financial aid (FA)

Financial Aid & Scholarships is responsible for processing financial aid applications to assist students with the payment of their educational costs through grants, student loans, scholarships, and work opportunities. Fall 2023 financial aid awards are scheduled to be credited to student accounts a few days before the first week of classes. The first day of classes is Monday, August 28, 2023. Beginning the week before the start of the semester, accepted financial aid will be applied to a student’s account through our disbursement process based on enrollment. 

Financial aid will first pay tuition fees and then University housing charges for students who reside in housing. If there are remaining funds after campus fees have been paid, students will be issued a refund by Student Financial Services. We encourage you to sign up for Direct Deposit as an option for receiving your refund. For specific information on Direct Deposit, please visit us at Direct Deposit. By using direct deposit, student refunds may be available within 3-5 business days.  If students do not choose to sign-up for direct deposit, a paper refund check will be mailed to the mailing address listed on the student portal within 7-10 business days. Students who receive any financial aid and then decide to drop units or withdraw from the University will be required to repay all or a part of the financial aid received. Information on procedures to drop a course or to withdraw from the University can be found at Student Records.

Students who wish to cancel all or a portion of their Federal Direct Loan or Federal TEACH Grant, must notify Financial Aid & Scholarships within 14 days of the date their funds were credited to their student account by completing and submitting the 2023-2024 Financial Aid Adjustment Request form found in the “Forms” section at CSUDH Financial Aid & Scholarships.  

To receive financial aid, students must:

• Be enrolled in the appropriate number of units
• Not have any university holds on their student record
• Have submitted all requested financial aid documents
• Meet our Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards located at SAP.
• If receiving a student loan, complete Loan Entrance Counseling and sign a Master Promissory Note.  For additional items that may be required for the release of a Federal Direct Loan, please refer to the section below entitled "Direct Loan Borrowers."

Federal Pell Grant Recipients: 

The Financial Aid Offer is based on full-time enrollment (12 units for undergraduate and teaching credential students). The Federal Pell Grant is dependent on enrollment status and eligibility. To receive the award, students must first be enrolled. If students enroll ¾ time (9-11 units), the grant will be reduced to 75% of the award amount. If enrolled half-time (6-8 units), the grant will be reduced to 50% of the award amount. If enrolled in less than half-time (1-5 units), the grant will be reduced to 25% of the award amount (Note:  Techer Credential students must be enrolled at least ½ time in 6 or more units to receive payment. Students enrolled in <6 units will have their grant canceled)  Some Federal Pell Grant recipients may not be eligible if enrolled in less than full time units. The duration of a student's Federal Pell Grant eligibility is limited to six years of full-time enrollment. To check Federal Pell Grant eligibility, students may login online at Student Aid.

State University Grant (SUG) Recipients: 

Students offered a State University Grant must be enrolled at least half-time (6 units undergraduate/teaching credential or 4 units graduate) in stateside courses and be charged the Tuition Fee. Undergraduate students are not eligible for this grant if they have accumulated more than 150 semester units with the exception of undergraduate transfer students who are not eligible if they accumulate more than 75 CSU semester units. Teaching credential students cannot accumulate more than 30 semester units. Master’s degree students cannot accumulate more than 125% of the required units to complete the degree. Students pursuing a second Bachelor's, certificate, non-teaching second Credential or second Master's degree are not eligible; regardless of where they received their previous degree(s).

Please note: Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Military credit and Pre-baccalaureate credit and credit by examination will not count against the SUG limits.

Cal Grant Recipients: 

In accordance with the disbursement rules established by the California Student Aid Commission, Cal Grant funds must be prorated for students who enroll less than full time (12 units).  These proration rules apply to all programs - Cal Grant A, B and B Access Grants.  If enrolled in ¾ time (9-11 units), the grant(s) will be reduced to 75% of the award amount.  If enrolled half-time (6-8 units), the grant(s) will be reduced to 50% of the award amount.  If enrolled in less than half-time (1-5 units), students are ineligible to receive the Cal Grant award disbursement. Cal Grant funding is limited to 4 academic years.  In order to graduate in 4 years, students must complete 15 units or more per semester.  Students should create a plan with their academic advisor to ensure they graduate in 4 years.

Federal Direct Loan Borrowers: 

Federal Direct Loans are loans from the Department of Education and must be REPAID.  Repayment will begin after the student graduates or is no longer enrolled half-time. If the student accepts a Federal Direct Loan, they will receive a Disclosure Statement from the U.S. Department of Education. Please Note: The Anticipated Disbursement date is NOT the date the Direct Loan will be available to the student. Financial aid is credited to the student account prior to the first week of classes and refunds are issued prior to the first week of classes.

If the student is a first-time loan borrower, they are required to complete the Loan Entrance Counseling and Master Promissory Note prior to being issued any student loan funds.  Both requirements can be completed online at Student Aid.

Additional Resources: 

Students are required to notify Financial Aid & Scholarships if receiving additional resources such as, but not limited to, the following:  Vocational rehabilitation benefits, scholarships (from a university department or an outside agency), fee waivers, third party payments, veteran's benefits and/or any other form of financial assistance not already reflected on the financial aid offer.  Financial aid may be adjusted to resolve potential over-awarding of funds and/or conflicts of fee-paying resources.

Financial Aid Eligibility and Repeating Classes: 

Financial Aid will pay for only one repeat of a previously passed course.

Financial Aid & Scholarships will identify students who are repeating previously passed classes for a second or subsequent time and reduce their offer based on the adjusted enrollment status. Repeated classes count against Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) which must be taken into consideration when determining aid eligibility. Make sure to read the SAP Policy at SAP for more information.

For specific information on how to apply for financial aid, types of aid available, deadlines, office hours, and on/off-campus job opportunities, please visit us at CSUDH Financial Aid & Scholarships.