A Partnership
Financing an education at UC Berkeley is a partnership between the university and the student. Paying for your education is a combination of:
- Gift aid from the university (scholarships and grants from federal, state, or UC sources)
- Self-help aid (work-study or student loans)
- Other sources of income (family support or outside employment)
After evaluating a student’s eligibility for financial aid, the university awards gift aid (scholarships and grants), which is free aid that does not need to be repaid. Gift aid helps cover a portion of the student’s educational expenses, also known as the cost of attendance.
For most students, gift aid does not cover all costs. Self-help aid is what a student is reasonably expected to contribute to their education costs from work, borrowing student loans, and outside scholarships (not from federal, state, or UC sources). This contribution is known as the self-help expectation. Students may also receive help to finance their overall costs through other sources of income, which can include outside employment and family savings.
Through this partnership, we seek to maximize the investment students and their families make in higher education and help ensure that students graduate with the lowest amount of debt possible.
Factors That Influence Self-help Expectations
The self-help expectation is determined through a comprehensive evaluation of the federal, state, and institutional funding availability, as well as the overall cost of attendance for students. While tuition stability keeps your direct costs to the university consistent, your indirect education costs adjust overtime with inflation (indirect costs can include off-campus rent, outside meals, books, supplies, transportation, and other personal expenses). Increases in scholarship and grant resources (e.g., increases to the maximum Pell Grant amount) can help to offset some of the cost increases. As cost and resource factors fluctuate, the self-help level may vary from year to year. Additional pressures on self-help expectations are from the new federal calculation of financial need and the need to comply with the systemwide UC commitments, such as providing debt-free pathways to low-income students and the Native American Opportunity Plan.
Learn more about your responsibilities as a recipient of financial aid by reviewing the following pages:
- Verification Process
- Financial Aid Payments and Refunds
- Maintaining Your Eligibility
- Managing Outside Scholarships
- Satisfactory Academic Progress
- Withdrawing from Classes or School
- Repaying Your Loan
If you have special circumstances that are affecting your finances, please see our Appeals and Special Circumstances page.