/international-students.php and www.iefa.org.

A. No, it is not required for most scholarship recipients. However, you should still fill one out to qualify for need based scholarships.

A. Yes, but you will need to first fill out a Consent for Release of Information form. View and print the PDF.

A. You can login to MyAid {use hyperlink} and view the "My Aid Application Status" tab, follow the instructions on how to upload documents.

If you find nothing is listed in this section, it means that your file is complete. If we need something, we will send you an e-mail. Please check your UCI email often.

A. This is part of the application verification process for student aid. You can access at www.irs.gov/Individuals/Get-Transcript (Note than an IRS Tax Account Transcript is not the same document and will not meet this requirement.), follow the instructions here {provide hyperlink for IRS video}

A. If you are an entering undergraduate student, you should expect to see your financial aid awards prior to SIR deadline.

For all other students (continuing undergraduate and Graduates) awards are generally made available in July-August.

A. You can login to MyAid and view the "My Aid Awards" tab; you can also print your award notification under "Print My Forms"

A. Log in to MyAid, select "My Aid Awards", you will be given the option to accept or declined awards your awards, make sure you navigate to the financial aid page where you will accept the "Terms and Conditions"

A. No. You do not have to be enrolled full-time to receive financial aid. Although some grant programs require students to be enrolled full-time in order to be eligible 100% of the award, you can refer to Enrollment requirements.

A. At the starting of the awarding cycle, all Cal Grants are unconfirmed, if you have been awarded a Cal Grant by the California Student Aid Commission, you can expect to be confirmed automatically in min-June, no further action is needed from you. You can check your eligibilityhttps://mygrantinfo.csac.ca.gov/

If you are not eligible to receive a Cal Grant, your financial aid award will be revised to replace the Cal Grant amount.

A. We will determine your eligibility through the information presented on your FAFSA or California Dream Act Application. Eligibility for the Blue and Gold Program is assessed around November: if eligible, you will be awarded and will be informed via UCI e-mail. Review your eligibility.

Note: if you are receiving Cal Grant, then you will not receive a Blue and Gold award since your tuition is already being covered by Cal Grant.

A. Yes, you have the option to decline your loan now and accept it later or not accept them at all. You can also choose to accept only a portion. You can accept your student loans up until just before the end of the school year, permitted that you are enrolled.

A. This dollar amount appears on the SAR (Student Aid Report) you receive from completing a FAFSA. You do not need to pay this amount up front. It is merely an estimate in how much your family is able to contribute towards your education for the academic year. If you don't believe that you have the financial means to contribute this amount, you will be offered loans to cover this portion.

A. There are many scholarship resources available; you just need to spend the time to look for them. A good place to start is UCI Scholarship site.

A. Report your scholarship to us by logging in to MyAid and report under the "Report My Changes" tab. When revising your aid, we always try to reduce your loans first, unless the scholarship has specific restrictions.

A. The Direct Student Loan is an educational loan provided by the Federal Government. There are two types: subsidized and unsubsidized. As a student loan borrower, you may be eligible for one type or a combination of both. Find more information at https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans/subsidized-unsubsidized

A. The Parent PLUS Loan is an educational loan provided by the Federal Government to parents of undergraduate dependent students. To be eligible for a PLUS Loan, parents must pass a credit check and must be either: a U.S. citizen or national, a U.S. permanent resident or eligible non-citizen. Find more information at: https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans/plus/parent

A. The Graduate PLUS Loan is an educational loan provided by the Federal Government to to eligible graduate or professional. Find more information https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans/plus/grad

A. Your financial aid is applied to pay your fees about one month before the fee payment deadline. The remainder of your aid, if any, will stay in your Zot Account until the beginning of the term when funds are disbursed. https://fs.uci.edu/student-billing/zot-account-basics.php

A. If your financial aid is not enough to cover your fees, you can pay the difference with your own resources or take advantage of PACE is a payment plan that allows you to spread the costs of your registration fees over the quarter in three monthly installments. https://fs.uci.edu/student-billing/pace-payment-plan.php

A. DEFT allows you to choose how you want your financial aid remainder to be disbursed: mailed paper check, or direct deposit. You can enroll for either of these in your Zot Account at: https://fs.uci.edu/student-billing/direct-deposit-deft.php, you choose a method to receive your funds.

A. If all your fees are paid and there is a remainder, then you can expect a disbursement at the beginning of each term.

Direct deposit refunds are faster and more secure, paper check refunds usually take about a week or more to receive.

A. No, you can choose to decline your student and/or parent loan and keep your other aid.

A. Yes. You may accept all or a portion of your loans at any time throughout the academic year; you have until mid-June. However, if you need them to help you pay fees, they must be accepted a lot sooner.

Once you accept student or parent loans, check MyAid. Then "My To-Do List" to be sure you completed all the requirements.

A. The Department of Education will notify your parent via email if the loan was approved or denied. Be sure that your parent followed all the steps.

A. Your parents can obtain an endorser who does not have an adverse credit history. An endorser is someone who agrees to repay the parent PLUS loan if your parent does not repay it. Read more information https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans/plus/parent

A. Most dependent students will be eligible for additional unsubsidized student loan. You can submit a request to our office to let us know of the denial and to request the additional unsubsidized loan money.

A. You will receive an e-mail from Heartland ECSI with instructions and a PIN to access your documents. For more information https://heartland.ecsi.net/

A. No, You must use your California Dream Act ID and not your DACA SSN.

A. Most dependent students will be eligible for additional unsubsidized student loan. You can submit a request.

A. If you have an unmet need and would like to apply for a Graduate PLUS loan, go to MyAid and on the "Report my Changes" request this loan. The staff will revise your award and send you an e-mail when your loan is ready to be accepted.

A. Our office will certify your private loans application and will request to be disbursed in 3 quarterly payments; one third of the loan amount, at the beginning of each quarter.

Loan will be credited to your Zot account and will pay any outstanding balances first then will disburse the remainder to you.

A. If you wish to cancel a recently disbursed loan, please complete the [Loan] Cancellation Request Form found on our Forms and Applications page.

A. No. You do not have to be enrolled full-time to receive financial aid. Although some grant programs require students to be enrolled full-time in order to be eligible 100% of the award, you can refer to Enrollment requirements.

A. If you have been granted official part-time status, the Registrar's Office will notify us. Your financial aid will be revised to reflect part-time status for the term and any remaining portion of the academic, if you change cancel your official part-time status, be sure to inform us. You can refer to Enrollment requirements.

A. Depending on the date of your withdrawal, you may have to return all or a portion of your financial aid for the term. You should contact the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships before you decide to withdraw just so you will be aware of the consequences.