Toros complain about long delays in receiving financial aid.
Spend any amount of time on Reddit—the CSUDH subreddit, specifically—and users will find thread after thread of Toros asking questions or complaining about not receiving their Middle Class Scholarship (MCS).
The scholarship provides low- to middle-income undergraduate students with financial aid to pursue their bachelor’s degree at any school within the California State University, University of California, or California Community College systems.
Some Toro redditors, however, seem to be confused about how the MCS works and how and when it’s deposited into their accounts.
“Has anyone received their MCS?” asked user Powerful_Morning_306. “I got my e-mail notification on Oct. 27 and have yet to see the deposit.”
“[They] reduced mine. On my CSAC, it was 5000+, upon checking yesterday, it is 3000+,” lamented Icy-Tree-6358 in a separate thread two months ago. “I truly do not like the financial aid in this school. There have been so many mishaps. Right now, things are tough for people, and we don’t need all the extra stress.”
“I’m so confused as to why everyone else is getting emails for their [MCS] or is already getting their money,” wondered Level-Cheesecake6252. “I received it in spring and last fall and should still be eligible but I haven’t gotten any notification about it.”
“Call the school to check on the status,” replied user Faithnotbysight. “Just be prepared for the we’re still working on it. We’re doing it in batches script.”
Delays in payment appear to be a common complaint among Toros offline, too.
“I didn’t even get mine, I had an overdue balance,” explained Kianna Williams, a fourth-year English and linguistics student. “Usually the MCS covers it and leaves me with a little extra, but this wasn’t the case [this year]—I still owe a balance.”
“MCS is the ‘last dollar’ in any financial aid award and is calculated based on a student’s remaining financial need after all grants and scholarships are accounted for,” explained Danny Duong, CSUDH financial aid and scholarships director, in a Dec. 3 email to The Bulletin.
The CSUDH Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships has awarded more than $26 million in MCS funds to over 8,000 Toros this year, Duong said. He added that this represents an increase of more than $1 million over the previous academic year.
The CSUDH subreddit doesn’t tell the full story, according to Duong. He said the Financial Aid Office disburses aid to student accounts, while Student Financial Services issues refunds—typically within two to three business days for direct deposit, or by mail within the same timeframe.
“Only 16 students have not received their MCS payment in Academic Year 2025-2026 because of over-awards,” Duong said. “An over-award occurs when a student’s financial aid package exceeds their total cost of attendance, or they don’t have enough financial need for the award. Over-awards must be resolved by a Financial Aid Specialist before the MCS can be disbursed.”
Duong said MCS eligibility depends on several factors—including FAFSA verification, unit load, Satisfactory Academic Progress, lifetime award limits, and over-awards—and noted that students who qualify one year may not meet all requirements the next.
“I had to ask the Financial Aid Office specifically to have my refund received,” said Annie Apanay, a third-year clinical science student. “I got less money, but I think I received the scholarship for the academic year since I transferred just last semester.”
Duong said the Financial Aid Office cannot respond to questions or complaints on Reddit or other online forums. He urged students to contact the office directly with any concerns.
“We care deeply about ensuring that all CSUDH students have the resources (financial or otherwise) to succeed,” he said. “We work hard to resolve any issues that might arise fairly and efficiently.”