Fall Quarter FAQ's
I cancelled my housing contract. How will this affect my financial aid?
Students who indicated an intent to live in on-campus housing on their financial aid application but who do not have a housing contract will instead receive financial aid based on an off-campus budget. This typically means a reduction to grants and/or loans of $3,882 for the academic year ($1,294 per quarter).
We will adjust aid to reflect housing changes over the next several weeks. There is no action a student needs to take, we will make these adjustments automatically.
As you will no longer be billed housing charges to your account, you can use the Payment Estimator in your MyUCSC Student Center to calculate how this changes your remaining balance. In many cases this may generate excess funds (called a refund) which will be distributed to you for other expenses, such as books, supplies, living expenses, etc.
For guidance on how to access the Payment Estimator, please review these steps and remember to enter "0" if you are presented with an on-campus housing question. Note this estimator does not reflect exact amounts, but does estimate to the nearest dollar based on fees (not miscellaneous fees you may incur such as for printing or campus pharmacy charges).
If I secure a housing contract for winter/spring, how will my aid change?
If you secure an on-campus room, we will re-evaluate your financial aid to determine how aid will adjust. You will see an increase to the winter/spring portions of your budget, as well as an increase in financial aid. However, the level of increase to your budget depends on whether you are currently in an off-campus or commuter budget. The type(s) of aid that are increased to meet your budget increase depend upon your financial need. If you are currently university grant eligible, this means you will likely see an increase to this grant. If you are not university grant eligible, then you are likely to see the budget increase be met with loan.
Why do I have a bill posted on MyUCSC, I thought I had financial aid?
Financial aid you accepted does not credit your student account until a few days before the start of the quarter. It shows as "anticipated aid" on the first bill for each quarter. To find out what you owe, subtract the anticipated aid from the amount due on your bill to figure out how much you need to pay.
How will I receive my financial aid?
Most aid is paid into your student account each quarter and will pay charges such as tuition, fees, and on-campus housing. Any aid remaining after your bill has been paid comes to you in the form of a check or direct deposit. If you have a Work Study job, your bi-weekly paychecks are mailed out or deposited to your bank account directly. See also Disbursement of Financial Aid
When will financial aid disburse?
Your financial aid will be applied to your bill on September 22 assuming you’ve completed all requirements listed on your MyUCSC. For your aid to disburse, you must be enrolled in 6 credits or more for undergraduates and 5 credits for graduate students. You can find additional information on disbursement dates on our website at Disbursement of Financial Aid
Are there any payment plans available for tuition and housing?
Monthly/Quarterly payment plans are available. To sign up for a payment plan for your tuition, contact Student Business Services at 831-459-2107. To request a payment plan for your housing bill, contact the Campus Housing Office at 831-459-2394.
MyUCSC To Do List says FA Verification - Action Required. What is this and what do I do?
You have been selected for verification as part of the financial aid process. In order to complete your 2020-2021 financial aid application please review the assigned tasks on MyAidVerify* and take the appropriate action. It is helpful to have available your 2018 financial information (i.e. Parent and Student tax transcripts, wage statements (W2/1099’s), or Verification of Non-Filing). If there are no additional tasks, your financial aid application is complete. If additional items are added in the future, you will be notified via email.
MyAidVerify* has only one task assigned to me which is the Authorization to Release Information. Is this required?
No, this form is optional. This is an optional document that you may complete after you submit your Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) and if you wish to authorize the UC Santa Cruz Financial Aid and Scholarship Office to disclose information to someone other than yourself (e.g., parents, siblings, spouse, etc.). If you do not wish to complete this optional form, no action is required on your part.
Please note effective with a student's first day of instruction at UC Santa Cruz, the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office can no longer release information to third parties (including parents) without authorization from the student to do so.
I am logging on to MyAidVerify* for the first time and am receiving an error message (Error 1010) when I attempt to create my account. What can I do?
If you are logging in for the first time, you’ll need to activate your account by confirming your First Name, Last Name, Date of Birth, and SSN/Dream ID that match your FAFSA/Dream application.
This error occurs when there is a match issue with any of these four required fields. Please check these fields as it is noted on your FAFSA or Dream Application. You can refer to your SAR (Student Aid Report) to confirm any of this information.
Common errors occur due to the names not matching exactly, suffixes (i.e. Evans Jr.), extra spaces (i.e. McFadden was entered Mc Fadden on the FAFSA), or the use of special characters (i.e. La'Juan)
My parents cannot complete their MyAidVerify* account set-up because it is locked. What can they do?
Contact our office and one of our Service Advisers can unlock the MyAidVerify* account. Please have your UCSC Student ID number available for reference.
