Through the extensive efforts of the Financial Aid Office, Berkeley Law has been able to arrange short-term bridge loans to assist those of you who are receiving financial aid in covering expenses related to participating in the new Early Interview Week (EIW) Program.
They are designed to help you make ends meet while you are waiting to receive your financial aid refund (on August 19). The program is being administered by Cooperative Center Federal Credit Union (CCFCU). Eligible students will be able to borrow between $1,000- and $2,000 for a period of up to 90 days at an interest rate of 9.9%. Click here for further details and the application.
We regret that we were unable to arrange for these loans earlier. The Financial Aid Office identified and engaged several other funding sources over the course of the Spring and Summer. However, discussions with these sources ended up falling through, each at the relatively last minute. Finalizing and documenting the loan program with CCFCU also took longer than expected due to the unprecedented nature of the terms for which we were negotiating. We hope, however, this is still in time to help some of you out, especially if you end up “fronting” some of your callback expenses.
Key Facts About the CCFCU Short Term EIW Loan:
1. Unless you are currently employed and meet the income requirement (financial aid refund does not count), you will need a co-borrower;
2. Co-borrower must submit two most recent pay stubs with application;
3. You may submit faxed or scanned application from co-applicant;
4. You should submit your application in person at the CCFCU CUBS Branch if possible (see map on page 4 of the info sheet/application);
5. Submit a copy of your Student Profile (BearFacts-Personal), Class Schedule (BearFacts-Registration), & Student ID with application;
6. Once your application is approved, it may take two to three business days for you to receive the funds;
7. The $5 application fee is being waived, but you must establish a $25 account with CCFCU;
8. Use faxed or scanned documents to speed up the handling of promissory note and disclosure statements to speed up the process;
9. Once you submit your completed promissory note & disclosure statements, the loan should be disbursed to you that day;
10. Use your financial aid refund to repay this loan as quickly as possible to minimize interest charge;
11. Contact the on-campus CCFCU CUBS Branch if you have any questions.