Congratulations on your admission to the University of California, Irvine!

As a new Anteater, you and your family may have questions about financial aid. That’s completely normal — and we’re here to help.

We’ve put together answers to some of the most frequently asked questions we receive from newly admitted students. These resources are designed to help you and your family better understand how financial aid works at UC Irvine and support you in making informed decisions.

Please keep in mind: the information provided is general and may not apply to every student or every situation.

Welcome to the start of something great — and Zot! Zot! Zot!

Newly Admitted Undergraduate Students

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  • No. Applicants can review the status of their FAFSA or CADAA in ZotAid. It is not an offer of admission nor does it reflect your admission status. 

  • The priority deadline for the 2026-27 academic year (fall 2026, winter 2027, spring 2027, summer 2027) is March 2, 2026. If you file after March 2, 2026 some types of financial aid may be limited, but you are still encouraged to apply by completing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), or California Dream Act Application (CADAA) before the end of the academic year.

  • You will receive an email when your financial aid offer is available to review. Once received, log into ZotAid and click on the “Financial” link in the top menu bar. Your financial aid offer and cost of attendance will display on this page. Click on the “Messages” link in the top menu bar to view/print a PDF of your award offer.

  • Financial aid offers are anticipated to be released the last week of March through early April for admitted students. The most common reasons that have prevented us from offering you financial aid include:

    1. You did not provide your Social Security Number (SSN) on your UC Admission Application. Although an SSN isn’t required to apply for UC admission, it is required to process your financial aid application. Please return to your UC Admission Application and enter your SSN.
    2. You did not add UC Irvine’s school code to your FAFSA or CADAA. Our school code is 00131400.
    3. Your name, date of birth or SSN on your FAFSA or CADAA do not match what you provided on your UC Application. Return to the affected application and update your personal information accordingly.
    4. We need additional information to finish processing your financial aid application. Visit ZotAid and click the Document link to review and submit missing documents.
    5. You are an international student. International students are not eligible for most types of financial aid offered by UC Irvine.
    6. For CADAA applicants: You must meet AB540 criteria to qualify for financial aid. A Statement of Legal Residence (SLR) is required of all degree-seeking students at the UC Irvine. Official residence and AB540 determinations are made only after your SLR is reviewed and any requested documentation is received by the University Registrar's office.

  • The amount paid out of pocket varies by student. Everyone is budgeted with a standard cost of attendance, which includes direct and indirect costs.
    • Direct Costs: You will be billed through your Campus Billing ZotAccount for all of the direct costs you will owe directly to the university, including tuition and fees. This will also include housing if you’re living in university housing. 
    • Indirect Costs: You will also have indirect costs that will not be charged by the university, like books, transportation, clothing, food (outside of the residence hall contracts or meal plans), and other living expenses. The cost of your indirect expenses often depends on you and your personal choices. We encourage you to estimate your indirect costs by developing a budget or spending plan for the year.

    The combination of these direct and indirect costs make up your cost of attendance and are an indicator of how much total funding you will need for your educational expenses for one year.

    To estimate what you may owe, subtract your financial aid from your cost of attendance. We strongly encourage students:

    • Do this calculation by term because your costs can vary by quarter or semester. For example, new students may have costs for Orientation in the fall that they may not have in the winter.
    • Do not include your work study offer in the amount of aid that you subtract from your cost of attendance. These funds have to be earned through work and will not be disbursed at the start of each term like grants and loans.

    For billing or payment questions, please refer to Campus Billing or review your ZotAccount. You will receive your fall bill mid-August, and payments are due each term by the fee deadline. If you are enrolled full-time and have completed all financial aid requirements, your aid will automatically credit to your bill.

  • The net cost to attend UC Irvine is your cost of attendance minus any gift aid (grants and scholarships) you are offered. The net cost represents the amount of funding you may need in addition to your gift aid, to meet all of your educational expenses for one year.

