Billing

The Billing and Payment Services Office bills and collects charges for student expenses through the Campus Accounts Receivables System (CARS). The bill includes charges for registration fees, university housing and dining, library fines, phone use, campus health services, and other campus expenses, from emergency loans to recreation fees. The bill also credits financial aid for students receiving it.
Billing statements are produced each month for accounts with outstanding balances and accounts that showed activity during the billing cycle. Bills are presented online through Sallie Mae’s Net.Pay application. Billing and Payment Services will send a courtesy e-mail to students when a new billing statement is generated. However, students are responsible for keeping their billing accounts current, whether or not they have received the e-mail notifications.

To begin using the online system, students log on to Bear Facts. There they select “Bear Facts for Students/Student Resources,” then “Students.” To visit that section, students enter their CalNet IDs and passphrases. Parents follow the same prompts, but instead of selecting “Students,” they select “e-Bill/e-Check Access for Parents and Others (Non-Students).” From that site they can see CARS e-Bill statements or learn how to submit an online payment to a student’s CARS account.

More information about CARS and e-Bill/e-Check.

Financial Aid

The university recognizes the unique and important role that parents play in their students’ lives; however, in all aspects of university life, students are considered to be legal adults, responsible for their academic, social, and financial obligations.

Student needs and resources differ from student to student. Some students must secure financial aid in order to meet their financial obligations. The various kinds of aid available to Berkeley students are listed on the financial aid web page.

Students may apply for a variety of financial aid funds including grants, scholarships, work-study, and loans. Applications and supporting information are sent to entering students, and renewal applications are sent to continuing students.

Financial need is the difference between the cost of attendance for the academic year and the amount students and their families can contribute toward those costs.

All financial aid except fellowships, honorary scholarships, teaching and research appointments, and prizes is based on financial need. Prizes are awarded on the basis of competition or outstanding ability in some area of creative or scholarly endeavor. Scholarship Connection is Berkeley’s clearinghouse for information on scholarships that are funded by sources outside the university. Enrolled Berkeley students can search for awards on Scholarship Connection’s online database.

Interest-free emergency loans are available to all registered students through the Emergency Loans Office. The maximum loan amount is $650, due and payable approximately 60 days after the start of the loan period. The terms and procedures surrounding emergency loans are subject to change; please call 510/642-0470 or go to http://students.berkeley.edu/fao/emergencyloans.html for current information.

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