The financial assistance being offered to you comes from the available federal, state, and/or Mills College financial aid programs for which you are currently eligible.
The award offer you have received is for the 2021–2022 award year only. It is based on the information made available to the College through the most recent Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or California DREAM Act Application that we have received for you and your family.
Subsequent changes or corrections to your FAFSA or DREAM Act information—through tax verification or other updates—can result in adjustments to your financial aid eligibility and your financial aid offer. If revisions to your award offer become necessary, you will be notified by Mills email to view your revised award offer online on the Mills Resource Portal.
The aid being offered to you comes from one or more of the following programs. Be sure to read all of the information to understand the benefits and obligations of the aid programs. More detailed information regarding each of these programs can be found on the Types of Aid web page.
Mills College provides need-based tuition assistance to undergraduate students through its Mills Institutional Grants (MIG) and named scholarship programs.
For new first-year students, these funds are available for up to 8 semesters of undergraduate study as long as the student re-applies for aid each year by the continuing student deadline, continues to demonstrate need, and meets the Satisfactory Academic Progress standards.
For transfer students, these funds are available for up to 6 semesters of undergraduate study as long as the student re-applies for aid each year by the continuing student deadline, continues to demonstrate need, and meets the Satisfactory Academic Progress standards.
The California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) provides grant assistance to eligible California residents. The College's Financial Aid Office may estimate the eligibility of new applicants, but only the Commission can award a grant. The California Student Aid Commission determines eligibility for renewal of a Cal Grant award each year.
Please note that changes to the Cal Grant program may occur through the State budget process that might impact your award offer. The final amount of your award will be determined based on your verified high school graduation, enrollment status, and confirmation of the State budget.
If you see an estimated Cal Grant in your financial aid award offer and you are notified by CSAC that you will not receive a Cal Grant, you must inform us without delay.
You will not be able to accept or decline a Cal Grant offer online. The Financial Aid Office will verify your Cal Grant eligibility and change the awarded status from “estimated” to “accepted” as we confirm eligibility with CSAC. For more information on Cal Grants, please visit www.csac.ca.gov.
This federally funded program provides grant assistance to needy undergraduates pursuing a first undergraduate degree. Visit the Federal Student Aid web page on Pell Grants for detailed information.
The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) Program provides federal funds to the neediest Pell Grant recipients. Visit the Federal Student Aid web page on the FSEOG program for more information.
| Federal Direct Subsidized Loan | Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan |
|---|---|
| Interest Rate: 3.73% fixed rate* | Interest Rate: 3.73% fixed rate* |
| Origination Fee: 1.057%** | Origination Fee: 1.057%** |
| Grace Period: 6 months after graduation, ceasing attendance, or dropping below half-time enrollment. | Grace Period: 6 months after graduation, ceasing attendance, or dropping below half-time enrollment. |
| About: The Direct Subsidized Loan is a need-based, deferred interest, deferred payment loan. The interest is paid by the Federal government while the borrower is in school. Repayment of interest and principal begins 6 months after the borrower graduates, ceases attendance, or drops below half-time enrollment. | About: The Direct Unsubsidized Loan is a non-need-based, deferred payment loan. Interest begins accruing upon disbursement of the loan. Repayment of interest and principal begins 6 months after the borrower graduates, ceases attendance, or drops below half-time enrollment. |
| Additional Requirements: Students who accept the Direct Subsidized Loan will be required to complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN) and Direct Loan Entrance Counseling at www.studentloans.gov. Students should only need to do this one time as a student at Mills. Your Direct Loan cannot be disbursed until the MPN and entrance counseling are completed. | Additional Requirements: Students who accept the Direct Subsidized Loan will be required to complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN) and Direct Loan Entrance Counseling at www.studentloans.gov. Students should only need to do this one time as a student at Mills. Your Direct Loan cannot be disbursed until the MPN and entrance counseling are completed. |
* Interest rates are subject to change on July 1, 2022.
**Origination fees are subject to change on any loans not disbursed prior to September
30, 2022.
The College offers undergraduate students the opportunity to earn part of what they need to meet out-of-pocket educational expenses through this student employment program funded, in part, by the Federal Student Aid programs. Accepting a work award does not guarantee a job; full-time students must complete an I-9 form, interview, be offered a position, and be placed on the payroll before receiving a paycheck. A work study student may only be employed in one federal work-study position at a time.
Your current financial aid offer is based on the FAFSA or California DREAM Act application plus outside resources available at the time of awarding. Payments made on your behalf from outside agencies, organizations, and institutions that are credited directly to your Mills student account are additional educational resources that must be included by the Financial Aid Office when determining your eligibility for student financial aid. These resources may include scholarships, employer tuition benefits (including Mills Tuition Remission), or benefits from public and private agencies that are meant to help you meet educational costs.