    UC Irvine offers a Net Price Calculator, in accordance with federal regulations, for families to estimate their out of pocket cost.

    The net cost can be met through a number of resources, like outside scholarships, earnings from work-study, loans, family contributions, etc. Note: The net cost is an estimate of how much funding you may need beyond the grants and scholarships you’ve been offered and not the amount of tuition and fees you will owe to the University.

  • Remember, your cost of attendance includes both direct and indirect expenses. You will receive a bill each quarter for your direct charges (tuition, fees, health insurance and housing and food if you live on campus). Your indirect expenses will vary based on individual circumstances and lifestyle.

    1. Apply for UC Irvine Scholarships
    2. Apply for external scholarships offered by companies and community organizations. Fast web is one of many great scholarship search engines.  
    3. Sign up for UC Irvine’s PACE Payment Plan
    4. Use savings or wages earned from work
    5. Consider borrowing a private loan

  • Log in to your ZotAid portal and click on the “Documents” link in the top menu bar. Click Submit on a document with a Requested status in order to complete and submit it. If the document was not requested, click on the “upload a non requested document” link in the top paragraph. We cannot accept or open email attachments.

  • Any grants and scholarships you are offered are automatically accepted for you.

    Work-study must be accepted if you wish to pursue a work-study job. You must submit a Work Study Acceptance Form on the Documents link in the top menu of ZotAid. Work-study funds are not disbursed up front. To receive these funds, you will need to find a work-study job and begin earning this award through a paycheck.

    You can accept your loans on ZotAid. Click here for step by step instructions. Only accept what you need to borrow. Loan amounts are annual, and will be disbursed equally across each term. We encourage you to review our loan webpage for information on borrowing and your responsibilities as a borrower.

  • In ZotAid, complete and submit the Consent for Release of Financial Aid Information form on the “Document” link in the top menu bar. Authorization can be revoked at any time by notifying our office. 

    To create a parent account in ZotAid to act on behalf of a student, follow these step-by-step instructions.

  • No. Only submit this document if you wish to grant a third party (parent, spouse, other person) access to your financial aid information. This form will stay in a Requested status on your Documents tab in ZotAid, but it is never required. Once submitted, you make revoke authorization at any time by contacting our office.

  • Yes. All students who receive financial aid must complete a Federal Aid Payment Authorization Form in order for their financial aid to be applied to the tuition and fee charges on their ZotAccount.

  • No, you only need to submit a document one time. If you see a duplicate document requested, you only need to submit one.

  • All entering students are assumed to live on campus. You must confirm your housing plans by completing and submitting a Housing Plan document on the “Documents” link in the top menu bar of ZotAid. The Housing Plan document is due August 7, 2026.

    If you do not submit your Housing Plan document to our office, your housing type will change to Commuter/At Home, your cost of attendance will be revised, and your financial aid offer will change based on your new cost of attendance.

  • Your cost of attendance is the estimated average and reasonable cost of completing an academic year at UC Irvine. It serves as the foundation for determining your financial need as well as the amounts and types of financial aid, including grants and scholarships, that can be offered to you. The cost of attendance varies based on your housing type, which means if your housing plan changes, your financial aid offer will also change. This includes a prorated adjustment to your grants and scholarships that aligns with your housing type changes.

    All entering students are assumed to live on campus. You must confirm your housing plans by completing and submitting a Housing Plan document on the “Documents” link in the top menu bar of ZotAid. The Housing Plan document is due August 7, 2026. If you do not submit your Housing Plan document to our office, your housing type will change to Commuter/At Home, your cost of attendance will be revised, and your financial aid offer will change based on your new cost of attendance.

  • If you have enrolled full-time (waitlisted units do not count), completed all of your financial aid tasks and submitted all required, requested documents your financial aid (excluding work-study earnings and some private loans) will disburse to your ZotAccount no more than 10 days before the start of the term. All of your accepted financial aid will first pay the charges on your bill on your ZotAccount.

