If you are attending UCI and you aren't a California resident, then you already know about the hefty non-resident fee included in your quarterly registration fee assessment. If you don't receive any Financial Aid or Grad Aid, then you also know it's tough to pay several thousand dollars all at once. What you may not know is that hundreds of students like you have chosen PACE as an alternative to paying registration fees in a lump sum.
Apply to PACE for free, and you'll be provided with the option to space your payments over the quarter. Your residency status doesn't affect your eligibility for the plan or the PACE process. If you qualify, you'll receive a PACE agreement showing the first payment due by the registration fee deadline and subsequent payments due by the 10th of the following months.
Naturally, the amounts of your monthly payments will be greater than those of resident students. Here's an example that uses full-time undergraduate registration fees for comparison:
| Resident Student | Non-resident Student | |
| Fee assessment | $1517.50 |
$5208.50 |
| PACE #1 | 530.50 |
1796.50 |
| PACE #2 | 506.00 |
1736.00 |
| PACE #3 | 506.00 |
1736.00 |
| Quarterly participation fee | 25.00 |
60.00 |
Note that the quarterly participation fee differs with residency status; it is higher for non-resident students than for residents.
You can petition to change your status from non-resident to resident through the Registrar's office. Be sure to read the terms and requirements explained in the Registrar's web page. Note that the deadline to file a petition is available in the current Schedule of Classes.
Changing your status from resident to non-resident may be less appealing, but it could happen. If you were classified incorrectly as a resident, or you cease residing in California, then your status will be changed accordingly by the Registrar's office.
No matter how your status changes, you'll need to know how your PACE agreement may be affected. Let's look at the participation fee first. Since the amount depends on your residency status, you'll wonder if you can get part of the fee back if you are re-assessed as a resident. Unfortunately, you can't. Once paid, the participation fee is NON-REFUNDABLE --even if your residency status changes during the quarter. (Of course that also means that we won't bill you for the higher participation fee if you are re-assessed as a non-resident.) Subsequent PACE agreements will be updated with your new status and will incorporate the appropriate participation fee.
Now what about the rest of the PACE installments? Whether or not you must finish the payments is a subject that requires further explanation.
Changing from resident to non-resident status means that you now owe more for registration fees. How do you pay for this difference? If you've already activated a PACE agreement for resident registration fees, you can't start a new set of payments or add to the remaining installments to make up for the increase. PACE has already paid resident registration fees for you, and you must take care of the rest.
You will be charged for the difference in registration fee amounts on your ZOTBill. The additional charge will indicate that you were incorrectly classified or are no longer eligible for resident status. The amount billed will be equal to the amount of non-resident tuition for the quarter (currently $3568.00 for full-time students and $1784.00 for part-time students). The difference in registration fee amounts must be paid in full, in addition to your monthly PACE payments, to avoid late payment penalties.
Once you are assessed with non-resident status, you won't need to worry about getting another one of these invoices again next quarter. We'll automatically send a PACE agreement based on your non-resident registration fee assessment.
If resident status is granted, the Registrar's office will credit the amount of non-resident tuition to your registration fee assessment. Currently, that makes your new assessment $3568.00 less than before ($1784.00 less for part-time students). Does that mean you'll get some money back? Not necessarily--a lot depends on your current PACE balance, and how much financial aid you've received.
When you activated a PACE agreement while at non-resident status, we paid those large non-resident registration fees in full for you. Changing to resident status means that PACE effectively has overpaid your fees. We get our money back whenever possible by applying the resident credit to your PACE balance, working back from the third installment.
Several campus departments have a claim on the resident credit, making it difficult to predict whether or not it can be applied to PACE. Unfortunately, it takes a while to reconcile all the competing interests. The resident credit may not be available to PACE until several weeks after you change your status. When financial aid is involved, it may not be offered to PACE at all.
You can help by communicating your change in status to PACE in Campus Billing Services as soon as your residency petition is approved. We'll make a notation in your account, and advise you to pay any portion of your balance that won't be cleared if PACE is awarded the resident credit. We'll monitor the reconciliation process on your behalf and advise you of any changes with a reminder statement. Please keep in mind that we share your interest in having the resident credit applied to PACE as quickly as possible. Take a moment to read the scenarios below, and don't hesitate to ask questions if you need more information.
If you have submitted the first PACE payment only, you should check the total due for the remaining two installments. In some cases, you may be surprised to find that the total due is less than the resident credit. That means that you already paid more for your first PACE installment as a nonresident than for the entire new assessment as a resident. There may be a small overage which we will apply to any other outstanding debts; otherwise you should receive a refund check. Click on "Current Account" in your ZOTAccount Online to see if a refund is available for you.
On the other hand, if the total due for the remaining two installments exceeds the resident credit, then applying it will leave a balance due for PACE #2. You are responsible for paying this remainder by the scheduled 10th of the month deadline; otherwise, there will be a hold on your student records. Remember that late charges can be assessed if you haven't made any payment within 30 days of the installment due date. If you are unsure about how much to pay, save yourself a late charge assessment by applying a small payment to PACE #2. You should see any balance still owed for PACE #2 on one of the reminder notices sent to you during the quarter.
If you have paid both PACE #1 and #2, you will find that the resident credit is more than sufficient to clear the last remaining installment. There may be a substantial overage which we will use to clear any other debts outstanding in your account. If you don't owe anything else, you should receive a refund check. Click on "Current Account" in your ZOTAccount Online to see if a refund is available for you.
If you have retired all three installments, then you have repaid PACE completely for non-resident registration fees. When the resident credit becomes available, we will use it to clear any other outstanding debts in your account whenever possible. If any portion of the refund remains, you should receive a refund check. Click on "Current Account" in your ZOTAccount Online to see if a refund is available for you.
If you received a disbursement as a non-resident student, changing to resident status may have reduced your eligibility for financial aid. Be sure to consult your financial aid counselor for the specific changes to your award. You may be informed that federal, state, and/or university regulations mandate refunding some or all of the resident credit to the source(s) of your aid.
The rules are non-negotiable, so you don't get a choice about this matter. PACE doesn't have any say either, despite the fact that we paid non-resident registration fees in full on your behalf. When the resident credit is appropriated by the Financial Aid Office, then it cannot be applied to your PACE plan. You must pay all remaining installments in full by the due dates printed on your PACE agreement.