Middle Class Scholarship

Source: https://fas.ucsd.edu/types/scholarships/middle-class-scholarship.html Parent: https://fas.ucsd.edu/types/scholarships/index.html

The Middle Class Scholarship (MCS) provides eligible undergraduates and students pursuing a teaching credential with a scholarship in support of their studies.

HOW TO APPLY

Administered by the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC), to be considered for the Middle Class Scholarship, students need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the California Dream Act Application (CADAA) by March 2 for the upcoming academic year. For 2025-26, the deadline was extended to April 2, 2025.

Eligibility Requirements

To qualify, students must:

Be a California resident
Be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or meet requirements for non-tuition exemption (such as AB 540)
Attend a UC, CSU, or CCC bachelor’s program
Meet income and asset limits
Submit your FAFSA or CADAA on time
Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
Meet state Financial Aid requirements: maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress; not be in default on a student loan; and must not be incarcerated.
Qualify for a minimum amount of $90 per year based on the MCS awarding formula.

Awarding

Students selected to receive a Middle Class Scholarship will be notified by CSAC. Students can monitor awards by creating an account at https://mygrantinfo.csac.ca.gov/.

CSAC looks at:

Total cost of attendance
Available resources, including:
Other grants and scholarships
A student contribution of $8,412 (updated annually)
A parent contribution (if household income is over $100,000)

MCS award = Cost of attendance minus Available resources

Note: If your other aid already covers your costs, you may not receive MCS.

The Financial Aid and Scholarships Office will confirm current eligibility once all other Federal, State, Institutional and outside scholarships are added to the academic year financial aid offer. This typically begins in the Fall quarter and is updated through the Winter quarter. Once updated, students are sent email notification to review their updated financial aid on the financial aid portal on TritonLink.

Awards are also subject to change during the course of the academic year based on available funding.

Additionally, final awards are impacted by the number of units a student is enrolled in. Please see MCS Disbursements to see how MCS is prorated according to units enrolled.

Students may receive the MCS award for up to 4 years depending on education level when awarded. The California Student Aid Commission determines students’ lifetime eligibility.

MCS Award Revisions

Awards are subject to adjustments during the award year, even after disbursement. Any changes to the above MCS components may result in an MCS award amount adjustment. Any additional financial aid offers received may result in reductions or loss of MCS eligibility, including but not limited to scholarships, state/federal grants, stipends, fee waivers, etc. Additional reasons that may lead to award revisions:

Student’s enrollment changes from Full-time to Part-time (awards are based on Full-Time status)
There is a change in the available resources (i.e., COA, gift aid, parent contribution, if applicable).
The student is enrolled 2 or fewer terms (e.g., Winter and Spring, Spring only, etc)
Student receives a department award or other outside scholarship late in the academic year

\ These changes may result in billing the student (owe funds back to school).

MCS Disbursements

MCS is typically awarded and disbursed after census date. Final enrollment for a term is measured at University Census, (the last day of the add/drop period, which typically occurs on the third Friday of the term).

Disbursement Requirement:Students must be enrolled in a minimum of 6 units for an MCS payment, see the unit enrollment and percentage of disbursed amounts below.

Table shows disbursement percentage based on number of units enrolled.


Enrollment Status	Number of Units Enrolled	Percentage of Disbursed Amount
Full-Time	12 or more units	100%
Three-Quarter-Time	9-11 units	75%
Half-Time	6-8 units	50%
Less-Than-Half-Time	1-5 units	Not Eligible

MCS award amounts can change if:

You receive new scholarships or grants
Your financial aid information is corrected
You change housing or enrollment
You withdraw or repeat a course

Always check TritonLink for updates to your financial aid.Adjustments to MCS award amount can take 3 to 6 weeks to process.

Financial Aid and Scholarships Office uploads corrections on WebGrants
CSAC process new corrections and determines new MCS eligibility
Office of Financial Aid receives updated roster from CSAC
Office of Financial Aid awards/adjusts MCS amount on student’s account

FAQs: Commonly asked questions and answers -- Coming soon!

For more information, visit the official CSAC Middle Class Scholarship page:\ 🔗 csac.ca.gov/middle-class-scholarship