How and When Financial Aid Pays
When a student's financial aid awards are ready to pay out tthe awards will be applied automatically to the student's Campus Accounts Receivable System (CARS) account. CARS directly bills students for all types of student charges, including registration fees, University housing, telephone, short-term loans, financial aid adjustments, Summer Session registration fees, and miscellaneous student debts.
When financial aid will pay out
At least one week prior to the beginning of each semester financial aid awards will be applied to the student's CARS account. This will only occur if the following criteria are met:
- The student must be enrolled at least half-time,
- The student can not have any blocks, and
- The student's financial aid file must be complete.
Some aid will not be ready to pay out so it will be disbursed later. For example, if a loan has not been accepted yet, or part of the loan process has not been completed, then it won't be ready to be disbursed. (Work study earnings are paid directly to the student, as earnings occur.)
The Financial Aid Office sends financial aid payments to CARS three times per week.
Being eligible for a refund
After your financial aid is applied to whatever bills you have in CARS, if there is any aid remaining, this remaining amount will be refunded to you directly. In other words, if what you owe in CARS is less than the amount of aid that has been applied to CARS, you will get money back. On the other hand, if what you owe is less than the aid that was applied, then you will owe money (have a CARS balance).
Remember that if you are billed for items after all your aid has disbursed, you will have to pay the new bills with your refund or some other source.
How to pay your CARS bill
All payments to your CARS account are made through E-billing. Students do not receive paper bills. The E-Billing process is described on the Billing and Payment Services web site
Students can authorize access to a parent or other trusted adult to make payments on his/her behalf.
Once a month students are sent an email notifying them to check their e-Bill if any activity has occurred in the account.
Frequently Asked Questions (these are copied from the student section of our site)
- What is Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and how do I sign up?Hide
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EFT is a way to have CARS refunds deposited directly to your checking or savings account. If you don't sign up for EFT then your check(s) will be held at University Hall for four weeks. If you don't pick it up by that time the check will be mailed to whatever local address you have reported to the Registrar. Sign up for EFT at http://eftstudent.berkeley.edu/.
- Does all my money come at the same time?Hide
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Your financial aid awards are for the academic year. Half is disbursed in Fall and half in Spring. When funds are first disbursed for the semester some of your aid may not pay out. For example, if you have accepted a loan but you have not completed a master promissory note, the loan will not be disbursed until you have completed the entire loan process.
- Can I choose not to have the Financial Aid Office pay my bills in CARS?Hide
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Your financial aid must be used to pay registration fees, non-resident tuition, and residence hall bills, and any current family housing bills, before any funds can be disbursed to you. You can choose to have other CARS bills not paid automatically. This option appears on the online Offer Letter.
- What happens if I withdraw after receiving financial aid?Hide
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If you withdraw after receiving your financial aid you could be billed a significant portion of your aid depending on what type of aid you received and when you stopped attending class. Read our web page for more information on withdrawing and financial aid.
- Why do I get billed for financial aid?Hide
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You get billed for financial aid when you become ineligible for an award. For example, if you received a SMART Grant, which requires full time enrollment, then the Registrar reports that you are enrolled less than full time, your SMART Grant will be removed from your Offer Letter and you will be billed. If you receive outside scholarships or other types of outside awards that you had not reported you could be billed for some of your financial aid. If you are billed for a financial aid award you should visit the Financial Aid Office.
- How do I find out if I need to make any payments to the University?Hide
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Your CARS statement in Bear Facts will display any balances you owe to the University.
- Why haven't I received a refund?Hide
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Financial aid awards are applied directly to the CARS accounts of students enrolled in classes. Institutional Grants, University scholarships, scholarships from outside agencies, and Cal Grants are used to pay off any University debts in the following order: current-semester registration fees and tuition, Financial Aid Office adjustments, past due debts, current due receivables, and future due receivables. Monies left over after all charges are paid are refunded to the student.
Students receiving departmental awards may not have their award applied to their CARS balance. Check with Billing and Payment Services to find out how your award was disbursed and if you still have a balance.
Some students will have no financial aid refunds available to them because all of their aid has been used to pay University debts. This is most likely to occur for students living in University residence halls.
Federal financial aid, Cal Grants, UC Grants and Scholarships will pay to CARS only when all registration blocks are removed and the student meets all enrollment requirements. In addition, federal regulations prohibit federal aid from being used to pay prior years' debts.
Students with financial aid or other partial fee offsets covering at least the first registration fee installment will not need to make a payment in order to complete registration, and will be billed automatically on the deferred payment plan for any remaining fees.
Students with questions about their CARS statements should contact the Billing and Payment Services (140 University Hall, (510) 642-3190).