Cal Grant A and B Qualified, but Awarded B.questions about my financial package

Paying for College
1

I am a sophomore studying at a Community College and I just finished the sophomore first semester in spring. I am from a low income family.
Right now I am attending summer school. I have been receiving Pell Grant for one year and a half.
I just started to apply for Cal Grant in February 2015. CSAC has determined my preliminary Cal Grant eligibility for the 2015-16 academic year.
I just checked my cal grant award status summary today, and here is what it says:

Award Status Summary

Award Cycle ID

Cal Grant A: Qualified - Not Awarded Competitive (C1)

Cal Grant B: Awarded Competitive (C1)

Cal Grant C: Not Awarded Competitive (C1)

NEW Cal Grant A Total Award Amount: $12,192

School of Attendance: 00126100 00 PASADENA CITY COLLEGE

Attendance Status: Full Time Housing Status: WITH PARENTS
Remaining Eligibility (years): 0 Grade Point Average (GPA) : 4.00

Total Award Amount: $12,192

NEW Cal Grant B Total Award Amount: $1,648

School of Attendance: 00126100 00 PASADENA CITY COLLEGE

Attendance Status: Full Time Housing Status: WITH PARENTS
Remaining Eligibility (years): 3.00 Grade Point Average (GPA) : 4.00

Total Award Amount: $1,648
Tuition/Fees: $0
Access/Books & Supplies: $1,648

Basically, I am qualified for both A and B but awarded B. My major is Computer Science and I am planning to transfer to UCLA in one year and a half or two years(I am going to apply next year). Here are my questions:

(1) They only gives me 3 years remaining eligibility. Does this mean that I already lost one year eligibility since I applied for it as a sophomore?

(2) Which grant is good for me? I heard someone said that for those awarded grant B would only get the living assistant in their freshman year and after freshman year, grant B would be paying for tuition and the living assistant. In my case, I am already in my sophomore year by the time when I applied, so why they only award me $1,648 instead of $12,192+$1,648 ? Should I switch to grant A?

(3)question about Pell grant: This is my second year to receive Pell grant. Am I qualified for receiving Pell grant in my third year in community college? If I am, is it a good idea not to apply for it until transfer, so I would be given more money than if I use the third year eligibility in community college.

(4) Can somebody tell me how to switch to grant A if I need to do it?

Please help me answer these question…Thank you!

2

First off, since you’re in community college the only miney youll receive from cal grant is the $1,648. Cal Grant DOES NOT cover tuition for community college. The best thing to do if you plan to transfer in a year would be to immediately put your cal grant award on hold until you transfer. Once you transfer, all the money that you were awarded but put on hold will be awarded to you. So instead of taking the $1648 right now while in community college, you would get approx. 14k once you transfer. If you need help paying for tuition, you should see if you can get BOGFW. Its a tuition waiver for students who graduated in california and are now attending a cali cc.

3

Forgot to add*
Its better if you start collecting cal grant asap But putting the awards on hold. the amount of eligibility(in years) that you receive isnt determined on when you start receiving them(well it does but not all the time). For instance, someone who has never received cal grant who has been in cc for 2 years and transfers to a uni as a junior will only have 2 years of eligibility once they transfer, but they wont receive retroactive payments. In your case, when you transfer, all the money that was put on hold during the time you were in cc will be released when you transfer, so you’ll be ahead of the game.

4

Thank you so much! I appreciate your help. I haven’t accepted the grant yet. What if I accept the award now and put it on reserve, would I be able to retrieve the money after two years when I transfer? (right now is my second year in cc) BTW, do you know how to put the money on hold?

5

Im not sure the exact process. I would head over to financial aid office at your school and ask them how you should go about putting your cal grant on hold. You’ll have 2 years from the date you start to receive cal grants (even when on hold) to receive the money for when you transfer. BUT you will only receive the full amount when you transfer. So make sure that you try to finish cc asap. If you’re only taking 12 unuts a semester I would reccomend bumping that amount up to 15 or more to finish quicker, a lot of students get stuck at cc longer then they expected since they just took the minimum.

6

Thank you for your reply again! So these two years doesn’t include my first year in cc, right?( I applied for it in the second year.)
I am attending summer school right now. If I accept the reward before the the end of summer term, would that affect the years of eligibility?

7

Correct, they start counting the two years from the time you are awarded and accept or put the money on hold. I’m not sure what the deadlines are (if there are any) for accepting/holding a cal grant. You would probably again need to call or make a visit to the financial aid desk at your school.

8

Thank you for your help. I will do it on Tuesday. Once I get some helpful information, I will update this post. :))

9

@sopopoi, hey I just recieved Cal Grant A for around 5k$ like where did that money come from, and why did i get it? my familys income is about 80k, my grades were particularly great but they awarded it to me.

10

Usually it is best to make a new thread for your own situation but Cal Grant ceilings allow for that income, depending on how many in the family. The grades just have to be over the 3.0 cutoff for HS, lower for CC. If you qualify on those counts and you submit your info on time you get it.
http://www.csac.ca.gov/facts/2014-15_income_ceilings_new_apps_renewing_recips.pdf