Understanding Your Financial Aid Offer
The Financial Aid Award Offer
The Financial Aid Offer
Students will receive an email notification when their Financial Aid Award Offer is available. Award Offers are viewed online at MyCSULB, under the “Award Summary.” Paper award notifications are not generated or mailed to students.
Your Award Summary lists all the sources of financial aid you are eligible to receive for the academic year, as well as a term/semester specific breakdown of your awards. The awards offered are based on the information you submitted on your financial aid application (either the FAFSA or the California Dream Act Application). Your aid may consist of grants, scholarships, loans, and/or federal work study – depending on your eligibility. For detailed information on each type of award refer to “Types of Financial Aid” located under “The Basics”section of this website.
To view your Award Offer/Summary, follow these simple steps:
- Sign in to MyCSULB
- Click on the “Student Center” hyperlink located in the “My Menu” section.
- Select “View Financial Aid” from the “Finances” Section of the Student Center
- Select the Aid Year you wish to view
Detailed instructions on viewing your Award Summary, including screenshots, can be found in the Using MyCSULB Guide – under the section “View My Financial Aid & Scholarships.”
Several factors determine the amount and type of financial aid you are offered:
- Your estimated Cost of Attendance (COA)
- Your expected Family Contribution (EFC)
- Your Financial Need (COA minus EFC)
- Timing of your application
- Your willingness to accept various types of financial aid
- The availability of funds
NOTE: Federal and California State Student Aid regulations require that your total financial aid cannot exceed your total Cost of Attendance.
Cost of Attendance (COA)
Your Cost of Attendance, also known as the student budget, is based on the estimated costs of a typical student's tuition & mandatory fees, books and supplies, room and board, transportation, and personal expenses for a nine-month academic year (fall and spring semesters). The budget includes direct university-related charges (registration and on-campus room and board) and estimates of indirect expenses (transportation, books and supplies, miscellaneous living expenses, and off-campus room and board for those not living on-campus).
You can view the COA used for your Financial Aid Award, by clicking on the “Cost of Attendance Summary” link from the Award Summary page on MyCSULB. Additional instructions for viewing Financial Aid Information can be found in the Using MyCSULB Guide – under the section “View My Financial Aid & Scholarships.”
Your COA, or budget, will vary depending on the following factors:
- Where you live (on or off campus, or with your parents)
- Your California state residency status
- Your educational program (whether you are an undergraduate, graduate, or credential student.
Details on the CSU Long Beach COA budgets can be found on our Costs page (located under “The Basics” section of this website). Please note that we use averages in determining the amounts; your actual costs may be more or less than the figures listed on that page.
Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
When your financial aid application (FAFSA or Dream Act Application) is analyzed by the appropriate processing agency (U.S. Department of Education OR California Student Aid Commission), a standardized formula is applied to the information you and your family provided. The FAFSA analysis takes into account yours and your family's (or spouse’s) income and some types of assets, and indicates how much money you and your family (or spouse) are expected to contribute toward your cost of attendance for the academic year. This amount is referred to as the “Expected Family Contribution,” or EFC. The EFC determines the types and amounts of federal and state aid for which you qualify.
Your EFC is provided to you on your Student Aid Report (which you can view on the application website once your FAFSA or California Dream Act Application has been processed). It is also displayed on your Cost of Attendance Summary in MyCSULB. Instructions for viewing your EFC and Cost of Attendance summary can be found in the Using MyCSULB Guide – under the section “View My Financial Aid & Scholarships.”
If you are a dependent student, your EFC may be based on:
- Your income and your parent(s)’ income
- Your assets and your parent(s)’ assets
- The age of your older parent living in your household
- The number of family members (other than your parents) in college during the upcoming academic year
- Your state of legal residence
- Your parent’s state of legal residence
If you are an independent student, your EFC will be based on:
- Your income and your assets (as well as your spouse's, if you are married)
- The number of children and other dependents in your household
- The number of family members in your household in college during the upcoming academic year
- Your state of legal residence
Financial Need
Financial Need is calculated as the difference between a college's Cost of Attendance and your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Your financial need is the maximum amount you may receive in subsidized (or need-based) financial aid funds – including scholarships.
COA - EFC = Your Financial Need
The financial aid offer from CSU Long Beach will be determined by the formula above, and will consist of the maximum amount of subsidized and unsubsidized aid for which you qualify.
Your Financial Need is displayed on your Cost of Attendance Summary in MyCSULB. Instructions for viewing your EFC and Cost of Attendance summary can be found in the Using MyCSULB Guide – under the section “View My Financial Aid & Scholarships.”
PLEASE NOTE: Financial Aid Offers are based on FULL-TIME enrollment. The amount of aid that is disbursed will be based on your need AND enrollment. If you are not enrolled full-time, or drop below full-time, some of your financial aid awards may be prorated based on the number of units in which you are enrolled.
If you are receiving additional funding from other sources, such as scholarships, we are required by the Federal and California State Student Aid Regulations to consider these resources when determining your awards. If all sources of funding do not show on your award offer, you must notify our office in writing of the amount and source of the award.
Adjustments to Your Financial Aid Awards
The Office of Financial Aid reserves the right to adjust/modify your financial aid award(s) at any time during the academic year. Your award may be adjusted based on the situations listed below:
- Changes in enrollment
- Receipt of additional awards such as scholarships, vouchers, fee waivers, or other benefits
- Changes in residency (in-state, out-of-state)
- Changes in housing status (on-campus, off-campus, living with parents)
- Changes in household or financial information upon which your awards were based
- Information that you are in default on a previous federal student loan
- Information that you have received more than the federal maximum on your student loans
- Information that you are in an overpayment status with the Federal Government.
If your award is revised, you will receive an email notification from our office informing you that changes have been made to your financial aid award offer. It is important to keep your email address up-to-date (in MyCSULB), and to check your email on a regular basis to ensure you remain informed about your financial aid.