    If the amount of financial aid you receive exceeds the amount of your tuition and fee charges, you will receive a refund for the remaining amount around the first day of the term. If the amount of your financial aid is less than the amount of your bill, you will be responsible for paying the remaining balance before your financial aid will disburse. Note: For refunds, we strongly encourage students to sign up for Direct Deposit (a.k.a. Electronic Funds Transfer [EFT]).

  • Adjustments to your financial aid offer may happen throughout the year for several reasons. The most common reasons include:

    • Corrections to your application information during verification
    • Receipt of additional financial aid or outside scholarships
    • A change to your housing type on your Housing Plan document in ZotAid

    UC Irvine reserves the right to adjust offers to correct any awarding errors. Changes to qualifying information or revisions of federal, state, or institutional policy or funding may result in updates to aid eligibility and adjustments of financial aid offers. Information is subject to change.

  • Financial aid regulations require that students meet specific eligibility requirements, including Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) to receive financial aid. Please review all eligibility requirements, including our SAP policy for more information.

  • Financial aid offers, when available, and other application information can be found in the ZotAid portal. You will also check for missing information or tasks required to complete your application, or upload documents.

    If you have additional questions, please contact us so we can help.

  • If you or your custodial parent(s) have been adversely affected by special circumstances that have reduced your ability to pay for college expenses and/or if your financial aid cost of attendance does not reflect your educational related expenses, the UCI Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships may review those circumstances in order to consider changes to your financial aid offer. Visit our Appeals webpage to learn more about how to request an appeal and the types of appeals that may be submitted.

    If your SAI ranges from -1,500 – 0 for the current academic year, an appeal for additional financial aid will not be considered because you have been offered the maximum amount of financial aid from all federal, state and UC Irvine sources.

    You cannot submit an appeal until you receive a financial aid offer. Appeals are reviewed in the order received and may take up to 60 days to review if additional information is required. Appeal decisions are final.

  • Contact us here. Your patience is appreciated as the office is receiving an increased volume of inquiries at this time.

Scholarships

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  • Outside scholarships are coordinated with your financial aid offer per federal regulation. You are required to report expected or received funds by uploading the scholarship notification document on the Document tab in your ZotAid portal, including awards paid directly to you.

    The total of your financial aid awards, including your outside awards, cannot exceed your Cost of Attendance. If you receive an outside award, your financial aid awards will be adjusted based upon the conditions of the outside award.

    To ensure our students maximize the gift aid they’ve been awarded, we typically reduce need-based loans and work-study awards first to "make room" for an outside award. Note that the terms of some outside awards may not allow for this. For example, Cal Grant and Cal Vet Fee Waiver both pay toward tuition so you can only be awarded one type of tuition award. If the amount of your outside award(s) exceeds the amount of need-based loans and work-study in your package, then other gift aid is reduced.

    Outside awards are awarded and disbursed evenly between terms unless donor instructions state otherwise. 

    Receiving Outside Scholarships: The agency granting you the scholarship should make the scholarship check payable to "UC Regents" and mail it to UCI Payment Services, 228 Aldrich Hall, Irvine, CA 92697-1975, or deliver in person to the same address. The agency should note your name and student ID number or date of birth on the check so that we can apply it to your account. Should the agency have specific conditions for disbursement, those requests may be included in a letter accompanying the check. However, federal and state regulations, as well as university policy, take precedence. Your external scholarship will be applied to your zot account when it's received.

  • Scholarships are awarded based on merit and financial need. To be considered for need based scholarships awarded by the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships Office, simply complete either the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the California Dream Act Application. There is no additional application to complete to be considered for need based federal, state or university grants.

    UC Irvine also awards campus wide scholarships. To apply for these scholarship opportunities, visit Scholarship Universe and create a profile. Entering Freshmen can apply from May 1- May 31 after submitting a Statement of Intent to Register.