The MyAidVerify* verification process is asking me to complete the Data Retrieval Tool (DRT), but I am not able to complete it. What can I do?
Contact our office and one of our Service Advisers to close out the request and provide you an option to upload your 2018 Tax Transcript. Please have your UCSC Student ID number available for reference.
I have completed all the verification tasks on MyAidVerify*. When should I expect my financial aid?
Due to the very high volume of applications we receive in the summer, it can take 4 - 6 weeks to complete the review of your verification forms and documentation. If additional items are added in the future, you will be notified via email. Your aid will be posted on your MyUCSC portal once it is available.
If it is late summer and you have not received your financial aid package, please contact our office.
My family’s financial circumstances have changed since we applied for aid. Can UCSC take these changes into consideration?
If you or your parent(s) financial situation changed after you applied, or at any time during the academic year, you may request a family contribution appeal through MyAid Verify. Request a family contribution appeal through MyAidVerify*. For more information on our appeal process click here.
I have been offered financial aid, but I submitted a letter with more information, has my letter been taken into consideration?
Letters you submit will be posted as "received" on the student's To Do List. When the letters have been reviewed, they will disappear from the To Do List. The adviser will contact you if additional information is needed.
The response time for letters received in summer is generally several months. Due to the high volume of aid applications for fall, our first priority is to post an aid offer for every application we receive. Letters we receive after an aid offer has been posted, will be reviewed after all applicants have received their award letters.
I am expecting to receive outside assistance (scholarships, etc.). How will this affect my financial aid?
Because your award meets 100% of your cost of attendance, the receipt of aid from outside sources will require an adjustment to your financial aid package. It is our policy to replace a student’s need-based loans and work-study first whenever possible. If the amount of outside aid received exceeds the amount of financial need as calculated by your cost of attendance less your EFC, then, gift aid may be reduced if no other need based loan or work study remains.
If I do not accept my loan now, can I accept it at a later date?
Yes, you can accept direct loans at a later date. Offered loans can be partially or fully accepted by June 2021 if you are attending for the full academic year.
I have applied for a Parent Loan, how will I know when it has been processed?
There are 2 ways to know if an approved PLUS request has been processed by our office:
- When the name of the award on your aid offer changes from "Parent Loan Option-Apply Online" to "Federal Direct Parent Loan"
- When the PLUS request is received, it will be posted on the student's To Do List as "received.” When it is processed, it will disappear from the To Do List
If my parent loan is denied, what other financial aid options do I have?
You have several options:
-Your parents can re-apply at studentaid.gov with a co-signer to see if the loan can get approved that way.
-You parents can appeal their loan denial at studentsaid.gov
-If your parents do not have a co-signer and do not appeal, they can contact our office to request additional unsubsidized loan for you. Depending on your grade level, you may be eligible for an additional $4000-$5000 in unsubsidized loan.
Can I still apply for a Federal Direct Parent Loan (PLUS)?
Parents can submit a PLUS Loan request any time during the year at studentaid.gov. To receive PLUS funds in time for the start of fall quarter, PLUS requests should be submitted by September 4. Approved PLUS requests are processed in date order. If a request is submitted after September 4, you may need to make the Fall payment and be reimbursed when PLUS funds are disbursed.
I accepted my student loans, but I haven't received the funds. Is something wrong?
Once you accept student or parent loans, please check your To-Do List by logging on to your MyUCSC Student Portal.
For student loans, you must complete Entrance Counseling and a Master Promissory Note (MPN).
For parent loans, your parent must complete a MPN under their name. Entrance Counseling and Promissory Notes are only required once. All of these steps can be completed online at www.studentaid.gov.
What happens if I withdraw from school before the term is over?
If you withdraw from school you may be expected to repay a portion of your financial aid. According to a formula prescribed by federal regulations, any refundable amount used to pay tuition and fees or for university housing is returned to the appropriate financial aid sources. You are also required to complete Exit Counseling for the loans you took out. For more information on the Withdrawal process click here.
What happens if I do not pass all of my classes? What if I drop a class?
As a recipient of financial aid you must meet satisfactory academic progress. If you fail, withdraw from, or do not participate in your courses, it may impact your eligibility for financial aid. If you change your enrollment level before the census date, your aid will be revised accordingly. For more information on how enrollment adjustments affect future term aid, review our Satisfactory Academic Progress appeal process here.
How can I estimate my financial aid refund for next quarter?
Use the payment estimator available on MyUCSC to calculate how much your refund will be. You will need to subtract amounts you currently owe for miscellaneous charges.
