Summer Sessions Loan

You are a UC Berkeley undergraduate student.

You are enrolled in at least six units in Berkeley Summer Sessions or at least six units in a combination of Berkeley Summer Sessions, Berkeley Summer Abroad, or Education Abroad Program.

You received the Middle Class Scholarship (MCS) in the 2022-2023 academic year.

You meet all Summer Aid eligibility requirements.

You can qualify for a maximum of $4,000 in the Summer Sessions Loan based on federal need.

Please note the Summer Sessions Loan is NOT available to students enrolled through the Summer Intercampus Program.

The Summer Sessions Loan will be included in your summer financial aid package if you are eligible.

If you wish to borrow the loan, you can begin by accepting the loan under the My Finances tab in CalCentral.

You can complete the Heartland ECSI loan requirements once you receive an email from ECSI beginning in early May. The email will contain an ECSI PIN necessary for successful login and completion of the online process. Check all your Berkeley email folders for this email, including the spam folder.

The Heartland ECSI email will include a PIN for logging into Electronic Promissory Notes. Please log in with your SSN and PIN to complete the following loan requirements:

• Entrance Loan Counseling (contains a short multiple-choice quiz)

• Promissory note (consists of the Truth in Lending Act disclosure)

Please check your UC Berkeley email folders, including your spam folder, for an email with PIN information from Heartland ECSI. If you have not received an email from ECSI, please get in touch with ECSI directly at https://heartland.ecsi.net/index.main.html#/contactus. You may need to provide them with your Social Security Number, legal name, permanent address, and date of birth, as it appears in CalCentral.

When you complete your promissory note, you will notice the SID on your promissory note will differ from your UC Berkeley student ID. Due to system limitations, the promissory note cannot accept a ten-digit SID. The SID on your promissory note will be 0XXXXXXXX instead of a ten-digit SID. If you are interested in the Summer Sessions Loan, proceed with the process with your SID being nine digits instead of ten digits.

Please note to receive a refund from the Summer Sessions Loan before the end of Session A, complete loan requirements by the third week of June, and receive a refund from the Summer Sessions Loan for all other sessions, complete the requirements by the end of July. Please complete the required processes by the following deadlines:

After the student completes the Summer Sessions Loan requirements and the mandatory seven-business day rescission period, UC Berkeley will receive an electronic confirmation from Heartland ECSI. 

Your Loan Requirements task in CalCentral will be completed once UC Berkeley receives confirmation from ECSI.

The loan will be disbursed to your student account if you meet all eligibility criteria.

You will receive a refund if your loan disbursement exceeds your outstanding charges for the Summer term.

Billing and Payment Services will notify you if you are eligible for a refund.

Please Sign Up for Direct Deposit if you want your refund deposited directly into your bank account.

Notify the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office by opening a case with Cal Student Central if you want your Summer Sessions Loan or Federal Direct Loans reduced or canceled.

Repayment on the Summer Sessions Loan begins nine months after the student ceases to be at least a half-time student at UC Berkeley. The interest on the Summer Session Loan will accrue on the unpaid balance from the beginning of the repayment period, and students will be required to make minimum monthly payments. The loan repayment period is five years once the loan becomes due.

Interest is fixed at 5% for the five-year standard repayment period.

You can make payments on your UC Berkeley Summer Sessions Loan to the loan servicer Heartland ECSI.

Complete Exit Loan Counseling with Heartland ECSI if you leave school, graduate, or enroll less than half-time.

Keep your contact information up-to-date with UC Berkeley and Heartland ECSI to receive essential information regarding repayment.

You can repay your loan without penalty at any time. The faster you pay your loan, the less interest you pay over time.

You will receive information regarding beginning repayment toward the end of your nine-month grace period.

If you have yet to receive repayment information, don't hesitate to contact UC Berkeley at accountconsultants@berkeley.edu, Heartland ECSI, or open a case with Cal Student Central.

Please note UC Berkeley changed the loan servicer from ACS to Heartland ECSI on August 1, 2017. If you borrowed a Summer Sessions Loan before August 1, 2017, your account balance was transferred to ECSI.

Cal Student Central is the destination for student inquiries related to financial aid, fees and billing, disbursements, registration, and enrollment.

Please notify the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office by opening a case with Cal Student Central if you would like your Summer Sessions Loan or Federal Direct Loans reduced or canceled.