The Financial Aid Process
Qualifying
In order to qualify for need-based grants, and federal financial aid students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
The electronic form is available online at studentaid.gov. UCI Law's Federal School Code is 001314. UCI Law's FAFSA priority deadline is established to ensure that loan funds disburse before the beginning of instruction to provide students with access to cash to pay for books and housing costs. The deadline is set for early March each year.
Students who are not eligible to file a FAFSA and qualify for the AB540 fee exemption can apply for certain types of financial aid by completing the California Dream Application. The application is available at csac.ca.gov/california-dream-act.
FAFSA Delay Update
The Department of Education has announced a delay in processing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Therefore, it will begin sending schools' FAFSA data for individual students around mid-March to mid-April. The Office of Student Financial Services highly recommends that you understand your eligibility for the federal financial aid programs. The Department of Education has the basic eligibility requirements published online for review.
Awarding
Once the university has received a student’s FAFSA information and any required verification documents, the Law School will authorize a release of the electronic award notification that includes all eligible awards, including non-federal financial aid. Students can accept or decline the awards offered and/or reduce the loan amounts on the ZotAid Student Portal.
Entrance Counseling
First-time borrower must complete an online entrance counseling to ensure that you understand the responsibilities and obligations you are assuming. For information, read more on our Entrance Counseling.
Exit Counseling
Exit counseling is required upon your graduation or leaving school. Exit counseling provides important information to prepare you to repay your loan and to review the repayment choices.
Learn more about Exit counseling.
Refunds
Refunds are issued to students when there is a credit balance on their ZOT Account. The credit balance could be the result of withdrawal from the university, cancellation of enrollment, personal overpayments, or housing or financial aid credit on your account left after all of the charges on your account have been paid in full. For all payment types except credit cards, refunds are issued directly to the student named on the student account in question, regardless of who made the payment. Per Payment Card Industry standards, a credit card refund is issued back to the credit card used for the original payment.
Maintaining Eligibility for Federal Student Aid
In order to maintain satisfactory academic progress for financial aid eligibility, students must meet: a grade point average requirement, a pace requirement, a minimum cumulative unit requirement and a maximum time frame requirement.
For more detailed information about the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy and the Appeal Process, please save and review this PDF.
Maintaining Eligibility for Institution Scholarships and Grants
The terms and conditions of the institution scholarships, grants and fellowships require six consecutive semesters of full-time enrollment, and good academic standing as defined by the Academic Rules. Beginning with the Class of 2026, the terms and conditions of the institution scholarships, grants and fellowships require up to a total of three years (six semesters) of full-time enrollment, and the student is to remain in good academic standing at the end of each year as defined by the Academic Rules.
Repaying
Federal direct-loan borrowers will receive a six-month grace period on loans certified by UC Irvine School of Law. In addition, UCI students have the option to apply for a Direct Consolidation Loan during this grace period.
In order to fully utilize the grace period benefit, borrowers must include the “grace period end date” on the Federal Direct Consolidation Loan Application and Promissory Note. If an applicant provides this information, the Department of Education will not initiate the consolidation process until he or she has benefited from the full grace period during which payments are not required.
There are several repayment plans: standard, extended, graduated, and Income-Driven plans. How much you pay and how long you take to repay your loans will vary depending on the repayment plan you choose. Consolidation loans also have varying repayment plans. Use this repayment estimator tool to determine your repayment amounts under each of the different plans.
Withdrawal Policy
Students who withdraw from UC Irvine School of Law prior to completing 60% of the period for which they received federal financial aid will be subject to both the UC Fee Refund Policy and the Federal Return of Title IV Funds Policy. Federal Direct Loans are federal funds awarded to students to meet educational expenses.
Any law student contemplating withdrawing from the School of Law should contact the UCI Law Office of Student Financial Services concerning the financial ramification of withdrawing. More detailed information about withdrawal >
Some or all instruction for all or part of the Academic Year may be delivered remotely. Tuition and fees have been set regardless of the method of instruction and will not be refunded in the event instruction occurs remotely for any part of the Academic Year. Figures for tuition and fees represent currently approved or proposed amounts and may not be final. Actual tuition and fees are subject to change by the University of California as determined to be necessary or appropriate. Final approved tuition and fee levels may differ from the amounts presented.
State of California Disclosure: Federal student loans are available to most students regardless of income and provide a range of repayment options including some income-based repayment plans and loan-forgiveness benefits, which other education loans are not required to provide.