Scholarships FAQs
Find answers to frequently asked questions about Alumni Scholarship & Engagement Program (ASEP) scholarships and awards for incoming first-year, continuing, and transfer undergraduate students at UC Berkeley.
Qualifying for a Scholarship
The Alumni Scholarship & Engagement Program (ASEP) is the umbrella under which all Cal Alumni Association scholarships and programing for scholars falls. Whether you are a scholarship applicant or recipient, ASEP is the entity to which you can direct your scholarship-related questions. ASEP currently awards over $2.6 million dollars annually to Cal undergraduates and has been providing scholarships to UC Berkeley undergraduate students since 1934.
We offer The Achievement Award Program and The Leadership Award for community college transfer students applying to UC Berkeley. Please note: Transfer students may submit their applications prior to receiving their UC Berkeley letter of acceptance.
Unfortunately, we only have scholarships for undergraduate students. Visit the UC Berkeley Scholarship Connection for funding resources available to graduate students.
You are a “prospective Cal student” if you are a high school senior or a junior transfer applying to UC Berkeley.
You are an “incoming Cal student” if you are a newly admitted student who has accepted your offer of admission and will begin your first semester at UC Berkeley in the Fall (e.g. incoming first-year Cal student or incoming junior transfer Cal student). You can only receive our scholarship if you register and enroll at UC Berkeley.
You must be registered and enrolled in UC Berkeley in order to receive one of our scholarships.
The Achievement Award Program and The Leadership Award are available for newly admitted UC Berkeley students to apply.
- The Achievement Award Program
No. You must have completed high school, GED, or community college transfer requirements in California. Please note this is regardless of immigration status. - The Leadership Award
No. Although you do need to be Pell Grant eligible.
Applying for an Alumni Scholarship
Applications for The Achievement Award Program and The Leadership Award open in the spring. The link to apply will show up on the respective scholarship page when the scholarship application becomes available.
You must create a login to our scholarships portal to begin the application process. You will be instructed to complete and submit the “General Application” before you are able to submit completed applications for any of our scholarship opportunities
You are eligible to apply to scholarships you qualify for and that appear on the scholarship page.
*Please note: the General Application is NOT the complete application. You must submit an application for individual recommended scholarship opportunities to be considered for each respective scholarship.
*Please note: the General Application is NOT the complete application. You must submit an application for individual recommended scholarship opportunities to be considered for each respective scholarship.
Applicants should use an email address they have access to throughout the calendar year. Applicants should NOT use an email address that is part of their high school or community college that may be deactivated once they graduate. Finalists and recipients will receive information about their application status to this email throughout the selection process.
*Please note: once you create an account using an email, you will no longer be able to change it.
*Please note: once you create an account using an email, you will no longer be able to change it.
No, once you have created an account in our scholarship portal you will be able to access multiple scholarship opportunities. You may use this account to apply for scholarships you are eligible for throughout your time at Cal.
Yes. You must submit a separate application for each scholarship you qualify for.
This is a required field for incoming freshmen and transfer students only. If this number is incorrect or missing, we will be unable to consider your application because we will be unable to confirm you have registered. Please note: if you are a current UC Berkeley student, you do not have to provide this number.
This is a required field for all registered students with a student ID. For current Cal undergrads, if this number is incorrect or missing, we will be unable to confirm your student status in order for you to continue in the selection process or payout your award should you be selected as a recipient.
The income you report on your application should match what you reported on your FAFSA. If you are not eligible to complete a FAFSA, please report your total income as stated on your UC application:
- If you are a dependent student, enter the sum of your gross income and that of your parent(s) gross income. Use the gross income reported for the previous tax year.
- If you are an independent student, enter the sum of your gross income and your spouse’s gross income. Use the gross income reported for the previous tax year.
Use the FAFSA Dependency Status Worksheet.
No. We cannot consider any additional materials (e.g. letters of recommendation, transcripts, resumes, videos, etc.).
The following deadlines are final. There are absolutely no exceptions. See deadlines for: The Achievement Award Program and The Leadership Award.
Be sure that you are using the email address that you used when you initially set up the account. To reset your password, click “Reset my password” and enter your email address. If you do not receive an email to reset your password within 30 minutes, please email [email protected].
You may make any edits to your application even after submission up to the application deadline date. Once the application deadline is reached, all applications are considered final, and we cannot accept changes. In the event that identifying information such as your name, U.C. ID, SID, or birth date is incorrect, please contact us at [email protected] to correct the issue.
Submitting an Online Application
Many students are applying to our scholarships simultaneously. Our best advice is that you submit your application early to avoid service disruptions due to high traffic. You may consider submitting your application in the early morning or late evening to avoid periods of high web traffic. Please note that there are no exceptions to the application deadline. If you have any issues submitting your application, email us at [email protected] as soon as possible and prior to the deadline.
Your UC Application ID is a 7-digit number that uniquely identifies you within the UC applicant system. Unfortunately, Berkeley cannot provide application ID numbers. However, there are three ways for you to find your Application ID:
- 1. View your PATHWAYS receipt: If you submitted your application via the University of California website, you should have seen a screen displaying this information.
- 2. View Undergraduate Application Acknowledgment: This information can be found in the upper right-hand side of the UC acknowledgement letter you received in the mail.
- 3. Contact UC Application Processing Center: In California: 800.207.1710, Outside California: 310.513.2715, Email: [email protected]
Scholarship Selection
Yes, all applicants receive an application status update in the email they used to apply for CAA scholarships. Please check your emails regularly for any updates or time-sensitive requests from our office.
