<p>@ac40507 So scary. Considering I have to actually SIR to the school to get my official package. Maybe the unofficial financial aid is a pretty package to trap you into a lot debt. Thanks for the wakeup call. I need to apply to some scholarships lol. Where you eligible for Cal Grant? </p>
<p>I think I will wait to know if I get Cal Grant for sure to SIR to a school.</p>
<p>@jshelterz,</p>
<p>Do you know when we will find out whether we are awarded the Cal Grants or not? I just checked the official website and my application is still processing. I’m sort of in a hurry to SIR because I want priority on specific housing options but I’ll wait if the unofficial financial aid is wildly inaccurate.</p>
<p>Wow everyone I’m sorry for scaring everyone first off. 1) Breathe. It’ll be okay.
2) yes it said I was eligible for cal grants it didn’t specify which though and my school submitted my gpa late and the appeal didn’t work 
3) In terms of scholarships just apply to any you qualify for whether through a 3rd party like fastweb or the university itself and write a greAt essay. Remember they are giving you money and they want a good essay for the $$$
4) now I am always checking the cal grant website to check my status and gpa verification. If you haven’t yet then I suggest to you visit the web grants</p>
<p>Also I did receive the full pell and a small grant from I think the school? It was like less than 2k I think. Just remember to say optimistic but realistic. If just about everyone could get like 14-20k in free money, don’t you think more people would be able to afford school without massive debt? Some people may get that much free money but the majority don’t. UCLA does the same thing too. My brother used to work for financial aid and admissions there. They wanna give you the best case scenario so that you’re not discouraged and you shouldn’t be. There’s always some resources that’ll help so we don’t need two jobs just to graduate lol it will all be ok :)</p>
<p>I got $20,000 + $2200 for work study because I am an independent student. Just wanted to put out there, if anyone is in the same situation as I am (EFC=0). You really shouldn’t worry about paying as much. Although some of the prices may be the accurate I doubt anyone will use $1200 on transportation when you can live right next to campus and not worry about gas etc. after all were basically getting a free ride thanks to the blue and gold.
My sister goes to UC Berkeley and rents a room for $550 she shares with other students so housing (10months of school )could be as cheap as $5500 plus a little more.
I would also like to say the less in debt you are after college you the better you are. I mean I know if I end up going to UCSB I will not try to use all the money stupidly like I did in CC but use it wisely. I mean would you rather have two years of college in a nice dorm with but be $18000 in debt or two years of average living with $0 in debt and use those loans for grad school</p>
<p>BTW Sorry for all the weird mistakes and writing errors lol</p>
<p>@ac40507,
Thanks, that’s reassuring to hear the whole story. I myself didn’t send in my GPA verification form but I checked the site and it said my CC sent them, is this the norm for your school to automatically verify your GPA? Also, I was reading the requirements for Cal Grant A, is it true you really need to be working towards a 2-year certificate/degree to be eligible? Or can you just be a transfer working towards a bachelor’s?</p>
<p>@Gio2UC,
You bring up one of the MOST important but MOST often overlooked aspects of college… debt. It really astounds me… here we are at the ripe age of 18-20 and we are about to take on the second largest purchase of our lives (next to a mortgage and a house). I can’t believe at such a young age, all of a sudden it makes sense to take out 100k+ in loans so people can go to their “dream” school. For me personally, I’m a huge cost-benefit analysis type of guy, and when I see kids paying 40-50 grand a year for a BACHELOR’S at a private university… I just cringe. I’m not against private universities at all, but if you’re from California and have access to the UC’s in-state tuition, it was a no-brainer for me. Top-ranked schools, relatively-cheap (if not almost free due to grants + scholarships), and great location… UCs really are a steal, in my opinion.</p>
<p>Where are you guys getting all this information? Are we supposed to receive something in the mail ._.?</p>
<p>@UCorBust5 Unfortunately it says by the end of May, and we have to SIR by the beginning of May, so that won’t work. I thought the Cal Grant was pretty easy to get so if you got your GPA verification in on time you should be alright. If you are confident you will be able to get Cal Grant go for it. You should be alright though. Also Cal Grant A is only available to you if you go to a 4 year college/ are working towards a Bachelor’s degree. If you were awarded Cal Grant A, but ended up going to a CC they will put it on hold for you until you transfer. I believe it is the norm for CC’s to send it in, as my CC has done it each year for me.</p>
<p>@california510 Log into the school you got accepted into, with the log in information they sent to your email, and you will be able to find the unofficial award letter. Well I know at least for UCSB.</p>
<p>@Gio2UC. Thank you, your information is really helpful, and reassuring. I am trying to walk out of college as relatively debt free as possible.</p>
<p>If anyone is looking for good summer work apply for a Nordstrom summer position. You can make from 3-7k a month during summer. That way you can avoid a lot of loans plus its a fun place to work. That’s another piece of advice. Any commission based summer sales job.</p>
<p>AC do you need to be 21? Also, is it an intern? That seems like a decently hard job to secure especially being a rather short rather young looking 20 yeard old haha then again my current job isn’t half bad…</p>
<p>So here’s what I got</p>
<p>Unofficial Grants and Scholarships $10320
UCSB Grant $10320
Unofficial Loan Eligibility $19394
Recommended Subsidized Direct Stafford Loan $5500
Recommended Unsubsidized Direct Stafford Loan $2000
PLUS Loan Eligibility $11894</p>
<p>@ac40507,</p>
<p>Thanks for the headsup! I actually looked into working there this summer, I know a couple people who work there and maybe I could get a referral. I know a girl who works as a personal stylist and she says she makes $15/hour. She said her friend got her the job, but it doesn’t hurt that she looks like the ideal Nordstrom employee (Read: pretty, white girl). I hope they don’t discriminate against asians, or else I might have to file a class-action lawsuit! Haha, jk.</p>
<p>Haha actually you can do an internship but its too late to apply for the internship now. However, they still hire on summer seasonal especially because of the anniversary sale that happens in July until August but you’d start in June. Nordstrom is very diverse and a good company to work for. I am not the typecast person either lol 15 an hour seems low for a stylist though. Most of the stylists I know range 20-60 an hour. I am usually around 20-25 when its slow and 40 an hour for high volume seasons. Just gotta sell sell sell lol no you don’t need to be 21. I started when I was 18 or 19…</p>
<p>@ac40507,</p>
<p>Wow, now that is some serious income for a retail job! May I ask you for any tips on getting a job there (especially as a guy - since I am one lol), and how did you yourself get hired at Nordstrom? You can PM me if you’d like too.</p>