Scholarships, Grants, & Loans

To watch a video explaining the details of the Cal Grant, click here.

Cal Grants are need-based grants provided by the State of California. To qualify, a student must be a California resident, be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, obtain a social security number and be attending (or plan to attend) an eligible institution in California. Awarding of grants is based on financial need and academic performance, and funds are limited.

A student may receive only one Cal Grant, either Cal Grant A, B, or C. The three grants are targeted to assist three distinct groups of applicants and are mutually exclusive.

• Cal Grant Forms

Cal Grant A

Provides tuition assistance for a student attending a four-year institution. Cal Grant A pays full enrollment fees at a CSU or UC.  If you qualify for a Cal Grant A but choose to attend a California community college before transferring, your award eligibility will be held in reserve for up to two years until you transfer to a four-year college.

Cal Grant B

Cal B is awarded to very low-income students with a minimum 2.0 GPA.
Cal Grant B provides a living allowance ($1648/year) for very low-income students at a California Community College. The enrollment status of the student i.e. full-time, three-quarter time, or half-time will proportionately affect the amount of money actually received.

More than half of all new Cal Grant B awards are for students who will be attending a California community college. When renewed by second-, third-, and fourth-year students at a four-year institution, a Cal Grant B will also cover all or most of tuition and fee costs at a CSU or UC.

Cal Grant C

Cal Grant C is awarded to community college students majoring in vocational, occupational, or technical programs. The grant is $1094/year; the enrollment status of the student i.e. full-time, three-quarter time, or half-time will proportionately affect the amount of money received by eligible students.

Student Success Completion Grant.

The Student Success Completion Grant (SSCG) is a grant that is given to eligible students receiving Cal Grant B or Cal Grant C and who are enrolled full-time (12 or more units). Students must also be making satisfactory academic progress (SAP) and be a California resident or be exempt from paying nonresident tuition in order to receive this grant. If a student is enrolled in 12-14.99 units for a term, they will receive $649 per semester. If a student is enrolled in 15 or more units, they will receive $2000 per semester.

For more information about the SSCG, click here.

WebGrants for Students The California Student Aid Commission has created this website just for you, the student. The goal is to provide you with the tools you need to establish and manage your Cal Grant and/or Chafee Grant. Please visit WebGrants for Students

Cal Grant or Chafee Grant Information Get detailed application and award status information on your Cal Grant or Chafee Grant 24 hours/day, 7 days/week:
Interactive Voice Response System 1-888-224-7268 or Web Grants for Students: https://mygrantinfo.csac.ca.gov/

Cal Grant GPA Verification Procedures

For September 2nd deadline

In general, our college is able to provide a GPA Verification ONLY if you completed 16 units (this does NOT include Basic skills or ESL courses) prior to the Fall term. All currently attending  Berkeley City College students who completed 16 or more units (not including Basic Skills or ESL) prior to the Fall term will be automatically certified electronically. Do not submit an individual form as it will not be completed. Students who have already been awarded a Cal Grant for a previous year need only refile a FAFSA form, not a GPA verification form.

Special Exceptions

You should complete a paper GPA verification form if:

1. You completed less than 16 units of non-basic skills or ESL classes at Berkeley City College or any other college prior to Fall; you must request a GPA verification directly from your high school.
2. Your combined units from Berkeley City College and a prior college are between 16 – 24 units prior to Fall. You must submit your official transcript from the prior college to the Berkeley City College counseling office, a combined GPA will be calculated for you by the counseling office.

For further information visit the Cal Grant Program website

For March 2nd deadline

In general, our college is able to provide a GPA Verification ONLY if you completed 16 units (this does NOT include Basic skills or ESL courses) prior to the Spring term. All students currently attending Berkeley City College who completed 16 or more units (not including Basic Skills or ESL) prior to the Spring term will be automatically certified electronically. Do not submit an individual form as it will not be completed. Students who have already been awarded a Cal Grant for a previous year need only refile a FAFSA form, not a GPA verification form.

