<p>Hi all! Transfer decisions just came out and I'm going to be a Golden Bear for C/o 2014. Go math majors!</p>
<p>I was looking at my financial aid packet and I noticed I received the Berkeley Undergraduate Scholarship. Is this different from Blue and Gold? It seems to cover a pretty similar cost and I don't see anything regarding calgrants on the financial aid package (though my calgrant has not yet been processed). </p>
<p>tl;dr can I receive this scholarship and a calgrant/Blue and Gold, or are they essentially the same?</p>
<p>Hello JetLogic,congrats on your admission! The Blue and Gold Plan does not directly provide you with money. It is a plan that helps family with an income of 80,000 dollars or less afford a UC. This includes Cal Grant, scholarships, work and study and loans. Good luck and go Math Majors!</p>
<p>Ahh yes, I knew that. I was more wondering if it is possible to get BOTH the cal grant and the Berkeley UG scholarship.</p>
<p>Short answer: yes, you can get both the Cal Grant and the UG Scholarship.</p>
<p>Long answer: You can stack most scholarships and grants as long as you qualify for them. The max financial aid package for someone with an EFC of 0 at Berkeley would look something like this: UG Scholarship + Pell Grant + Cal Grant A/B + SEOG Grant + Academic Competitive Grant. That comes out to about 23k (the amount rises as tuition increases). You may also qualify for the SMART Grant in lieu of the Academic Competitive Grant your junior year, which gives you even more. You’ll also be offered loans and work-study so long as your total financial aid package does not surpass the estimated ~32k it takes to attend Berkeley. If you have outside scholarships, the amount of loans and work-study that you’re offered will get reduced first and then your Berkeley scholarships and grants.</p>
<p>Very informative, thanks!</p>