Berkeley offers a variety of scholarship programs that can help you fund your education. In addition, you can search for outside scholarships to help with your educational expenses.
Scholarships for Berkeley Students
Please see the following web pages for more information on both UC Berkeley scholarships and outside scholarships.
Some students wonder why they are receiving a request to thank donors several months after receiving the scholarship notification. This page explains the scholarship cycle and the critical role you play in ensuring that UC Berkeley is able to continue to provide deserving students like you with financial support in the form of scholarships.
Step 1. Donors create named scholarships (year-round)
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Donors create scholarships for Berkeley students and specify a purpose for the scholarship, such as for a specific major. These donor-named scholarships are pooled together into general scholarship funds, such as the Berkeley Undergraduate Scholarship, Fiat Lux, or the Regents’ and Chancellor’s Scholarship.
Step 2. Berkeley offers students financial aid packages (spring)
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In the spring, Berkeley makes admissions decisions and offers students a financial aid package. These packages are based on what is available in the total scholarship funding pool. At this time, specific, donor-named scholarships are not yet matched to each student. Students receive their financial aid disbursement just before the fall semester begins.
Step 3. FASO matches students with donor-created scholarships (early fall)
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In the fall, once students are enrolled and registered for classes, the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office (FASO) matches each student receiving a scholarship with specific donor-named scholarships. This match is done to ensure that donor funds are matched with students who meet the requirements of the scholarships.
Step 4. Scholar information shared with UDAR (fall)
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The office of University Development and Alumni Relations (UDAR) works with the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office (FASO) once students are matched with named scholarships. UDAR is the central fundraising unit on campus, and the connection point between scholars and the UC Berkeley donor community. FASO shares scholarship recipient information with UDAR, and UDAR reaches out to scholars to request a scholarship profile.
Step 5. Students create scholarship profiles (fall)
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From October through December, UDAR contacts scholarship recipients through email to fill out a short online scholarship profile. Each scholarship recipient writes a scholarship profile to express appreciation for the donors’ generosity and to help the donors feel connected to the students they are supporting.
Step 6. UDAR sends profiles to donors (winter and spring)
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UDAR lightly edits scholarship profiles for grammar, spelling, and sensitive information. UDAR sends donors the scholarship profile(s) of the student(s) they are supporting. Student profile and experiences matter to donors, and they appreciate seeing that their money is being well spent in support of students’ education.
Step 7. UDAR invites students to record a video update (late spring)
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UDAR reaches out using a video email platform, ThankView, to invite students to record a quick video update for their donors. UDAR provides a toolkit and the opportunity to record videos at scheduled recording sessions. This short video is an opportunity for students to share their passions and student experience with donors and Berkeley alumni, and can lead to lifelong connections.
Step 8. UDAR sends ThankView videos to donors (early summer):
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In May, UDAR edits the videos to improve the overall video quality and sends them to donors via email. Any donor responses to videos are routed to scholars by UDAR so that they may continue the conversation.
UC Berkeley thanks its scholars for the important role they play in thanking donors and congratulates them on their achievements.
For more information, see alsoGiving Thanks to Our DonorsandFrequently Asked Questions.
Expressing Gratitude for Your Scholarship
It’s a tremendous achievement to receive a scholarship from UC Berkeley.
UC Berkeley is able to provide scholarships like the Berkeley Undergraduate Scholarship, Fiat Lux, and the Regents’ and Chancellor’s Scholarship because of hundreds of donors who want to see students achieve their full potential in college.
Giving Thanks to Our Donors
The university shows its appreciation to these generous donors by sending them each a thank-you letter along with a personal message from each scholarship recipient. The donors of these scholarships are genuinely interested in learning about you and want to know that they are making a real difference in the lives of students.
That’s why we need every recipient of a donor-funded scholarship to fill out a scholarship profile. The scholarship profile and the ThankView video are easy and effective ways for you to express your appreciation to the donors who made your scholarship possible. Here’s how they work.
The Scholarship Profile and ThankView Video
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The scholarship profile and the ThankView video are easy and effective ways for you to express your appreciation to the donors who made your scholarship possible. Here’s how they work.
Step 1: You will receive an email in the fall (between September and December) by the UC Berkeley department responsible for thanking donors: Donor and Gift Services, University Development and Alumni Relations (UDAR).
Step 2: From the email, click on the link to the scholarship profile website.
You will be shown how to fill out a scholarship profile. This website will have sample profiles and an online submission form.
It will also tell you about the person who financed your scholarship, in a brief scholarship biography. Donors often create scholarships for a specific purpose that is meaningful to them and name the scholarship after themselves or a loved one. You will likely be writing your profile for a donor who has specifically asked to support a student like you. Reading the short scholarship biography will help you understand something about the person who is helping to fund your education and may inspire specific ideas about what to say in your scholarship profile.
Step 3: You will be guided step-by-step in filling out the profile. In the scholarship profile, you will be asked to answer three prompts and provide an optional photo.
Step 4: If you completed your scholarship profile in the fall, then you may receive an email from University Development and Alumni Relations, through the ThankView platform, inviting you to submit a short video update for your donor.
Step 5: Review the materials contained in the ThankView Recording Toolkit and record or upload your video through the email link when ready.
The ThankView Recording Toolkit contains recording tips, example scripts and videos, a written option, and an opportunity to sign up for an in-person video recording session with someone from our team.
Your participation in thanking donors is crucial to showing them the impact of their giving on your life and the lives of other students, and encourages them to continue their financial support for Berkeley’s talented undergraduate students. Thank you for helping Berkeley continue to provide scholarships to deserving students like yourself!