To watch a video explaining the details of the California College Promise Grant, click here.
For AB 540 students, you must complete California Dream Act Application.

In order for students to maintain California College Promise Grant eligibility, students must meet the following:

• Meet the Income standard
• Be a California resident
• Meet Academic Standards (Cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher)
• Meet Progress Standards (Cumulative satisfactory completion of more than 50% of all coursework attempted at PCCD)

Note: Academic and Progress standards above do not apply to foster youth (24 years and younger)

>> Loss of California College Promise Grant Information: 

• Loss Waiver Info

Visit: https://studentaid.gov/ to complete the FAFSA application

Visit: https://dream.csac.ca.gov/ to complete the Dream Act application

Berkeley City College Federal School Code: 014311

Berkeley City College Dream Act /State School Code: 02242700

**After 7 business days if your Campus Solutions still shows your tuition fees, please come visit our Financial Aid Office **

Subsidized Loans: For students with demonstrated financial need as determined by federal regulations, no interest is charged while you are in school at least half-time (6 or more units) or are in a deferment period.

• Starting with the 2012-2013 school year, students are responsible for paying the interest during the 6-months grace period.
• Beginning July 1, 2012, graduate and professional students are no longer eligible to receive Subsidized Loans.

Unsubsidized Loans: Not based on financial need. Interest is charged from the time you receive the loan, even when you are attending school and during deferment periods.

The chart below shows the maximum annual loan limits which are based on the number of college units you’ve completed and your dependency status. You are Dependent if you had to provide parent information on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Your FAFSA results and financial aid (including scholarships) are used to determine your loan amount. As a result, not every student qualifies for the maximums shown on the chart. If you enroll for only one semester, you will receive half of your loan eligibility for the academic year. Also, Berkeley City College does not adjust loan amounts for students who advance to the 2nd year level during the academic year.

ANNUAL FEDERAL DIRECT STUDENT LOAN LIMITS 

*Units = Completed Units

*Units = Completed Units

Interest Rates for Direct Loans

 IT DEPENDS ON:

• Your college’s cost of attendance (COA) – Cost of education is an estimated amount that you will need to cover costs related to college attendance,

• Your expected family’s contribution (EFC) – The amount of money calculated by FAFSA that you and/or family are expected to pay toward your annual college costs,

• How many course units you have completed with a passing grade.

• Whether you’re an independent or a dependent student, AND

• How much other financial aid you receive (inclusive: all Federal & State grants, Private Aid, and Scholarships.)

Your Loan and any other financial aid, including private aid cannot be more than your COA. Therefore, the amount of Loan you can borrow is the “Remaining Amount” of how much is still needed after you have deducted all the Grant Aid and Scholarships you have received from your COA Budget. The formula for how much you can borrow is:

EXAMPLE:

Cost of Attendance (COA) at Berkeley City College for Academic Year:

– (Minus) Total Aid Awarded: _ ________________ <$11,234>

= (Equal) Total Remaining Amount Need: _____ $8,072 (Maximum
Loan Amount) 

To apply for a Fall 2023, Spring 2024, and Summer 2024 loan, Please complete ALL actions listed below before the application deadline:

1. Apply to a Peralta Community College
2. Complete the FAFSA Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and submit all required documents to your Berkeley City College’s Financial Aid Office before the deadline date. This college at which you intend to complete your program of study/educational goal. Berkeley City College's school code is 014311.
3. Enroll in six (6) or more units related to your degree or major. You must be working toward completion of an eligible Transfer, Certificate, or Associate Degree-granting program.
4. Turn in all supplemental documents requested by the BCC Financial Aid Office (FAO) (Supplemental paperwork is available for you to pick up from the BCC FAO front counter (or download from our website) 7-10 business days after you have successfully filed your online FAFSA application.) Your BCC financial aid file must be completed before you can be considered eligible for a loan. Please check your PCCD e-mail or your passport account for updated information.
5. Submit the 2021-2022 Supplemental Loan Request Form/Application, which you can get by visiting the financial aid office.
6. If you attended another institution/college you may need to meet with a counselor to complete a “Transcript Evaluation Form” and/or a Student Educational Plan (SEP) and submit the Form(s) together with your Loan Request Package to the financial aid office.
7. If you are on academic dismissal, you must complete and submit an Appeal Form to the FAO (Your appeal must be approved in order to be eligible for a student loan.)
8. If you have received a Bachelor’s Degree or higher, you must do the following:
   