Please review the All Opportunities page for a general timeline for each of our scholarships.
Applications are anonymously read and scored by multiple alumni volunteers resulting in about 4 different scores that are averaged together. Based on those scores, finalists are then invited to an interview with a panel of alumni volunteers. Applicants that best meet the selection criteria are then selected to receive the scholarship. CAA Scholarships Staff have no say in the results and cannot provide insight into what each reviewer or interviewer was thinking.
No, we receive a high volume of scholarship applications for only a select number of awards. In addition, our selection process relies on our alumni volunteers. Cal Alumni Association staff have no say in the results and cannot provide insight into individual applications. All scholarship decisions are final, no exceptions will be made.
No, applications are anonymously read and scored by multiple alumni volunteers. Finalists are then invited to an interview with a panel of alumni volunteers. Applicants that best meet the selection criteria are then selected to receive the scholarship. Cal Alumni Association Staff have no say in the results and cannot provide feedback to any applicant.
Receiving an Alumni Scholarship
Applications are anonymously read and scored by multiple alumni volunteers. Finalists are then invited to an interview with a panel of alumni volunteers. Applicants that best fulfill the selection criteria are then selected to receive the scholarship. CAA Alumni Scholars Program Staff have no say in the results.
Please note: if you are selected as an Auto-Recipient, you do not have to complete an interview to receive the scholarship. This means you were among the top scorers based on your written application and skipped the interview round.
Please note: if you are selected as an Auto-Recipient, you do not have to complete an interview to receive the scholarship. This means you were among the top scorers based on your written application and skipped the interview round.
Learn more about the benefits of being an Alumni Scholar: The Achievement Award Program and The Leadership Award.
No. We report your award information directly to the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office. The Financial Aid and Scholarships Office will send you an updated Financial Aid Package and you may need to “accept” the award through your online financial aid account.
CAA Alumni Scholarship recipients do not receive funding for summer school.
If you plan to study abroad through EAP, your award will be submitted to the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office and then be applied to your account. If you plan to study abroad through a non-EAP program, you will need to sign a consortium agreement with the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office and notify CAA Alumni Scholarships of your plans. We can only disburse your funds through the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office in accordance with their policies.
You will need to notify the CAA Alumni Scholars Program office of your withdrawal. Your scholarship will be deferred in accordance with the policies and expectations of the Office of the Registrar and the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office.
Forfeiture of Awards: In order to receive all scholarship award funds, students must be enrolled during the applicable academic year. If a student fails to enroll for the fall or spring semester by the first day of classes of that semester, his/her scholarship funds for that semester are forfeited and will be given to another qualifying scholarship applicant, unless they communicate to us ahead of award disbursement. If the student graduates early, they must communicate to us that they are doing so immediately in order to correctly disburse their award. If a student withdraws for a semester, the award funds for that semester can only be deferred if the student’s withdrawal was University-approved (e.g. medical reason) but needs to communicate to us as soon as possible and prior to our disbursement. If a student chooses to study abroad through the University of California Education Abroad Program (EAP), funds will be disbursed as usual through CalCentral. If a student chooses to study abroad with a non-UC-affiliated program, the terms of the scholarship are subject to the campus Consortium Study Agreement Program.
Learn about the application process for: The Achievement Award Program and The Leadership Award.
Scholarship amounts vary by scholarship. Learn how much aid is awarded for: CAA Scholarships
- The Achievement Award Program
No. The Achievement Award Program only accepts applications from incoming Cal students. - The Leadership Award
No. As of the 2024-2025 academic year, the Leadership Award only accepts applications from incoming Cal students.
- The Achievement Award Program is renewable, provided recipients meet the program requirements.
- The Leadership Award is renewable, provided recipients meet the program requirements.
The Leadership Award and The Achievement Award Program are comprised of various funds that in some cases have particular restrictions. When your scholarship becomes a named award in CalCentral that means it has gone through our scholarship matching program and based on certain criteria you were eligible for that particular fund, the name of which you now see in your financial aid profile. Regardless of the name of the scholarship displayed in CalCentral, you are still considered a CAA Alumni Scholar with all the benefits.
If a student withdraws for a semester(s), the award funds can only be deferred if the student’s withdrawal is university-approved (e.g. medical reason); in such cases, the scholarship will be deferred in accordance with the policies and expectations of the Office of the Registrar. Please contact [email protected] if you choose to withdraw for a semester.
The Achievement Award Program will be disbursed in two installments—half for the Fall semester and half for the Spring semester through CalCentral Finances around August and January.
The Leadership Award will be disbursed in one installment in the Spring semester—through CalCentral Finances at the beginning of the Spring semester. How the award is disbursed may vary (i.e. direct deposit/check), please contact the Financial Aid Office if you have questions about your scholarship disbursement.
The Leadership Award will be disbursed in one installment in the Spring semester—through CalCentral Finances at the beginning of the Spring semester. How the award is disbursed may vary (i.e. direct deposit/check), please contact the Financial Aid Office if you have questions about your scholarship disbursement.
Supporting the Alumni Scholars Program
About the Alumni Scholars Program
ASEP FAQs
Questions about any of our scholarship programs? Find details about eligibility requirements, application processes, disbursement details, and more.
ASEP Selections
UC Berkeley alumni are invited to participate in the selection of exceptional candidates for our scholarships. From recruitment and outreach to application readings and candidate interviews, alumni are integral to the successful selection of our scholarship recipients.
Our Partners
