Summer Financial Aid Information is published in March for the upcoming summer session term. Information on this page is general and updates are made as we receive them. For more detailed financial aid information, including policies, procedures and terms, please visit the policy information section of our website.
 

Eligibility for Summer Aid

Students must have a 2025-2026 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or a California Dream Act Application (CADAA) on file to be eligible for financial aid for Summer 2026.  

Students do not need to submit a subsequent application to request financial aid.
Our office will award financial aid based off actual summer enrollment data. The summer estimator can help with planning and providing an estimate of what your summer aid may look like based on the units and sessions you input.

Enrollment Requirements:

  • Undergraduate students must be enrolled in at least 6 units, over all sessions, in order to be eligible for summer financial aid. 
  • Graduate students must be enrolled in at least 4 units, over all sessions, in order to be eligible for summer financial aid.
  • If enrollment changes after you have been awarded, we may modify your award on targeted dates.
  • Eligibility is subject to enrollment at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Students enrolled in a non-degree granting program and students who have been academically dismissed are ineligible to receive financial aid. We reserve the right to change this offer due to changes in financial status, academic status, enrollment status, or changes in the availability of funds.

General Summer Aid Topics

  • April 7 - The Summer Financial Aid Estimator will be available on My Aid Status
  • Late May - Our office will begin awarding summer aid. Awarding will continue weekly throughout the summer based on when you enroll in courses.
  • June 20 - Pause on Summer Refunds from BARC. Due to the UCSB-wide accounting software upgrade, there will be a blackout period of no refunds processed by BARC after June 20th. Refunds should start back up again July 7th.

Once awarded, we will revise your award if there has been a change of enrollment data from the time you were initially awarded on selected dates:

  • July 7, 14, 21
  • August 5, 12
  • September 2

If you are inquiring about how your aid will be adjusted if there is a change of enrollment after you were initially awarded, the best estimate we can provide you is through the Summer Aid Estimator on My Aid Status. Your own unique circumstances may allow you to keep more aid or less aid than the estimate provided. As a reminder, this will be determined on the summer repackaging dates listed under "Enrollment Requirements and Eligibility".

UCSB Loan, CA Dream Loan, Work-Study and Cal Grant are not available during the summer term/s. Please check with our office if you have questions on any other types of aid.

UCSB will award Summer Financial Aid to UCSB students enrolled in the following (please see the Special Enrollment section below for more detailed information):

  • Regular summer sessions cross-campus enrollment at another UC

  • UC EAP (study abroad) 

  • UCDC

  • Wildlands approved consortium program

UCSB Financial aid is not available if you enroll at a junior/city/community college during summer, or any other non-UC program. You would need to add the other school to your FAFSA/CADAA and apply for aid directly through the other school.

 

The first day that summer financial aid will begin to post to students’ billing accounts (BARC) is 10 days before the start date of the term of which you are enrolled in.

Federal Direct Loans: Must be accepted on My Aid Status before they can be applied to your BARC account.

Grants and Scholarships: Are automatically applied to BARC as long the following criteria are met:

  • You are within the valid enrollment period. Aid cannot be disbursed if you are not within the 10 day period of your term starting.
  • All required documents are submitted and processed by our office
  • Undergraduates are enrolled in at least 6 units and Graduate students in at least 4 units
  • You are maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress

UCSB Freshman Summer Start Program (FSSP) and Transfer Edge

Students who wish to receive financial aid for the Summer term must file a 2025-26 FAFSA or CADAA and have submitted all required documents that are posted under the Documents Tab of My Aid Status to our office.

Information on how to complete the appropriate application can be found on How to Apply. 

Important:

  • The 2025-26 application is used only for the summer term.
  • If you are an incoming Transfer Edge student and already have a 2025-26 FAFSA or CADAA on file, you will need to add UCSB's School Code #001320 to your application in order to receive financial aid for summer.
  • The 2026-27 application is used for the upcoming 2026-27 academic year.
  • June 30, 2026 is the final deadline to file a 2025-26 financial aid application. After this date, no applications can be processed.