   1. Complete and submit the “Graduate Appeal Form” (Appeal must be approved in order to be eligible for a student loan).
      
      *** Forms are also available at the BCC Financial Aid Office ***
      
      
9. Complete an online Master Promissory Note (MPN – a legally binding contract between a lender, federal government, and you. The Promissory note contains the terms and conditions of the loan, including how and when the loan must be repaid.) at https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/index.action.
10. Complete an online Entrance Counseling at https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/index.action. (You must take the loan entrance exam every academic year.) After passing the Entrance Exam, PRINT out the “Proof of Completion” and submit it to the FAO along with your loan application request.
11. You must complete the “Financial Awareness Counseling” session through https://studentaid.gov/. After completing the Financial Awareness Counseling, print out the confirmation and submit it with the rest of your loan documents.
12. You must complete the online Loan Exit Counseling at https://studentaid.gov/exit-counseling/ prior to leaving Berkeley City College, or if your course load drops below 6 (six) units.
13. Be sure to submit all other pertinent documents along with your Supplemental Loan Request Form. Student Loan Requests will take anywhere from 4-6 weeks to process.
14. Check your PCCD e-mail for correspondences and updates from the financial aid office.

Berkeley City College strives to limit student loan defaults. For this reason, loan requests from “higher risk” students may be denied or reduced. The following are factors, but are not limited to in determining whether a student is categorized as “higher risk”:

• Student has an undeclared major or undecided educational goal.
• Student is not enrolled in a Title IV eligible program of study (16 or more units in length.)
• Student is not making steady progress in an eligible program or is not currently meeting PCCD Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards.
• Student already borrowed to a maximum appropriate for the earning potential of PCCD program. (We suggest $16,000 – including previous student loan debt from other colleges).
• Have received a baccalaureate degree (B.A or B.S) and have not submitted a petition to be considered for a student loan.
• Student is or has been in default or delinquency in financial obligations.
• Student has a change in planned borrowing from a previous year(s).
• Student appears to be or has been defaulted or delinquent on financial obligations.
• Student has an incomplete or missing student loan “Worksheet for Student Borrowers” form.

• After your student loan form “Worksheet for Student Borrowers” has been approved and certified by the Berkeley City College Financial Aid Office, the Federal Loan Department will be notified of your approval status immediately.
• You will be notified officially by postal mail and/or e-mail within a week from the Federal Loan Service Department that you have been certified and you will receive a complete informational package regarding the amounts, disbursements, terms, and conditions of your student loan.
• Your loan money will be credited to your selected refund preference with BankMobile Disbursements, a technology solution, powered by BMTX, Inc. (Peralta’s 3rd party funds management servicer). For more information, visit this link: https://bankmobiledisbursements.com/refundchoices/.
• Your loan will cover a full academic year and will be given to you in two (2) disbursements – the first for Fall and the other for Spring. If your loan covers only one semester, you will receive your funds in two (2) disbursements – 1st approximately four weeks after the start of the semester and the 2nd midpoint of the semester.
• The earliest date student loan funds will be issued is approximately four weeks after the start of the semester. All first-time borrowers have a mandatory thirty-day (30) waiting period before they receive their first disbursement. The earliest date student loan funds will be issued to first-time borrowers is approximately six weeks after the semester begins.
• You should not plan to use the loan money to pay registration fees, campus fees, or to buy your textbooks as these funds will arrive after classes begin.