If you are a recipient of such a resource, you must notify the Financial Aid Office.
Receiving such resources may require adjustment of your current financial aid offer. If an adjustment is necessary, you will receive an updated award notification to view on the Mills Resource Portal.
It is not always possible for the Financial Aid Office to meet all of an applicant’s need from the aid funds that are available to the College. Mills offers multiple payment plan options to help students and families pay college charges not covered by financial aid. In addition, there are a number of loan programs that provide assistance to students and their families to meet need or to replace some or all of the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). It is highly recommended that student aid applicants search for valuable outside scholarships to help cover the cost of their education.
Interest Rate: 6.28%*
Origination Fee: 4.228%*
Application: www.studentloans.gov
About: The Federal Direct PLUS Loan Program is a credit based loan in the parent’s name
that allows parents to borrow to meet the educational expenses of dependent undergraduates.
A parent may borrow up to the difference between the student’s cost of attendance
and the student’s estimated financial aid.
Additional Requirements: Parents must complete the Parent PLUS Loan application at www.studentloans.gov available after April 1, 2018. The parent should indicate the requested amount of
the loan on the application. Upon completion, the parent will receive a credit decision.
If approved, the parent must complete a Master Promissory Note on www.studentloans.gov.
*Interest rates and origination fees are subject to change each year based on congressional action.
Some aid programs may require you to submit additional documentation before your eligibility for this aid can be confirmed. If you are notified that additional information is required, please refer to the Requirements section in the Mills Resource Portal to determine what is needed and how you must submit this documentation. Please note that financial aid awards that have outstanding requirements will not be reflected as a credit towards charges on your bill and cannot be paid to your tuition and fee account.
If your aid application has been selected for federal verification, you and your parent(s) will be required to complete a household information verification worksheet. Visit our Completing Your Financial Aid Verification web page for detailed instructions. Tax filers are also required to complete the IRS Data Retrieval on the online FAFSA, or submit an official IRS Tax Return Transcript with the verification worksheet. If you and/or your parent were not required to file a 2016 Federal tax return, you must submit a copy of all Federal W2s and/or other official income statements for proof of earnings from work and submit a Verification of Non-Filing Letter from the IRS. Be sure to complete the verification process prior to June 1, 2018.
All verification documents can be viewed and submitted via the online verification portal found at mills.verifiymyfafsa.com. Please do not submit verification documents via email.
Federal regulations require Mills to set a Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standard for all students. Undergraduate students are required to meet the following SAP requirements:
Failure to meet SAP requirements could mean the loss of financial aid. If a student does not meet the requirements for SAP, the student will be placed on financial aid SAP probation with an "unsatisfactory" status. Students with an "unsatisfactory" status may appeal this status only one time while attending Mills College.
For complete policy information, visit our SAP Policy web page.
Federal regulations require Title IV financial aid funds to be awarded under the assumption that a student will attend the institution for the entire period in which federal assistance was awarded. When a federal financial aid recipient withdraws from all courses or receives no credit for attempted courses (e.g. all F or W grades, excluding arranged incompletes) in a given semester for any reason, she may no longer be eligible for the full amount of Title IV funds that she was originally scheduled to receive. The return of funds is based upon the premise that students earn their financial aid in proportion to the amount of time in which they are enrolled. A prorated schedule is used to determine the amount of federal student aid funds she will have earned at the time of the withdrawal.
Some or all of your awards may require you to accept or decline the funds via the Mills Resource Portal. If you are required to accept any part of your award, please do so by June 1 or within 30 days of the date of the financial aid award offer, whichever is later. For detailed instructions, visit our Accepting Your Aid Award web page.
When accepting your Mills financial aid offer, you are agreeing to the following terms and conditions.
Once you accept the aid offered, it is important to check the Unsatisfied Requirements section to determine if any award-specific requirements still need to be fulfilled. Financial aid awards that have outstanding requirements will not be reflected as a credit towards charges on your bill and cannot be paid to your tuition and fee account.
Recognizing that the information collected by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) does not always reflect an applicant’s current financial circumstances, the Financial Aid Office may re-evaluate eligibility for student aid under specific and limited circumstances. Students who have experienced a change in financial circumstances may initiate a financial aid appeal request by sending an email to finaid@mills.edu. You will then be provided with directions on how to complete the appeal using the Mills verification website.
Financial aid appeals will only be considered if submitted completely with all required documentation and processed through the proper channels. Appeals are subject to approval by the Financial Aid Office and are only meant for specific circumstances listed on the appeal form.