Financial Aid Portal
In order to assist students in submitting key documents to verify their FAFSA data as required and submit special circumstances and academic progress appeals, the Student Financial Aid Office has a financial aid portal that will walk you through the required steps, allow for e-signatures on some items, and give you an opportunity to upload requested documents.
Parents do not have access to most features of the financial aid portal and should NOT attempt to access the portal using delegated access. Parents should NOT attempt sign in using UC credentials or supply student name, etc. as this will create long-term problems for student aid eligibility.
Check your UC email account regularly as that is where all official UC communications will be sent.
Students should also regularly check and work to clear To Do tasks within Catalyst. Some requirements are met through use of the financial aid portal while other tasks will give alternate direction.
Creating Your Portal Account
The financial aid portal requires a one-time account creation by the student. It will then tie together your student log-in credentials at UC with your FAFSA data for each aid year you apply for aid.
- Access account setup which will open a new web window.
- Log in using your UC username and password.
- New student seeking your UC credentials? Do a quick search of "Catalyst" in your email account to locate the introductory email sent to you upon applying to UC.
- Lost/forgotten credentials? You can also find UC username and password assistance online.
- Complete your name, date of birth, and Social Security number exactly as it appears on your FAFSA.
- Determine if you want to sign up for text message alerts for financial aid portal requests.
- Review and accept the privacy policy.
- Submit.
You can then access the UC Financial Aid Portal at any time using UC logon credentials.
Also, once you have successfully created your account, hyperlinks in appropriate To Do tasks within Catalyst will route you directly to the financial aid portal without any additional sign on.
Parent Account Creation for E-signing (Optional)
Parents DO NOT have delegated access into the financial aid portal like they do in Catalyst, and parents should not use their UC login credentials to attempt entry into the portal. At the same time, parents can use the portal to provide e-signatures when needed. E-signatures by parents of dependent students is the ONLY option for parents to access within the financial aid portal.
NOTE: Parent accounts are not required. If a parent or student does not wish to use e-sign within the portal, e-signatures cannot be used. Students are always given the option to print the verification document, have the appropriate persons wet sign it, and then the student would upload the signed document into the financial aid portal.
Students who want to use the parent e-signature option can trigger account set up. They will provide parent name and email information at the time the e-signature is first needed triggering the following actions:
- An email with an account creation link will be sent to the parent.
- Parent will create a username and password for the portal.
- Supply requested demographic parent and student data matching exactly as it appears on the student's FAFSA.
- Review and accept the privacy policy.
- Submit.
- Following account creation, the parent will also receive a verify email so that they can receive password reset assistance in the future.
After these steps, the parent will then be prompted to the appropriate document to e-sign.
Future e-signature requests will come via email with document e-signature available directly after logging in.
A parent account within the financial aid portal is ONLY for e-signatures.
- This feature and the financial aid portal are not connected to delegated access within Catalyst. At the same time, having Catalyst delegated access for financial aid does allow Enrollment Services staff to speak more directly with parents on financial aid and other matters.
- The portal e-signature feature is also not tied to the FSA ID which is used to e-sign federal aid documents on the Department of Education websites.
Managing Your Account
Students and parents, once logged into the financial aid portal, can manage their accounts through the profile option with their name in the upper right corner of the screen.
Profile settings allow for students to subscribe or turn off text messaging among other features. Parents can also use their profile to change their password if they wish.