Summer Abroad Program Financial Aid
for Undergraduate Students
Frequently Asked Questions

1. What types of financial aid are available for a Summer Abroad Program?
2. How does the Summer Abroad Program financial aid process work?
3. What is important to know about financial aid for Summer Abroad Programs?
4. What does a sample Summer Abroad Program budget look like?
5. How can I determine what kind of loan funding might be available to me for my Summer Abroad Program?

1. What types of financial aid are available for a Summer Abroad Program?
Typically, the types of funding available for a Summer Abroad Program are UC Summer Fee Grants for the per-unit cost (if you qualify), unused Direct Loans from the prior year, and Parent PLUS Loans (or private loans if you do not qualify for a PLUS Loan). Basically, you will qualify for the same types of funding as you would if you were to attend Summer Sessions on the UC Berkeley campus.

2. How does the Summer Abroad Program financial aid process work?

• Review your financial aid eligibility before enrolling. Check your Messages screen on MyFinAid in late February to see if you are eligible for grant aid, and then calculate your loan eligibilty.
• Once you understand the types and amounts of aid you are qualified to receive, you can then decide whether or not to enroll in your Summer Abroad Program.
• The Financial Aid and Scholarships Office will post your summer award package on MyFinAid in March. You then must accept and/or decline the awards you would like.
• Ten (10) days before the start date of your program, the financial aid awards you accepted will be sent to your Campus Accounts Receivable System (CARS) account. Your aid will be applied to any outstanding charges, and then to your summer-related charges. Once these charges are paid, any funding accepted by you in excess of the fixed costs will be refunded to you via your Electronic Funds Transfer account for you to use for your personal expenses.

3. What is important to know about financial aid for Summer Abroad Programs?

• Make sure that your Electronic Funds Transfer account is active to ensure timely receipt of your funds.
• Make sure that your CARS account contains no previous semester balances before you leave. If any balance remains in CARS, the aid you will receive for your Summer Abroad Program will pay those balances before refunding to you. This means you would not receive the full amount you were expecting for your summer abroad. If any other balances remain while you are away, late fees will be assessed, and you may end up with a financial block upon your return. Not a very happy welcome home!
• You cannot be on the spring 2012 degree list. Your aid will be withheld until your name is removed from the degree list. Speak with your college to remove yourself from the degree list.
• Any deposits owed to the Summer Sessions office for your Summer Abroad Program must be paid before their deadline. These expenses are considered a part of your Summer Abroad Program fee, and your total budget will take this into consideration.
• The total estimated budget for all Summer Abroad Programs includes deposits, airfare, accommodations, food, spending money, books and supplies, trip and travel money, as well as pre-departure expenses such as immunizations, and passport and visa applications.
• We advise you to purchase a plane ticket, passport, and visas well in advance of your departure date. Financial aid will disburse to you only 10 days before the start date of your program, and then refund to you approximately four to five business days later, which is not enough time to get a good deal on airfare or arrange for a passport and visas. Planning in advance for your trip is very important.

4. What does a sample Summer Abroad Program budget look like?

SAMPLE SUMMER ABROAD PROGRAM BUDGET

Program Name:
Guardamar, de Segura, Spain: 6 units

Program Dates:
06/04/12 to 07/27/12 (7.71 weeks)

FIXED EXPENSES
Per-Unit Fees (Fee Grant-eligible)	$2,058
Room and Board/Program Fee	$2,210
TOTAL FIXED EXPENSES	$4,268
LIVING EXPENSES
Transportation	$1,700
Personal	$1,725
Books/Supplies	$    324
TOTAL LIVING EXPENSES	$3,749
TOTAL ESTIMATED BUDGET*	$8,017
TOTAL AWARD BREAKDOWN
(Total Estimated Budget - includes all expenses)	($8,017)
UC Summer Fee Grant: if you are eligible; covers per-unit cost	$2,058
Remaining Costs: to be covered by loans or other means	$5,959

*It is important to note that although the total estimated budget includes fixed expenses for program and housing fees, all other living expenses are only estimates. It is difficult to know how much funding each student will need to cover individual expenses such as airfare, books and supplies, and personal spending money, so the total budget may be larger than some students need. It is up to you to decide how much of any loan awards offered to you that you will actually need to accept to cover the Remaining Costs portion of the budget. This is a personal decision that only you can make, but we will offer you the maximum amount of student and parent loans that we can to ensure that you are completely funded for your semester abroad.

5. How can I determine what kind of loan funding might be available to me for my Summer Abroad Program?

If you did not accept or receive the annual maximum amount of your student loan eligibility during the academic year, the remaining balance of these loans are available to you to use for your Summer Abroad Program.

To get an idea of your summer loan eligibility before receiving your summer financial aid offer, you can compare the amount of loans you accepted and received against the total amount available to you as shown on the following tables. Simply subtract the total amount of loans you accepted and received during the academic year from the total amount available for your grade level to calculate your remaining summer loan eligibility. You can check the Award Payment Status screen on MyFinAid for your 2011-12 academic year loan information.

Dependent Students Loan Eligibility		Independent Students Loan Eligibility
Freshmen:	$3,500 Subsidized	Freshman:	$3,500 Subsidized
(1st Year)	$2,000 Unsubsidized	(1st Year)	$6,000 Unsubsidized
	$5,500 Total		$9,500 Total
Sophomore:	$4,500 Subsidized	Sophomore:	$4,500 Subsidized
(2nd Year)	$2,000 Unsubsidized	(2nd Year)	$6,000 Unsubsidized
	$6,500 Total		$10,500 Total
Juniors/Seniors:	$5,500 Subsidized	Juniors/Seniors:	$5,500 Subsidized
(3rd, 4th, 5th Years)	$2,000 Unsubsidized	(3rd, 4th, 5th Years)	$7,000 Unsubsidized
	$7,500 Total		$12,500 Total

Example: Joe Cal is a Dependent sophomore who accepted and received $3,450 of his loan eligibility during the academic year. This leaves him with $3,050 remaining student loan eligibility for the summer term ($6,500 - $3,450 = $3,050).

Example: Josephine Cal is an Independent freshman who accepted and received $9,500 of her loan eligibility during the academic year. This leaves her with no remaining student loan eligibility for the summer term ($9,500 - $9,500 = $0).