    We also strongly encourage all students to apply for outside scholarships, many of which can be applied to year round. To start searching for outside scholarships, take a look at the scholarship search page on our website.

    Note: All outside scholarships must be incorporated into your financial aid package per federal regulation. Typically, need-based loans and work-study are adjusted before university grants and/or scholarships. Exceptions apply based on awarding and/or funding restrictions. Report all outside awards in the “Documents” link of ZotAid, including awards paid directly to the student, by clicking on the “upload a non requested document” link in the top paragraph.

State Grants

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  • Awarding a Cal Grant requires confirmation of many eligibility requirements for entering students, including graduation from a California high school, establishing California residency and/or completing verification. We review income verification information on a first-submitted, first-served basis throughout the summer. We also coordinate with both the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and the Registrar to confirm the high school completion and residency information over the summer as you are submitting documents to these offices. If we cannot confirm this information, we will contact you directly by email to provide the necessary documentation, and/or post Documents or Tasks to your ZotAid portal. Please respond to all requests for information promptly.

    Once we document your eligibility for Cal Grant, we will update your financial aid offer. Note: Cal Grants generally replace university grants and scholarships, dollar for dollar. Most students will not receive Cal Grant in addition to the grants and scholarships that are currently in the financial aid offer. This allows us to maximize our limited institutional funding and ensures access to a world class education for our neediest students.

  • The Middle-Class Scholarship program, administered by the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) is available for new, transfer, and returning undergraduates, with family income and assets not exceeding certain amounts (subject to California State Budget Approval).

    Scholarship award amounts will vary greatly by student. Award amounts will be based on the cost of attendance for the school of the student’s choice and the following program requirements: other available gift aid that the student is eligible for (i.e. federal, state, institutional, or scholarship aid), a self-help student contribution of $8,154 (applied to all students), and a parent contribution for dependent students with a household income of over $100,000. These three factors collectively, are referred to as a student’s “available resources.” These amounts are deducted from the student’s total cost of attendance to determine the MCS award. Under this formula, award amounts will vary widely among students, with each student’s award reflecting their costs and available resources.

    Your financial aid offer may include an estimated MCS award. The final award amount will be based on the number of students eligible for the MCS statewide and the funding allocated by the State Budget. Pursuant to Education Code section 70023, MCS award amounts may be reduced at any time during the academic year if is determined that the funds appropriated are insufficient to cover the cost of the projected MCS awards.

    Students selected to receive an MCS award will be notified by the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC), by mid to late August, and can view their revised award amounts in their ZotAid portal during the fall term.

    If you have any questions regarding your MCS eligibility for the award year, please review your WebGrants 4 Students (WG4S) account which provides secure and easy access to your awarding status.

     

Residency

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  • A. In accordance with UC Regents policy, newly admitted, nonresident and international students are not eligible for need-based University gift aid. AB540 students are considered California residents for need-based University gift aid awarding purposes.

  • A. UCI determines residency based on information students provide in the mandatory Statement of Legal Residence (SLR) form. Official residence determinations are made only after the student's SLR is reviewed and any requested documentation is received by the University Registrar's Office. General guidelines on establishing residency can be found here: https://www.ucop.edu/residency/establishing-residency.html

    Students with specific eligibility questions should contact a Residency Officer at the Registrar’s Office. Residency Officers can be reached in person, via telephone at 949.824.6124, or via email at regres@uci.edu.

    Note: Financial aid offers are based on self-reported residency information until your residency status is confirmed by a Residency Officer. Your financial aid awards may change significantly if you are classified as a nonresident.

Veteran Benefits

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  • A. Visit veteranbenefits.uci.edu for information regarding benefits, how to contact the Veteran Benefits team with questions, and other resources.

  • A. Visit https://www.ofas.uci.edu/paying-for-uci/veterans-benefits.php and scroll to the Cal Vet Fee Waiver FAQ at the bottom of the page for frequently asked questions and information on how to apply for your Cal Vet Fee Waiver at UC Irvine.