A Message from the Director:

The staff of the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships at California State University, Bakersfield is pleased to provide you with this home page. We hope that you peruse it thoroughly and that it will answer most of your questions concerning the financial aid application and delivery process at CSU, Bakersfield. The purpose of financial aid is to assist eligible students in meeting educational costs while attending the University. Because of limited federal, state, and institutional funding, we are required to award financial aid to those eligible students with the greatest financial need. All financial aid programs at California State University, Bakersfield, are administered in accordance with policies and a philosophy, which have been established nationally. The basis of this philosophy is that the student and family have the primary responsibility to meet the costs of college attendance. Financial aid is provided to fill the gap between the student/family contribution and total educational expenses. Financial aid is a complex and sometimes bewildering process. Please use this home page and any other materials you may have received from our office to help seek out answers to your questions. If you have any suggestions as to how the home page might be improved, please address them to finaid@csub.edu . The staff is ready and anxious to provide you with any help you may need in order to understand the financial aid process. Aristotle once said, "To give away money is an easy matter... and in any man's power. But to decide to whom to give it, and how large and when, for what purposes and how, is neither in every man's power nor an easy matter. Hence it is that such excellence is rare, praiseworthy, and noble." We believe that properly administering student financial aid programs, in an effort to facilitate access to postsecondary education, is an important and meaningful endeavor and we strive to do it as efficiently and effectively as we can.

Sincerely,

Steve Herndon, Ph.D.
Senior Division Director
University Services Division I:
.....Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships
.....Disability Services Office