Evening & Weekend MBA Program
Grant Application
2007-2008 Academic Year
Login to Grant Application >
(available January 2007)
The purpose of the Evening & Weekend MBA Grant is to facilitate access to the Berkeley MBA for students whose current employment is in the non-profit or public service sectors and who demonstrate financial need. Students who demonstrate financial need but are not currently employed in non-profit or public service fields, while not the primary target of this grant program, may still apply.
We ask that you complete this grant application with the same care and attention as you put into your application for admission. The information that you provide here is instrumental to the Evening & Weekend MBA Grant committee in awarding funds.
I. Grant Eligibility
All entering and continuing students in the Evening & Weekend MBA program, including international students, are eligible to apply for this grant. Students must apply annually for the Evening & Weekend MBA Grant. Continuing students must meet grant criteria, demonstrate significant financial need, and maintain satisfactory academic progress each year in order to be considered. Grant funding is not guaranteed from year to year.
The Evening & Weekend MBA Grant is awarded only to students who demonstrate significant financial need. First priority is given to students who currently work in the non-profit or public sectors. Secondary consideration is given to students who do not work in these fields. Net financial need is calculated by the Haas Financial Aid Office using guidelines established by the federal government. Please note, given the limited pool of funds, we are not able to meet the needs of all who apply.
In order to be considered for the Grant, students must apply for and accept all loans available through federal loan programs (both subsidized and unsubsidized loans). Students who fail to comply with this requirement will not be awarded grant funds and will be asked to return any EWMBA Grant funds already awarded in that academic year.
In general, students who meet any of the following criteria will not be considered for a grant, unless there are special circumstances:
- You have a total annual household income (Adjusted Gross Income) of $100,000 or more.
- You have primary home equity in excess of $100,000.
- You have other assets and investments (e.g., stocks, bonds, mutual funds not including retirement accounts) valued at $50,000 or more.
- You are receiving tuition assistance from your employer in an amount greater than your possible Maximum Grant Award (see the section below on Grant Awards for instructions on calculating this number).
II. Grant Awards
The EWMBA Grant is designed to offset the cost of tuition that a student cannot meet through existing federal loan programs. By subtracting the amount of available federal loans, $20,500, from the current year tuition, one calculates the Maximum Grant Award that one may expect to receive. (For International Students, defined as not a US citizen nor a US permanent resident, who are ineligible for federal loans, the Evening & Weekend MBA Grant committee will assume that you will be borrowing $20,500 through private loans when calculating your Maximum Grant Award.) Please note that this maximum, or cap, is not a guaranteed amount and may be smaller depending on Grant funding and student need. Grant awards will not exceed the net financial need of a student.
As an example, a student entering the Evening & Weekend MBA program in Fall 2005 was charged 1878.32 per unit and is enrolled in 16 units over her/his first year of study. A student in this position is eligible to receive, at most, $12,784 in grant funding for the 2005 -- 2006 academic year. This Maximum Grant Award decreases as the number of units in which the student is enrolled declines each year. See the following three examples for how the Maximum Grant Award would be calculated for students enrolled in the Evening & Weekend MBA program for the 2005 -- 2006 academic year:
Example 1: Fall 2005 Entering Student
| 16 units x $1878.32 = | $31,284 EWMBA fees |
| - | $18,500 Federal Direct Loans |
| = | $12,784 Maximum Grant Award |
Example 2: Fall 2005 Second-Year Student
| 14 units x $1878.32 = | $27,529 EWMBA fees |
| - | $18,500 Federal Direct Loans |
| = | $9,029 Maximum Grant Award |
Example 3: Fall 2005 Third-Year Student
| 12 units x $1878.32 = | $23,774 EWMBA fees |
| - | $18,500 Federal Direct Loans |
| = | $5,274 Maximum Grant Award |
Please note that a student must be enrolled in a minimum of six units throughout each semester to be eligible for grant funding. Additionally, grants are capped at the above units per year in the program. Should a student enroll in supplemental units, the EWMBA Grant amount will not be increased.
III. Application Instructions and General Information
You must apply for the grant using our online application
1. APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
Please follow all grant application instructions carefully. Applicants are responsible for ensuring the delivery of all required information, forms, and documentation outlined in these instructions by the April 15, 2007 deadline . Grant applications which are incomplete or received after the grant application deadline will not be considered.
