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COVID-19 and impact on Financial Aid and Scholarships

Hours and methods of contact are at the bottom of each page of the Financial Aid and Scholarships (FAS) web site.

  1. What is the ARP?

    ARP is the third major COVID relief bill approved by congress and signed into law March 11, 2021 by President Biden. Part of the bill provided money for a 3rd round of Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF). HEERF III provided UC San Diego with $91,774,980 with a minimum of $45,889,163 designated for direct Grants to Students.

    Quarter Oct to Dec 31, 2021 Jan 1 to March 31, 2022 Apr 1 to June 30, 2022
    Eligible Students 42,875 40,873 39,127
    Amount Awarded $26,536,756 $17,886,824 $161,659
    # of Students Awarded 25,573 19,305 106
    Total Awarded to Date $26,536,756 $44,423,580 $44,585,239

  2. How Will the Student Money be awarded?

    Undergraduates:

    Fall 2021 Award Designation Maximum Award
    Awards to Pell Recipients* $1,000
    Awards to other Needy Students up to $24,000 EFC* $900
    Special Requests for UG All FAFSA and California Dream App eligible students** $1,500 less other ARP funds
    Technology Grants for First Year Pell Recipients $1,000
    Winter 2022 (beginning after the end of Add/Drop) Award Designation Maximum Award
    Awards to Pell Recipients* $1,000
    Awards to other Needy Students up to $24,000 EFC* $900
    Special Requests for UG All FAFSA and California Dream App eligible students** $1,500 less other ARP funds
    Technology Grants for First Year Pell Recipients $1,000 less any Tech Grant received in Summer or Fall
    Spring 2022 (beginning after the end of Add/Drop) Award Designation
    *From Institutional Portion of HEERF III    		 Maximum Award
    Awards to Pell Recipients* $155

    *Students with legal dependents listed on financial aid application will be awarded an additional $100
    **Funds for Winter have been fully expended they were awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. The application for Undergrad special request is no longer available as of January 28, 2022.


    Graduate and Professional Students:

    Graduate awards will be made by Special Request Funding. Funds will be awarded on a first come-come, first-served basis. Access the Graduate HEERF III Grant Request 21-22 Form on MyTritonLink under Financial Tools > Financial Aid to apply for funding.

    The Medical and Pharmacy schools plan is at https://medschool.ucsd.edu/admissions/financial-aid/Pages/Publications.aspx

  3. Do I have to be a US citizen to be eligible?

    For undergraduate students, HEERF III funds will only be awarded to students eligible to file a FAFSA. California Dream Act eligible students will be awarded equivalent funds from different sources. International students on non-immigrant visas will not be eligible for these funds. International students can receive help through the Basic Needs Hub.

    For Graduate and Professional students all students will be considered regardless of citizenship status.

    A Social Security Number is required for disbursement of the HEERF III grant. For information about how to obtain an Social Security Number please visit this website.

  1. What is CRRSAA?

    The CRRSAA authorized the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund II (HEERF II) and directed institutions to use this new federal funding to provide direct emergency financial grants to students for expenses related to any component of their cost of attendance, including: tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health), and childcare. Unlike the CARES Act, the CRRSAA requires that institutions prioritize students with exceptional need, such as students who receive Pell Grants. UC San Diego will begin disbursing HEERF II funding during Winter 2021. The University of California San Diego received $51 million dollars with $17.4 million designated for direct grants to students.

    The following are quarterly reports for CRRSAA (the first report due is June 30, so it will be year to date.

    Total amount UC San Diego has received for Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students is $17.4 Million.

    Quarter Jan to June 30, 2021 July 1 to Sept 30, 2021
    Eligible Students 38,646 36,794
    Amount Awarded $19,935,276 $2,340,000
    # of Students Awarded 16,166 4,680
    Total Awarded to Date $16,935,276 $19,275,276

    No additional funds were disbursed after September 30, 2021.

  2. How can I get a CRRSA Act Grant?

    Undergraduates

    Undergraduates who demonstrated highest need, those who were Pell Eligible, and those with high need, those eligible for other need-based grants, were awarded a block grant of $900.

    Undergraduate Special Request Funding was established so students who had received an award could ask for additional funding and those that had not received one could apply. This money has been fully awarded and is no longer available. Funds were awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

    Graduates

    Graduate awards were all made by Special Request Funding. These funds are now fully expended. Funds were awarded on a first come-come, first-served basis.

  3. Are CRRSA Act Grants available for summer enrollment?

    Yes. Undergraduates who receive Federal Pell Grant or UC San Diego Summer Grant aid during the summer and are enrolled in 6 or more units for summer will automatically receive summer awards of $500 to assist with COVID-19 related expenses.

    Students who participate in Summer Bridge will automatically receive technology grants to assist with technology expenses.

  4. Do I have to be a U.S. citizen to qualify for the CRRSA Act Grant?

    Students must be U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens (permanent residents with a Permanent Resident Card - formerly known as an Alien Registration Receipt Card; conditional permanent resident – I-551C; other eligible noncitizen with an Arrival-Departure Record, I-94 from the Department of Homeland Security showing Refugee, Asylum Granted, Indefinite Parole, Humanitarian Parole, or Cuban-Haitian Entrant; or a citizen of the Republic of Palau (PW), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (MH), or the Federated States of Micronesia (FM)). Please see 3f for update.

