<p>My family's EFC is $1870 (and we also have some debts). I was just accepted by UCLA and Berkeley (I'm a candidate for a Regents--full ride--at Berkeley, but I'm definitely not counting on that).</p>
<p>However, I just read the provisional fin.aid letter from UCLA and it does close my package, giving me all but $1870 (about 21K out of the 23K/year), but there is $2500 work study, which I can understand, and $6500 in LOANS. All this is per year. </p>
<p>Do those loans seem too high to anyone else?
I received a full Cal Grant, only half the maximum Pell Grant, and 4K from UCLA as a University grant.</p>
<p>I will definitely appeal to the Fin. Aid Office.
Any advice or comments?</p>
<p>Tara, when my son got into Berkeley, I honestly thought that Berkeley had overestimated the "soft" costs of attendance. At least for my frugal son -- there was no way he was going to spend as much on "incidentals" as they budgeted. </p>
<p>So the first thing I did was to throw out the school's estimates of those soft costs (books, incidentals, transportation) and throw in my own. If you do this, you'll see right off the bat that there is room to economize, because some dorms are significantly cheaper than others. But the numbers on your financial aid form are probably based on the "average" dorm cost, not the lowest possible. Plus there are off-campus housing options that are even less expensive -- in Berkeley there are the co-ops, LA would probably be harder. I do think that it is possible to live somewhat cheaper in Berkeley because of the great public transportation -- you can manage to live some distance from campus and take the bus every day, whereas I think in LA if you aren't on campus you really would need a car to get around. </p>
<p>My point is -- if you add up the total of your grants and compare it to your actual, have-to-pay out-of-pocket (tuition + a conservative, low end calculation of room-and-board), you may find that you really don't need to borrow the full $6500. No one says that you HAVE to borrow - they are just offering you the opportunity. </p>
<p>So I would suggest that you wait for the package from Berkeley and then take a long hard look at the ways you can cut your expenses - and then look at how much college is going to cost YOU as opposed to what the college estimates it will cost. Opt for the cheapest dorms options, & sign up for the cheapest (minimal) meal plan. If you go to Berkeley, explore off-campus housing options in areas where rents are somewhat less. Eat ramen. (My son found that a $20 rice cooker was a great money-saving appliance). Plan to buy your books used and sell them back at the end of the semester. Look for a good job over the summer - or work 2 jobs. I honestly think you will find that you can reduce the COA by several thousand -- meaning less debt.</p>
<p>My son didn't go to Berkeley -- but I was doing the same approach for all his financial aid offers. I just could see a lot of ways to economize in Berkeley, partly because I know the area and attended school there myself. </p>
<p>The one tip that applies universally everywhere: if you live in a dorm, always go for the most minimal food plan option available. You can always buy more food if you get hungry, but with most meal plans you end up paying for uneaten food.
I actually did the math for my son's college, calculating what the cost would be if he paid cash to purchase as many meals at his college as were offered on the plan -- and it actually cost more on the plan. I called the housing department to ask if there was something I was missing -- and they confirmed that I was right -- the plan cost more for the same meals than the total of the fixed prices for each meal. (That was an out of state private college, so the Berkeley & UCLA meal plans may be very different -- but its just one example of ways in which college students end up paying more than they have to -- most people don't think to ask these sorts of questions.)</p>
<p>A family member just got into UCLA, and the provisional award letter (checked online) listed a loan amount of $23,000 per year! $23,000 x 4 = $92,000! I think that's just way too much in loans to take out for an undergraduate education...I wouldn't complain if that figure came up when talking about 3 years of law school, but for undergraduate it's just too much.</p>
<p>I guess we can consider this admission from UCLA a "nice rejection."</p>