The Health Professions Student Loan (HPSL) is a low-interest subsidized loan limited to Optometry graduate students at the UC Berkeley campus. Students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year to be considered for the HPSL loan. Eligibility for the HPSL loan is based on your parent’s income information. UC Berkeley will collect parent information from Optometry students who are interested in being evaluated for this loan.
HPSL loans are not renewed automatically. If you receive an HPSL loan for one year, you must complete the FAFSA each subsequent year to be considered again for the HPSL loan.
The loan servicer Heartland ECSI manages HPSL loans for UC Berkeley students. Please note annual loan amounts can vary and are determined yearly based on the availability of funds.
The Health Resources and Services Administration provides funds for the HPSL program. The Health Professions Student Loan is not a Title IV loan program, though federal direct and HPSL loans may be consolidated by contacting your federal loan servicer listed under Manage Loans | Federal Student Aid.
Eligibility Requirements
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Students must file their 2024-2025 FAFSA and submit the HPSL Verification documents.
Please visit your Cal Central account under My Finances/View Awards and review the task that will be posted under the “tasks” section of View Awards. The link to complete the HPSL task on the Berkeley Financial Aid forms website will be posted in July.
When you submit the HPSL Verification form, you will be asked to provide information regarding your parents' income and family size. You will also upload SIGNED copies of your parents’ 2022 federal tax return, if applicable. The priority submission date for documents is August 1.
You will be offered the HPSL loan and notified of the offer via email if you meet the eligibility criteria for the loan after review of your submitted information.
Loan Processing
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You will be offered the HPSL loan in your academic year financial aid package based on eligibility.
If you wish to borrow the loan, you can begin by accepting the loan under the My Finances tab in CalCentral.
You can complete the Heartland ECSI loan requirements once you receive an email from ECSI two weeks before each term. Please check all your Berkeley email folders for this email.
The ECSI email will include a PIN for logging into Electronic Promissory Notes to complete loan entrance counseling and the promissory note.
Please get in touch with ECSI if you can't locate your PIN. You will be asked to provide your social security number, legal name, address, and date of birth as it appears in CalCentral.
To receive a disbursement for the Fall term, please complete loan requirements by November 30th. To receive a disbursement for the Spring term, please complete loan requirements by April 30th.
Please note that loan processing will be on hold between December 15th and January 2nd. Loan requirements completed after November 30th may result in a refund issued after January 2nd.
Loan Disbursement
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After the student completes HPSL loan requirements and the mandatory three-business day rescission period is over, UC Berkeley will receive an electronic confirmation from Heartland ECSI.
The loan requirements task in CalCentral will be complete once UC Berkeley receives confirmation from ECSI, and your loan will be disbursed to your student account.
Student Billing will notify you of a refund if your loan disbursement exceeds your outstanding charges.
Interest accrual and repayment of the HPSL loan begins twelve months after you leave school or drop below half-time. The standard repayment period for the HPSL loan is ten years.
HPSL loan has a fixed interest rate of 5.0%.
You must complete loan Exit Counseling if you leave school, graduate, or enroll less than half-time.
You will receive information regarding repayment at the end of your grace period; please keep your contact information up-to-date with ECSI.
Federal Direct Loans and HPSL Loans may be consolidated by contacting the federal loan servicer listed under Manage Loans | Federal Student Aid.
Cal Student Central is your destination for key university business related to financial aid, fees and billing, payments, disbursements, registration, and enrollment.