  5. Do undocumented students qualify for the CRRSA Act Grant?

    Although undocumented students are not eligible for federal funding, UC San Diego has committed funding for undocumented undergraduate students to offer winter awards to match $900 grants to enrolled students who qualify for grant aid as outlined in #3b.

  6. Has there been a change to the information about international and undocumented students?

    Yes, on May 11, 2021the US Department of Education modified their position and have determined that all student may qualify. Details still have to be worked out as to what changes that may make going forward with Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds.

  1. What is the CARES Act?

    The CARES Act is federal legislation that provides a variety of financial support to individuals and businesses affected by COVID-19. One part of this federal program allocates money to UC San Diego to be awarded to students who may be experiencing additional financial expenses due to Coronavirus.

    Based on the signed and returned Certification and Agreement submitted to the Department of Education, UC San Diego acknowledges to award no less than 50% of the CARES Act in financial aid grants to students. Totals below have been distributed to students under Section 180004(a)(1) of the CARES Act as of December 31, 2020.

    Total amount UC San Diego has received for Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students is $17,444,885.

    Quarter Eligible Students Amount Awarded # of Students Awarded Total Awarded to Date
    April 1 to June 30 19,365 $17,031,040 14,874 $17,031,040
    July to September 30 19,365 $360,506 459 $17,391,546
    October 1 to December 31 21,234 $53,339 31 $17,444,885

    Institutional Portion

    In addition to funding for emergency financial grants for student, the CARES Act also established the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) Institutional Portion to allow higher education institutions to cover costs associated with significant changes to the delivery of instruction due to the coronavirus. The funding is intended to cover the cost of:

    • providing refunds to students for room and board, tuition, and other fees,
    • purchasing laptops, equipment, and additional software subscriptions to enable students to transition to distance learning,
    • campus safety and operations, including disinfecting and cleaning, purchasing of personal protective equipment (PPE), cleaning supplies, reconfiguring facilities to promote social distancing, and
    • any costs associated with significant changes to the delivery of instruction due to the coronavirus, so long as such costs do not include payment to contractors for the provision of pre-enrollment recruitment activities; endowments; or capital outlays associated with facilities related to athletics, sectarian instruction, or religious worship.

    UC San Diego was awarded $17,931,499 for Institutional impacts and is applying the funding towards:

    • $9.3M to cover room and board refunds paid to students,
    • $5.7M for a pay for a portion of the Return to Learn initiative including outdoor classroom structures, infrastructure, equipment, and security, facilities health and safety reconfiguration and wastewater testing.
    • $1.0M for remote computer labs and other remote learning software, laptops, and remote teaching supplies, and
    • $1.5M to hire 300 student employees as Triton Health Ambassadors to assist with the Return to Learn initiative by providing resources, education, and outreach to campus community on safe and healthy behaviors on campus and in the classroom.
    • $485K to provide laptops to students from the campus bookstore.
    • $1.5K for outreach to financial aid applicants about the opportunity to receive a financial aid adjustment due to the recent unemployment of a family member or independent student, or other circumstances.

    The US Department of Education requires that quarterly reporting on the use of the Institutional Portion of the HEERF be posted on the same webpage as to the emergency financial aid grants and is available here.

  2. How can I get a CARES Act Grant?

    All Funds under the CARES Act have been Fully Expended

    Undergraduates

    Undergraduates who receive Pell, Cal, or UC Grant aid during the academic year and are enrolled in 6 or more units for spring will automatically receive spring awards of $900 to assist with COVID-19 related expenses. Grants began disbursing May 6 directly to students.

    Undergraduate Special Request funding has been fully awarded and is no longer available. Funds were awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

    Graduates

    Graduate Special Request funding is no longer available. Funds were awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

  3. Are CARES Act Grants available for summer enrollment?

    Yes. Undergraduates who receive Federal Pell Grant or UC San Diego Summer Grant aid during the summer and are enrolled in 6 or more units for summer will automatically receive summer awards of $500 to assist with COVID-19 related expenses.

    Students who participate in Summer Bridge will automatically receive technology grants to assist with technology expenses.

  4. Do I have to be a U.S. citizen to qualify for the CARES Act Grant?

    Students must be U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens (permanent residents with a Permanent Resident Card - formerly known as an Alien Registration Receipt Card; conditional permanent resident – I-551C; other eligible noncitizen with an Arrival-Departure Record, I-94 from the Department of Homeland Security showing Refugee, Asylum Granted, Indefinite Parole, Humanitarian Parole, or Cuban-Haitian Entrant; or a citizen of the Republic of Palau (PW), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (MH), or the Federated States of Micronesia (FM)).

  5. Do undocumented students qualify for the CARES Act Grant?

    Although undocumented students are not eligible for federal funding, UC San Diego has committed funding for undocumented students to offer spring awards to match $900 grants to enrolled students who qualify for grant aid as outlined in #2b.

  6. Does the CARES Act Grant affect my other aid?

    No. The CARES Act Grant does not affect other aid students are receiving. However, students who have received Basic Needs Emergency Grants for spring are ineligible to receive Special Request CARES Act Grants.

  7. Does the CARES Act Grant have to be repaid?

    No. CARES Act Grants are free money and do not have to be repaid.

  8. Do I have to report the CARES Act Grant to the IRS as income?

    No. Emergency financial aid grants under the CARES Act for unexpected expenses, unmet financial need, or expenses related to the disruption of campus operations on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as unexpected expenses for food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, or childcare, are qualified disaster relief payments under section 139 of the Internal Revenue Code. This grant is not includible in your gross income.