Summer Financial Aid
for Graduate and Professional Students


Eligibility
Types of Summer Financial Aid: Federal Direct Loans, Grad PLUS Loan, Work-Study
Important Notes

ELIGIBILITY

  • You must have completed a 2011-12 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
  • You must be a continuing student who attended fall semester 2011 and/or spring semester 2012, and have a complete 2011-12 financial aid file.
  • You must be attending a UC Berkeley Summer Session and taking a minimum of 6 units.
  • You may not exceed the maximum annual loan limits for 2011-12: $20,500 for combined subsidized and unsubsidized loans, including no more than $8,500 in subsidized loans. (Exception: Optometry, Public Health, and Joint Medical Program students have higher unsubsidized annual loan limits.)
  • You must not have a financial aid overaward for the 2011-12 academic year.
  • You must not have any registration blocks.

TYPES OF SUMMER FINANCIAL AID
 (For questions about fellowships, departmental awards, fee waivers, and fee remissions, please contact your department or visit the Graduate Division's website.)

Federal Direct Loans

If you did not accept the maximum amount of Federal Direct Loans in the 2011-12 academic year and you have at least half-time status for the Summer Session, you may be offered a summer Direct Loan. The annual loan maximum for graduate students is $20,500, of which $8,500 may be subsidized. Please note that Optometry, Public Health, and Joint Medical Program students have higher unsubsidized annual loan limits.

Students who have already signed a Master Promissory Note (MPN) do not need to sign another one for summer Direct Loans. If you have not signed an MPN, you may complete one online at www.studentloans.gov. All MPNs for summer must be signed and completed by July 27, 2012. First-time Direct Loan borrowers at UC Berkeley must also complete loan entrance counseling online at www.studentloans.gov.

Please Note: For enrollment periods beginning on or after July 1, 2012, subsidized Direct Loans for graduate and professional students are discontinued; only unsubsidized Direct Loans are available.

We will begin transmitting Direct Loans into individual Campus Accounts Receivable System (CARS) accounts the week before classes begin for each Summer Session. You will receive a single disbursement of your summer loan.

Grad PLUS Loan

If you need more than the maximum $20,500 Federal Direct Loan, you will be offered a Federal Grad PLUS Loan. The Federal Grad PLUS Loan has a 7.9% fixed interest rate, while the Federal Direct Loan has a 6.8% fixed interest rate, so we encourage you to use all of your available Direct Loan eligibility before accepting a Grad PLUS Loan. Also, a Grad PLUS Loan requires that you pass a simple credit check by the federal government.

Students who have already signed a Master Promissory Note (MPN) do not need to sign another one for a summer Grad PLUS Loan. If you have not signed an MPN, you may complete one online at www.studentloans.gov. All MPNs for summer must be signed and completed by July 27, 2012. First-time Grad PLUS Loan borrowers at UC Berkeley must also complete loan entrance counseling online at www.studentloans.gov.

Work-Study
Work-study awards for the 2012-13 academic year may be used during the summer beginning June 1, 2012.

If you intend to use your work-study during the summer, you must have a 2012-3 Financial Aid Offer with work-study included, and your financial aid file must be complete (no missing documents).

The work-study money you earn over the summer (beginning June 1, 2012) will be deducted from your 2012-13 work-study award.

IMPORTANT NOTES

  • Please Note: For enrollment periods beginning on or after July 1, 2012, subsidized Direct Loans for graduate and professional students are discontinued; only unsubsidized Direct Loans are available.
  • Budget Appeals are not accepted for summer.
  • If you have 2011-12 academic year loan eligibility remaining, accept your loan via MyFinAid by late April. You can save those loan funds and use them for the Summer Session.
  • Your summer loan eligibility is determined by subtracting your summer fellowships, departmental awards, and outside awards from your summer budget. We will be ready to offer enrolled graduate students summer loans by April 2012.
  • If you drop or change classes, or receive previously unreported summer awards, you may become ineligible for the summer loan previously awarded to you. You may be billed for summer loan funds already received if you become ineligible.
  • For further assistance, please email us at fao_grad@berkeley.edu.

 

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