Evening & Weekend MBA Grant Program Calendar
| March 2, 2007 | Deadline to complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) |
| April 15, 2007 | Deadline for Grant Application to be submitted online AND Supplemental Materials to be postmarked |
| June 2007 | Announcement of Grant Decisions for both Round 1 and 2 Admits |
There are five steps to completing the Evening & Weekend MBA Grant Application:
Step 1: Complete the 2007-2008 FAFSA online between January 2 and before March 2, 2007. The application is available at www.fafsa.ed.gov. UC Berkeley's federal school code is 001312.
Step 2: Fill out the online Grant Application and answer the essay question.
Step 3: Print the Employer Assistance Verification Form and ask your employer to complete it. Return this form to our office in a sealed envelope signed by your benefits administrator.
Step 4: Submit a copy of your signed 2006 Federal Income Tax Return, including all schedules and W-2s. If a joint tax return was filed, also submit your spouse's W-2s.
Step 5: Submit the forms from steps 3 and 4 in one packet to be mailed to our office with a postmark no later than April 15, 2007. No extensions will be allowed, including for tax returns.
Evening & Weekend MBA Grant Application
Haas School of Business
University of California, Berkeley
430 Student Services Building, #1906
Berkeley, CA 94720-1906
You must submit all Grant Application materials (except for the FAFSA and the materials submitted online) in one envelope. Our office is unable to match materials sent in separate mailings. Incomplete applications will not be considered for a grant.
2. GENERAL INFORMATION
FAFSA
The FAFSA form is a national standardized form created by the federal government. It must be completed and filed online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/. Please request that your processed data be electronically released to UC Berkeley by including UC Berkeley's federal school code of 001312. The 2007-2008 FAFSA must be submitted to the government four weeks in advance of our April 15 deadline to ensure its receipt at the Haas School.
International applicants, while not eligible for federal financial aid, are eligible to apply for the Evening & Weekend MBA Grant Program. For grant consideration, you must file the FAFSA and indicate option C on the citizenship question: "I am not a citizen or eligible noncitizen." Your FAFSA will still be processed and the financial information sent to Berkeley. You will receive a letter from the federal processing center indicating you are not eligible for aid; please ignore it. This form is required for grant consideration regardless of ineligibility for federal educational loans.
Grant Application Form
Complete, sign, and submit the form online. Once you submit the application form you will not be able to return to the form to edit your responses . We suggest that you print this form first, gather all your information, write your essay response off-line, and then return to complete the grant application form in one sitting.
Employer Assistance Verification Form
Complete and sign the student section of the Evening & Weekend MBA Grant Employer Assistance Verification Form. Give the form to your benefits administrator and ask that he/she enclose the completed form in an envelope, seal the envelope, and sign across the seal. The envelope should be given back to you for inclusion with the rest of your grant application materials.
Essay
Respond to the essay question, "Explain how your financial situation qualifies you for this grant" in the field provided on the online grant application form. Please limit the length of your response to no more than 500 words. We suggest that you write your response off-line and then paste it into our online application form.
Employer Assistance Verification Form
Complete and sign the student section of the Evening & Weekend MBA Grant Employer Assistance Verification Form. Then give the form to your benefits administrator and ask that she/he enclose the completed form in an envelope, seal the envelope, and sign across the seal. The envelope should be given back to you for inclusion with your federal tax return to mail to us.
Your 2006 Federal Income Tax Return
You must submit a signed photocopy of all pages, schedules, and W-2 forms from your 2006 federal income tax return. If a joint tax return was filed, also submit your spouse's W-2s. Please note that even if you have been granted an extension by the IRS, your completed 1040 must be postmarked to Haas by April 15, 2007 for EW Grant consideration.
3. CONTINUING STUDENTS
Continuing EW students must complete the entire Grant Application process each year. All instructions and deadlines are the same for entering and continuing EW students. Grant funding is not guaranteed from year to year. NOTE: This is a new policy as of January 1, 2004.
4. NONDISCRIMINATION STATEMENT
The University of California, in accordance with applicable federal and state law and University policy, prohibits discrimination, including harassment, on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, physical or mental disability, medical condition (cancer-related or genetic characteristics), ancestry, marital status, age, sexual orientation, citizenship, or status as a covered veteran (special disabled veteran, Vietnam-era veteran or any other veteran who served on active duty during a war or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized). This nondiscrimination policy covers admission, access, and treatment in University programs and activities.
Financial Aid Contact Information
Charles W. Conn
Assistant Director, Financial Aid
Haas School of Business
Student Services Building 420L
University of California Berkeley, #1900
Berkeley, CA 94720-1900
(510) 643-0183
finaid@haas.berkeley.edu
