Introduction to Financial Aid

FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It is used to evaluate eligibility for programs such as federal or state grants, institutional scholarships, and federal loans.

Start your FAFSA

CADAA stands for California Dream Act Application and is used by undocumented students who meet the eligibility requirements of California Assembly Bill 540 and come from a lower income household or qualify for need-based aid.

Start Your CADAA 

The FAFSA & CADAA typically open on October 1^st of each year, and the priority deadline is March 1^st. We recommend you complete your FAFSA or CADAA at the same time you apply for admission to Cal Lutheran.

Be sure to include your social security number (if available) on both applications.

Use Cal Lutheran's School Code 001133 on the FAFSA or CADAA when asked.

The FAFSA or CADAA must be completed every year you attend Cal Lutheran with updated information.

Learn more about the FAFSA or the CADAA.

Your Financial Aid package is determined each year based on the unique information you provide on your FAFSA or CADAA application. These applications take your family size, family income and other unique factors  into account when determining the federal and state aid you may be eligible for. These applications also help Cal Lutheran determine any institutional aid you may be qualify for.

If you want to know how your financial aid package will be calculated, view our Financial Aid 101 slideshow to understand how it all works. You can also take a look at our financial aid glossary to understand commonly used terms.

Several things happen once your FAFSA/CADAA and application for admission have been submitted.  

Some students are selected for "verification", which means the federal government wants us to verify the information provided on the FAFSA matches your tax documents. If you are selected, we will send you additional instructions at that time.

If you are admitted to Cal Lutheran, you will be sent a financial aid offer letter. This letter will outline the grants, scholarships, and loans in your financial aid package, and estimate your actual cost. The first aid offer notification is mailed to your home address, but all other notifications will be delivered to your Cal Lutheran email address which you should check regularly. Aid offers are often adjusted due to new information and should be monitored on a regular basis. 

Students may also review their aid offer at anytime through their MyCLU student portal. Access instructions are provided with your Letter of Admission and with your Aid Offer letter. Cal Lutheran also provides an electronic version of the "Shopping Sheet" that provides greater detail on a student's aid offer.

Financial aid offer letters will start being delivered on the approximate dates below, and continually thereafter as applications and all required paperwork is completed.

View the full list of important dates and deadlines

Revised Aid Offers Packages: Financial Aid Offers may be revised for many reasons including changes to the FAFSA and CADAA, new scholarships, or changes in housing or enrollment status.  Notices regarding revised aid offers are sent via the student’s Cal Lutheran email.  Students can monitor their aid offer anytime through their MyCLU student portal.

After you've been admitted, sent in your deposit, and are getting ready to enroll, you'll need to understand how to pay your balance. Our Student Accounts Office will notify you when your upcoming semester charges have been posted to your account. At this time, you will be able to see your charges - your expected Financial Aid + your out-of-pocket balance for the semester.

All out-of-pocket charges should be accounted for by the "financial clearance" date, set by the Student Accounts Office, usually the first week of August. Students must sign a Cal Lutheran Promissory Note and have made arrangements to pay the charges/outstanding balance through a combination of financial aid (including loans), payment plans and/or self-pay methods.  Students with balances over $500 will not be eligible to register for future terms.

• Learn about our payment options and plans to help you manage your student billing account
• Learn how to gain financial clearance each semester to keep your pre-registered classes

At Cal Lutheran, we use many different types of financial aid. Using your FAFSA or CADAA information, we evaluate your eligibility for federal and state aid. The majority of financial aid we offer comes directly from Cal Lutheran as academic scholarships, grant aid, or other scholarships.

We highly encourage you to apply for as many scholarships as possible. California residents should also consider their eligibility for the Cal Grant.

Many students find additional assistance through private resources such as businesses, churches, and online scholarship searches.

Additional financial aid and grant information is also available for California Dream Act Students.

Loans are often used to pay for charges not covered by other financial aid. Federal student loans are federally sponsored and in the student’s name. There are limitations on the amount that can be borrowed, but the loan does not have to repaid until after the student graduates or leaves school. Once you have submitted a FAFSA, your federal student loan eligibility will be automatically determined. You will see these listed as a Subsidized and/or Unsubsidized loan on your aid offer.

Please Note: In order for your offered student loans to be applied to your account, you must log in and manually accept your loan offers. You must also complete all necessary loan items. 

Parent loans are federal loans in the parent(s) name.  Parent loans have flexible amounts that can be used to cover all or some of the remaining charges not covered by scholarships and grants.  Parents have the opportunity to adjust amounts as needed, based on the final billed amount, financial changes in the family or adjustments to other aid. These loans must be applied for through studentaid.gov. 

You can read more about loans, including interest rates, loan limits, and application instructions on our Loans and Loan Counseling page.

We make every attempt to provide the best financial aid package available using the various scholarship and grant funds at our disposal. Although loans are included in the aid offer, they should be the last option. Some additional funding options include:

• One of Cal Lutheran’s most popular programs, the Congregational Partners in Education in which we will match funds (up to $2,500) provided by your congregation.
• Part-time jobs for students through our excellent Work-Study program.
• Additional funding through one of our donor sponsored scholarships and resources from private organizations.