Berkeley fin aid just doesn't make sense

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
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<p>So I read this article about MCAP where they cap parents contribution at 15% if you are in the $80 - $140K range. </p>

<p>UC</a> Berkeley launches groundbreaking middle-class financial aid plan</p>

<p>We are at $74K gross income for 2012, short of the $80K to put us in the MCAP program.
Our financial aid summary is federal gift aid of $5995 and work study $4000.</p>

<p>The rest is $44,271 loans since we are out of state.</p>

<p>Too bad we didn't make a little more last year because 15% of $80,000 or $12,000 plus the out of state portion of $23,000 is better than our package.</p>

<p>$35,000 in loans is better than $44,271.</p>

<p>I don't know, am I missing something or theoretically shouldn't a lower income make you more in need or eligible for grants or assistance?</p>

<p>Loaning over $44K for a family of five that makes $74K is harsh in light of their efforts to make their education affordable to the middle class. (I'm trying to not sound like I'm complaining, I just want to understand this Berkeley FA process.) I've received other packages from UC schools and other schools and have been awarded generally about $17K more in institutional scholarships or grants. </p>

<p>When I read that MCAP article, I thought Berkeley would be a great option but I don't get why it is so different than other schools' offers. I did talk to the FA counsellor who said "you get what you get" and she doesn't qualify for MCAP.</p>

<p>At the end of the article, I was shocked to read
"At the same time, we take great pride in the fact that our students have, on average, among the lowest student debt levels in the nation upon graduation: The 40 percent of our undergraduates who graduate with any loans have an average debt of $16,056, as opposed to the national average of $25,000 for two-thirds of graduating students.” </p>

<p>If we chose Berk, we'd end up with nearly $180K in loans and we don't even make the cut for middle class! </p>

<p>Insight anyone?</p>

2

<p>Honey, you are OOS. That means you are one of the ways California is subsidiing the MCAP plan with the out of state premium. Schools hungry for money do this. The UCs are not a good deal for OOSers as a rule, as you can see.</p>

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<p>^ Exactly.</p>

<p>You are OOS. UC Berkeley wants OOS students to feed off their $$$.</p>

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<p>sheesh, i thought the out of state portion of $23,000 not being included in the capped amount was the penalty already.</p>

<p>i guess not… this is definitely a learning process. </p>

<p>i still find it odd that other schools like UCLA, UCSD are offering $17-$18K more in grants or scholarships. We are OOS there too.</p>

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<p>Well, that seems like too much debt either way. However, it is odd that Berkeley financial aid is so much different from that of other UCs – their net price calculators usually come up with similar amounts. Perhaps some kind of error somewhere?</p>

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<p>^That does seem weird. I’m OOS and got near identical fin. aid packages from the other UCs (UCSD, UCI, etc.) to the one from Cal.</p>

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<p>right? UCSD and UCLA nearly identical and i was expecting something very similar from Berk. The Berk FA Counselor doesn’t seem to care at all : (</p>