Hi, I’m an instate student and was recently offered admission to UCB.
Estimated Cost of Attendance: $33,418 / yr
Tuition and fee: $13,518
Housing and meals: $16,042
Books and supplies: $1,262
Transportation: $544
Other educational costs: $2,052
After the Cal Grant and several other grants, I have a net cost of $8,400 (it’s not too much, although my family makes 16K/year) which I can pay off after taking loans adding up to $4,400 and doing work-study for $4,000.
I’m hesitant to take a part-time job because I fear it would interfere with my studies given that Berkeley’s L&S program requires me to have at least a 3.3 GPA for my first few courses in order to declare my major.
Any suggestions? Would work-study and loans pay off in the long run?
What are your other college options? If you get a choice of work study jobs try finding one as a library assistant in one of the less crowded libraries. These positions at many schools do allow you quite a bit of homework time.
Do you have any savings you’ve put away for college? Working in the summer can make you 5k or so which would be enough to offset the need of work study or of taking a loan. If you decide that it’s too much to work study after the first year then you can just use your summer income to pay for the difference.
$4,000/year in work study is not feasible. $2,000 - $3,000 is a better target. (How much work study were you actually awarded?) But, as noted above, you should easily be able to make up the difference with summer earnings. And, if you get the right job, you may be able to pick up some extra hours over winter and spring breaks, as well.
UCSD and UCD also offered me admission, with a net cost of about 5K. UCLA offered a HSSEAS Scholarship worth 10K, although I’m not sure if it’s guaranteed.
I have no savings unfortunately and I think my best option at this point is to find a summer job.
No, there’s no guarantee. What it means is that if you can find a work study job that would allow you to work that many hours, you would be covered up to $4,000. My kid’s never made it over $1,500 per semester, and sometimes it’s been closer to $1,000. He loves his work study job, and finds it a very pleasant break from his classes, but there’s still a limit to the number of hours in a week!
Please reread your offers, and compare them carefully, looking for any discrepancies in what’s covered. What about health insurance, for example - is it included?
You should also contact UCLA and get more info about the HSSEAS scholarship . . . you don’t want to count on that and then find out it’s for one year only.
Others may not agree with me, but I would seriously consider UCD or UCSD if they gave you better offers. That $3,000 (almost $4,000) difference could take a LOT of financial pressure–and potentially debt–off your shoulders in the long run. And having looked at a UCD fin-aid offer from someone who was gapped the same amount, I’m going to guess each UC automatically built 5K per year in loans into your package–double check. So you’ll be graduating college with 20K debt as is–so any additional loans you need to take to cover the gap will just add to your debt. It’s way easier to cover a 5K gap–especially if it’s the “student contribution” which includes soft costs like books, transportation (ie: things you can find ways to save $$ on) than an 8K gap that may include some hard costs, ie: money actually owed to UCB. Just worth considering–8K is a LARGE gap for a student whose family income is 16K a year. If anything happens–medical expenses, not being able to find a summer job, etc.–your ability to pay for school will be jeopardized and you may not have a fall back. Going to UCD vs. UCB could mean less pressure to get a summer job (which aren’t as easy to come by as people seem to think?), more money for incidentals, etc. Best case, you still work summers but then can save that money and pay off your 20K debt much faster post graduation. Graduating from UCB vs. UCD won’t make a substantial difference in terms of the job you get post grad and what it pays–you’ll have very similar future outcomes for the most part, depending on your major, etc.
And congrats on your acceptances and offers! No matter what, you’re getting a world class education
@proudterrier I considered going to the cheapest option as well. So far the cheapest school would be UCLA with a net cost of $0 if I take the HSSEAS scholarship.
How does that award impact the rest of your grants from UCLA? In other words, what’s your cost breakdown with and without the HSSEAS scholarship?
Also, if I’m understanding correctly, you were admitted to engineering at UCLA, but to arts & sciences at UCB? What about UCSD and UCD? And what do you actually want to study?