Financial aid will be awarded to you as long as all of the following conditions are met:

  • The 2025-26 FAFSA or CADAA is submitted and not rejected by June 30, 2026.
  • All required documents, if any, are reviewed and processed by our office.
  • You are enrolled in at least 6 units across all terms.
  • You have completed all loan requirements, if you have accepted loans.

Your summer award will be posted to My Aid Status  under the 2025-26 Financial Aid Award Letter tab in mid to late June. Students are awarded once summer enrollment data is received by the Office of the Registrar.

You should review your award and compare your financial aid awards to the cost of attendance for the Freshman Summer Start or Transfer Edge Program, including tuition and variable costs, such as books and living expenses.

If your financial aid exceeds your BARC balance, then you should expect to receive a refund from the BARC office. If your financial aid does not exceed your BARC balance, then you should consider accepting loans or making a payment to the BARC account before the fee payment deadline.

Disbursement Timeline

The first day that summer financial aid will begin to post to your billing account (BARC) is 10 days before the start date of the enrollment period.

Grants and Scholarships

All grants and scholarships that you are awarded are automatically applied to your BARC account. If you plan to accept student loans, they must be accepted through My Aid Status before they can be applied to your BARC account.

Loans

Loans need to be accepted through My Aid Status. Once accepted, you will be prompted to complete a Master Promissory Note and Entrance Counseling Interview before your loan can credit to BARC. These are done on the studentaid.gov site.

Refunds are generated 10 days before the start of the enrollment period and issued by the BARC Office.

Refunds will be applied via direct deposit unless direct deposit is not set up with BARC. If it is not set up, paper checks will be mailed to your local mailing address. 

Special Enrollment - UC Cross-Campus, EAP, UCDC

Students who are Eligible for Aid:

You must be a continuing UC student who has not graduated or declared to graduate Spring 2026 or earlier.

Students who are Ineligible for Aid:

  • Students who are academically disqualified by the college
  • Students who are not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress
  • Non-UCSB students, as determined by the UCSB Office of the Registrar
  • Returning students in their first quarter of readmission
  • Other reasons may apply - see our Policy Information section for more details 

Types of Aid Available for Summer Cross Campus:

  • UCSB Scholarships
  • Pell Grants
  • Federal Direct Student Loans and Parent and Graduate PLUS Loans
  • Private Student Loans 

Awarding and Disbursement Information:

  • Applications are processed based the start date of the program.
  • We begin awarding in LATE-May and on a weekly basis thereafter.
  • Students are awarded once enrollment at the host institution is confirmed and enrollment is at least 6 units.
  • Aid will be applied to the UCSB BARC account no earlier than 10 days before the start of the enrollment period. Any excess funds will be refunded to the student and must be used to pay any and all host institution fees.
  • Parent PLUS loan checks will either be sent to the students’ BARC account or be mailed to the address indicated on their promissory note, depending on the option selected by the parent on the application at StudentAid.gov.

Student's Responsibility:

  • Loans must be accepted on My Aid Status and all loan requirements must be complete.
  • You must inform our office of any aid or scholarships received for the program through a source outside of UCSB.
  • You must meet all registration and payment deadlines of the other UC program you are attending.

How to Apply:

The UC Cross Campus Application is now available! 

  • This application should be filled out by UCSB students who plan to participate in a summer program at another UC.

  • You can use the regular Summer Aid Estimator to get an idea of what financial aid amounts you could expect based on your units and enrollment dates at the other UC.

Financial Aid is available for students who attend Summer Education Abroad Program through UC EAP in the summer. A summer aid application is not needed as our office will receive a participant list from the campus EAP office. We will begin awarding for Summer EAP in late May.

Students are generally awarded aid for their program 30 days before departure.

Financial aid is available to cover the costs of the UC Washington Center Program. A summer application is not required since our office will receive a participant list from the UCDC Program Coordinator. We will begin awarding summer financial aid for UCDC in late May.