Notification and Distribution
How will you receive your aid?
Bruin Financial Aid Letter (BFAL)
Your Bruin Financial Aid Letter (BFAL) is your official notice of financial aid awards. You are notified via email any time revisions to the award amounts are made to your BFAL.
Minimum Enrollment Requirement
Medical students are considered full-time enrolled during their course of study. In order to be eligible for disbursements, students must be enrolled in at least:
12 weeks for Fall and Spring semesters
5 weeks for Summer semesters.
Failure to be enrolled in sufficient weeks will result in a hold on your financial aid disbursement.
Disbursement of Outside Scholarships
Students receiving outside scholarships should request that the awarding agency make the checks payable to UC Regents.
Checks should be mailed/forwarded to:
Payment Solutions & Compliance Office
University of California, Los Angeles
Box 957089, 1125 Murphy Hall
405 Hilgard Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90095-7089
Checks received from an outside agency are typically applied to BruinBill within 5-7 business days.
Loan Procedure
Applying for a Federal Direct loan:
Accept loans on your Bruin Financial Aid (BFA) Portal - BFA allows you to accept or make changes to your loan amounts. If you choose to accept loans there may be additional tasks you must complete.
Complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN), if you are a first-time borrower - If this is the first time you are borrowing a Direct Loan at DGSOM, then you must complete the required steps listed on the Home page of your BFA portal including the MPN and Entrance Counseling. The links on your BFA portal will take you to the required webpages on the Department of Education website.
Institutional (University) Loan – If you are awarded an university loan and accept on your BFA portal, you will be prompted to complete the required loan documents that must be completed prior to disbursement. Please allow 7-10 business days after loan documents are completed for your loan to be processed.
BruinBill and BruinDirect
Once you accept your awards on the FAN, and complete the necessary loan paperwork and required debt management counseling, your financial aid will disburse as early as 10 days before the start of each semester. Aid typically disburses half fall and half spring semesters.
BruinBill
BruinBill is your student account where you will see university charges (e.g. tuition, housing, parking, etc) and financial aid (payments, scholarships, loans, etc.) applied to your account. We encourage you to review your account activity at least once a month to ensure accuracy.
Financial Aid Refunds
Any remaining financial aid, after semester charges on the BruinBill are paid in full, will be refunded to you to pay for your living and other educational expenses. Your financial aid refund will be deposited in your personal bank account if you sign up for BruinDirect (see below). Refund checks will be mailed to students who do not sign up for BruinDirect.
BruinDirect
If you sign up for BruinDirect, your refund will be transferred electronically to your personal BruinDirect bank account. If your award is processed in a timely manner, your financial aid refund will be deposited in your account before the first day of classes. You can request BruinDirect online through BruinBill via MyUCLA.