<p>Hey! Just wondering if anyone here could provide insight on Financial Aid at UCLA. I'm an out of state student, so it's a steep price tag. Has anyone had experience with appealing for more aid? Or has anyone who did not receive enough aid initially find a way to afford it? I'm not ready to give up on my dream school just because of money...</p>
<p>You can look for private scholarships or loans. It is unlikely that UCLA will give you more aid on appeal. They have an obligation to help in-state students first and foremost. UCLA is a great school but if you are going to have to do something drastic (like sell a house or something) to afford it, it really isn’t worth it. </p>
<p>@als926 Same here!!! Ive been checking out college board & fast web for outside scholarships…but there’s really not much for transfer students 
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<p>The reason the UC schools are admitting more OOS students is because of the increased fees they pay. It would be self-defeating to turn around and give them generous financial aid. And in particular there is absolutely no financial aid available to cover the OOS tuition.</p>
<p>@nydallas I’m not sure what your situation is, but my family has had to pay a lot of medical bills and when I called the financial aid office they were very encouraging and said I should definitely appeal. Even if you don’t have special circumstances I don’t think it hurts to try. </p>
<p>@mikemac I am aware of that issue, but there is still financial aid. Obviously it’s not going to cover tuition completely, but the office even told me that it’s very possible to get more. And in my research I’ve seen several students in recent years making their case and getting more money. So saying there’s “absolutely no” aid is not really correct.</p>
<p>I guess the main thing I got out of research and contacting UCLA is that they picked you for a reason and if they want you enough they will get you there. So if they can’t find the aid after appeals and phone calls, it wasn’t meant to be, but its always worth trying.</p>
<p>@als926 okay! thanks for your advice 
I hope everything works out for you!!</p>
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Didn’t say that. Read carefully what I wrote. " And in particular there is absolutely no financial aid available to cover the OOS tuition. " That refers specifically to the OOS portion of your fees, no?</p>
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And</a> so on at each UC you may care to check.</p>
<p>@mikemac I was referring to the OOS portion as well, I understood and read carefully what you wrote. There is still aid to assist in covering it, though. And while the examples you provided are from other schools, the universities say these things so that people do not assume their entire tuition costs will be covered. Based on my personal EFC and FAFSA application, my conversations with multiple FA officers, as well as my other circumstances, I believe that there could be supplemental aid available to me. That’s all! I appreciate your contribution, but those statements do not deter me from my goals.</p>
<p>Actually, it’s wrong to say that there is absolutely no financial aid available to cover out-of-state tuition. I retract my earlier statement saying that it is unlikely UCLA will offer you more aid. What I meant to say was that it is very unlikely, or rather impossible, that they will offer you additional grants. Sorry for the confusion of terminology. </p>
<p>I suggest taking a look at this document. It is very informative and written in plain terms: <a href=“http://www.fao.ucla.edu/publications/2013-2014/ePAL_Guide.pdf”>http://www.fao.ucla.edu/publications/2013-2014/ePAL_Guide.pdf</a></p>
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<p>So yes, you might receive some scholarships/grants to cover any costs outside of the Nonresident Supplemental Tuition, but the bottom line is that you will not get any additional grants to cover the outstanding $23,000 or so (this document is for the current academic year) that remains. That funding has been allocated first and foremost for in-state students as is written into CA law. I guess the other way to put this is, the maximum amount of grants you can get from UCLA (assuming they are exceedingly and improbably generous) would be up to the total cost of attendance for in-state residents. So in this unlikely, best case scenario where they pay the in-state amount of tuition and housing costs for you, you would only have to pay the out-state-fees of $23,000, which they do offer loans to help you do. You should have been offered enough loans to cover these costs though, and if not, you should definitely try for an appeal. I mean, it’s no secret that the UCs are in a dire situation, funding-wise. I’d hate to be cynical, but if UCLA picked you for “a reason” (and they rarely decide based on any single factor), it might not be the reason you are thinking of. OOS/Internationals have unfortunately become a major revenue stream for the UC’s, as indicated by skyrocketing admissions rates for those demographics. That’s not to take anything away from your achievements, or from the prestige of these institutions, it’s just that we are frankly broke. </p>
<p>All that being said, affording UCLA may not be as painful as it appears. I’ve found that the school overestimates a lot of things in their cost of attendance breakdown. For example, when it comes to housing, you can chose to live in an off campus apartment, the cost of which (including all utilities) UCLA estimates to be around $10,446 for 2013-2014. I personally pay slightly less than that at about $9,000 or so, but I know a lot of people who are only paying around $8,000 or so. That’s a $2,000 difference or so, which is a lot of money that can go into your tuition costs. And that was just for double rooms. Triple configurations costs even less. Since you are guaranteed one year of housing as a transfer student, you should definitely go with university provided options as they are definitely the best value. Then there are the nebulous costs they call “Books & Supplies, Transportation, Other Education Costs” which amounts to about $5,000 or so. If you have a computer, you technically have “supplies” in my experience. I also have not bought more than two books or so in the past two years because a lot of times, they just aren’t necessary. Transportation can be done cheaply using the public system. Please don’t bring a car unless you need it for a job. Parking costs a fortune and is an unnecessary expense. As for other costs, I don’t really know what they are talking about. You might need some living supplies but none of it really adds up to very much if you are smart about it. Food WILL cost a lot and that’s one area where you should plan for. </p>
<p>So at the end of the day, you and your parents will probably have to take out some loans but that’s not the end of the world. You will just have to weigh the pros and cons very carefully. Even though UCLA is a good school, that’s still a lot of debt to take on. Also, if deadlines have not passed, I suggest that you apply for all the scholarships you can find. Individually, they may seem like small amounts but they do add up. Your state might also give you some financial aid, even if you are attending an out-of-state school. That, I wouldn’t know about but you should definitely research that as well. Good luck with everything!</p>
<p>@oceanpartier wow! Thank you so much for all of that information. I really, really appreciate it. I’m definitely going to sit down with my parents and hopefully with a little additional help we can make it work. And I am, of course, diligently applying for scholarships, but the problem is that many will not notify you until mid June or July, which would unfortunately be too late. So I’m hoping the appeal is useful and that maybe we can determine a more accurate cost estimate based on some of the things you mentioned above. Again, thank you. It means a lot that you put so much effort into that post!</p>