Financial Aid

Catalyst Access

Catalyst is the University of Cincinnati student information system. This online resource and student portal is the entry point to your academic record, university billing, financial aid, and more.

Incoming undergraduate students since fall 2022 are given access to Catalyst and other systems via the Bearcat Portal. This portal acts as the front door for incoming freshmen and transfer students to multiple systems including Catalyst.

Instructions on username, password, and action to take on your award offer can all be followed as well within https://bearcatportal.uc.edu.  

The following directions will allow you to view and act on your financial aid offer.


Accessing Catalyst

Access catalyst.uc.edu and logon using your user name and password.

  • If you have not signed on previously, search your email account using "Catalyst" to find the introductory email sent to you when you applied for admission.
    • You can also find your UC username.
    • Once you have obtained your username, new students will need to set up your profile using the initial password Uc!MMDDYYYY (where MMDDYYYY is your full date of birth).       
  • If you have difficulty with your login, there is self-service information on recovering your username and password.

Viewing Aid Offer and Accepting/Declining Aid

Scholarships and grants are automatically accepted when they are awarded.

For any Federal Work-Study or loan awards, you will need to take action to accept them.

  • Logon to catalyst.uc.edu.
  • Click on the "My Finances" tile.
  • Use the "Manage Financial Aid" to choose the appropriate aid year and accept or decline as you wish.
  • Actions are not final until you click "submit."

Also, please alert us if you anticipate aid that is not showing as part of your award offer.

Your award is generally made based on full-time attendance. Enrolling in co-op or as a part-time student for any given term this academic year can change your aid distribution.

When accepting loans, please review detailed information on loan next steps.


Tasks Checklist

You may have additional steps now or as you move through the financial aid process. These requirements and other important matters will be detailed via your "Tasks" tile in Catalyst. These tasks are often referred to as "To Do" items.

Leaving "To Do" items incomplete can result in delays or loss of aid. Additionally, any awards made prior to completing these items are estimations of eligibility. Full determination of your award will be made once all "To Do" requirements are met.

Take action to complete items as they post to your record. Review the status of your "Tasks" each time you login to Catalyst.

Incoming students are issued a UC email account following admission confirmation.

All students should regularly check their UC email account as that is where all official UC communications will be sent once it has been assigned.

We are here to help! Contact Enrollment Services (enrollmentservices@uc.edu; 513-556-1000) to better understand your award offer and projected costs.  Staff are also available at 220 University Pavilion (Uptown/Clifton Campus), 150 Muntz Hall (UC Blue Ash Campus), and 100 Student Services Building (UC Clermont Campus).