How much per hour is the Work Study in CA? In IN it is $8/hr. If CA is say $10-12/ hr then the additional wages might be more feasible than the same in a lower wage area.
$8,400 seems to be a typical student contribution for low income students at UCs. You can cover that with a $5,500 federal direct loan and $2,900 work earnings (or less loan and more work earnings). The $4,000 work study means that you will receive preference to be hired for some on-campus jobs for work to earn up to that amount, but you actually have to get hired for such jobs and work to earn it.
You do not mention your intended major, but is seems like you were admitted to the College of Letters and Science and are aiming for the computer science major, which currently needs a 3.3 GPA in its prerequisites to declare.
Is the net price at UCLA $0 after the scholarship, and were you admitted to the CS major there? If so, that seems like the obvious choice (lowest cost, no risk not getting into the major). However, you should check the UCLA net price calculator to see what may happen if you do not get a 3.0 GPA and lose the scholarship (probably will get a net price between $8,000 and $10,000).
For UCSD and UCD, were you directly admitted to the CS or CSE major, and is the net price of $5,000 after a scholarship with a renewal GPA requirement?
If you do go to UCB, look into living in the Berkeley Student Cooperative in your later years, since its costs are about $3,000 per year lower than the off-campus room and board budget used to calculate financial aid. However, there may be a long waiting list (apply as early as you can).
Any suggestions? Would work-study and loans pay off in the long run?<<
Yes. Also keep in mind other expenses is most likely what you already spend now for cellphone, clothing, toiletries. Moving off campus and getting your own food, which most UCB students do after the first year will lower your expenses here. There are also ways to cut back on books and supplies. This is definitely workable, and CONGRATULATIONS!!!
@dodgersmom, yep. I plan on studying computer science. I got into engineering (CS) at LA and into Berkeley’s College of Letters and Science (pre-CS, which would provide a BA degree).
I need to contact UCLA and ask how the scholarship would affect the other grants/awards.
My current breakdown for LA is:
Estimated Cost of Attendance: $34,062/yr
Total Grants and Scholarships: $34,062/yr
University Grant: $3,688
Federal Pell Grant: $5,815
Cal Grant A: $12,294
HSSEAS Deans Scholarship: $10,000
UC Grant to Purchase USHIP: $2,265
Each of the UC’s has a student career center where you can apply for other on-campus jobs. My kids don’t qualify for work study but they found jobs in the “university setting” working and/or tutoring to help us pay for their fees.
My dd only works/worked in jobs that were 10 to 15 hours per week. (Because she has had previous experience in a lab and can work independently on lab procedures, her pay is often over the minimum wage. She makes her schedule around her classes, and earns roughly $100-150 per week. If she wants to work more hours, because she needs books/supplies, she advises her supervisor.) There are lots of positions that teach students by training them on-the-job and the pay comes directly from the university (twice a month for my dd).
Saving money and reducing your fees
1.) Look for used books online to save money. My eldest used the isbn number to find books and then emailed her profs asking if she could use an older version; 99.9% of the profs said “no problem” and often gave her the new edits. She usually paid less than $50 per semester. She had the “Abe books” and Amazon website (and others) and compared book costs showing her younger brother and sister how to do it.
2.) Have your parents waive your health insurance fees by printing out the full insurance coverage that has your name listed as a beneficiary/member. Fill out the university health form and keep a copy because you will need to fill out that form every year.
3.) Barter your transportation costs with friends. If you’re from So Cal, use the Southwest Airlines Ding to get a jump on discounted fees. Use Trip advisor’s airline notification to be advised of fee discounts. When you get your syllabus, noted the finals dates and book your flight ASAP. Changing a flight later, on southwest is about $30-50. It’s cheap compared to paying $500 one way during holiday season.
4.) The universities expect you to contribute something towards your own education. You need to work every summer.
