Graduate and Professional Students Financial Aid Award Guide 2009-2010

Accepting Loans Receiving Aid Staying Eligible    
Types of Aid Changes Frequently Asked Questions    

This Graduate Award Guide is meant to help you understand and accept the Federal Loans you have been offered on Bearfacts. You may wish to print a copy if this guide or keep it open as you review your awards on Bearfacts.
The Financial Aid Office only administers need based Federal Loans and a small number of low income parent grant and work study awards.
The Financial Aid Office does not administer merit based awards including Fellowships, Fee Remissions for Teaching and Research Appointments, and Departmental awards. These awards may appear on Bearfacts if they have been reported , but you should contact your Department or the Graduate Division’s Fellowship Office for information about them.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR AWARD
Student Budget: Your student budget is an estimate of your educational and living expenses for the nine months of the 2009-2010 academic year. By federal law, a student budget may cover only student expenses. Spouse and dependent living expenses cannot be included, but documented childcare costs may be added.
Student Contribution: Your student contribution is calculated by a formula called Federal Methodology passed into law by Congress in 1992. Your student contribution for 2009-2010 is derived from your 2008 income and assets and is used to determine your eligibility for all financial aid awards except unsubsidized Direct Loans.
Other Resources: These are funds you are receiving or will be receiving from sources outside the Financial Aid Office (FAO) that have been reported to us. If you have been notified of any awards not shown in this section, report them on the online Financial Aid Offer Letter accessed through BearFacts. It is your responsibility throughout the year to report any Graduate Student Instructor or Graduate Student Researcher jobs, Fellowships or Department awards (fees and/or stipend), normative time grants, fee remissions, GSHIP waivers, or other aid not already shown in this section. You should not assume that outside awards will be reported to us in a timely manner by any other office.
If you report changes in resources, your financial aid eligibility will be reevaluated and we will notify you by email if your award is revised. You may be required to repay aid already disbursed if an additional resource results in an overaward!

Financial Aid Awards: This is the aid that the Financial Aid Office is offering. This initial offer will not include any Alternative (Supplemental) Loans such as Grad Plus. See TYPES OF FINANCIAL AID for instructions on how to request a supplemental loan. This is not necessarily a final offer. It may be revised if: 1) There are changes in your financial situation, e.g. funds or support from any source, 2) There is a change in state or federal funding, or 3) There is an error in the offer.

ACCEPTING YOUR LOANS
Go to BearFacts to accept or decline your awards. Select “Financial Aid” then select “Offer Letter.” When you get to the main Offer Letter menu, select “Accept/Decline Awards.” Read all the information carefully, and follow all instructions. Be sure to:

  • Report any changes in your enrollment plans and
  • Report any outside resources you will be receiving that are not already displayed.

If you accept a subsidized or unsubsidized Federal Direct Loan you must:

  • Complete a Direct Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN) at http://dlenote.ed.gov (unless you received a Direct Loan within the past 12 months).
  • Complete a Direct Loan Entrance Interview at http://www.dlssonline.com (unless you completed this requirement in a previous year).


If at any time you choose to request a Graduate Plus Loan you must:

If you accept a Federal Perkins Loan you will receive an email instructing you how to complete the required Master Promissory Note and Entrance Interview.

RECEIVING YOUR FINANCIAL AID AWARD
All students are assigned a CARS (Campus Accounts Receivables System) account, which is managed by the Billing and Payment Services Office in 140 University Hall. Your financial aid awards (excluding Work-Study earnings and some private loans) will be deposited into your CARS account as long as all of the following requirements are met:

  1. you have accepted one or more awards
  2. you have signed any required promissory notes,
  3. you have completed an entrance interview if you are a first-time borrower,
  4. you are enrolled in at least 6 units,
  5. you have cleared any registration blocks,
  6. you are making satisfactory academic progress, and
  7. you are not overawarded.

Your financial aid funds will be applied to University charges. Any financial aid not applied to University charges will be refunded to you. All students are required to complete the online EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) process authorizing direct deposit of financial aid funds into their back accounts. If you do not apply for direct deposit at least 10 business days before the beginning of the enrollment period, your refund will be held at University Hall.

STAYING ELIGIBLE FOR FINANCIAL AID

SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS
The federal government requires schools to set guidelines concerning Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for financial aid recipients. See our SAP web page for details.

FILING FEE STATUS/CANCELLATION/WITHDRAWAL
Students on filing fee status (i.e. not enrolled in at least 6 units) are not eligible for financial aid. Students on filing fee status who have student loans may have to begin making payments on their loan if they have used up their grace period. If you withdraw or cancel your registration after receiving aid, you may be required to repay some or all of the aid disbursed to you. You may read about the FAO policy on withdrawal on this web page.

TYPES OF FINANCIAL AID
The Graduate and Professional Unit (GPU) of the Financial Aid Office administers the Federal Direct Student Loans for U.C. Berkeley graduate students as well as the Federal Perkins Loan, the Health Professions Student Loan (HPSL) and Alternative Loans. You may request to be considered for the Federal Work Study Program. U.C. Parent Grants are awarded as funding permits to low-income students with dependent children.

The Financial Aid Office does not administer Fellowships, Teaching and Research appointments, or departmental aid. Please contact your academic department or go to the Graduate Division's website for information about these types of awards.

CHANGES
When changes occur to your financial aid, you will receive an email directing you to the Financial Aid Offer Letter at BearFacts to see the changes. It is extremely important to check your email regularly and to make sure that your main email address has been reported to the University. All address and email address changes should be entered onto BearFacts.

Problems and Questions: If there are errors on your Award Notification, or if you have specific questions about computations or policies, contact the Graduate/Professional Unit of FAO in 201 Sproul Hall (510/642-0485), email: fao_grad@berkeley.edu. Counselors are available on a drop-in basis on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:00-12:00 and Thursdays from 1:00-3:00. Law students may contact the Boalt Hall Financial Aid Office (510/642-1563), email: financial-aid@law.berkeley.edu and Business graduate students may contact the Haas Financial Aid Office (510/643-0183), email: finaid@haas.berkeley.edu.