Cal Grant A vs. Cal Grant B

Paying for College
1

<p>So. I've been doing a lot of research, and this is what I have come up with so far. I qualified for both A and B btw, but they gave me A.</p>

<p>Cal Grant A: Tuition Aid for All 4 Years. In my case, the full amount (roughly 12K). - $48,000 in total</p>

<p>Cal Grant B: Living Assistance Aid for all four years. In my case, also the full amount (around 1.5K). Along with that 12K offered in A but only after the first year. - $42,000 in total (6K spending money and 36K tuition and fees)</p>

<p>I was accepted into UCSD, and it says that I qualified for the Blue and Gold opportunity. However, it cancels out with the reward I receive from Cal Grant A. I've heard that that if you are awarded Cal Grant B, the Blue and Gold will pick up on that first year you do not receive any aid.</p>

<p>Is this true? How reliable is the Blue and Gold Opportunity? What are the chances that it will cover that full $12,000 of tuition aid I will be missing if I go with B during my freshman year? If it does, I would definitely want to go with B, being that will result in $54,000 of total aid, right? Am I even allowed to ask for a change of reward (going from A to B)?</p>

<p>Here are my breakdowns: </p>

<p>Estimated Cost of Attendance
-$31,394 / yr
Tuition and Fees<br>
-$13,451
Housing and Meals<br>
-$12,254
Books and Supplies<br>
-$1,509
Transportation<br>
-$793
Other Education Costs<br>
-$3,387</p>

<p>Total Grants and Scholarships ("Gift" Aid; no repayment needed)
-$22,594 / yr
Pell Grant<br>
-$5,730
Estimated Cal Grant
-$12,192
UCSD Grant<br>
-$4,672
Outside Aid
-$0</p>

<p>Net Costs (Cost of attendance minus total grants and scholarships)
-$8,800 / yr
Perkins/University Loan
-$1,300
Federal Direct Subsidized Loan<br>
-$3,500
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan<br>
-$1,200
*If the Federal Parent PLUS loan appears above, it will require a credit check. Not all parents will qualify. </p>

<p>Family Contribution (As calculated using information reported on the FAFSA)
$0 / y</p>

2

<p>(1) Yes, you can ask CSAC (the California Student Aid Commission) to change your award from A to B, so long as you do it before any money is actually disbursed.</p>

<p>(2) Yes, your UC will pick up part of the missing tuition payment for your freshman year if, and only if, you satisfy any institution-specific deadlines. (If I recall correctly, the only “deadline” requirements for UCSD were filing the FAFSA by the Cal Grant deadline (which you’ve already done) and completing verification by the May something-or-other deadline, if you were selected for verification. Most people aren’t, but if you were, then you need to get the paperwork done by the deadline. It’ll be indicated in your online acceptance packet.)</p>

<p>Why is only part of the missing tuition payment covered? The rest will be covered by your Pell grant for that year, as well as, possibly, all or part of your UCSD grant for that year. The Blue and Gold Opportunity guarantees only that your tuition will be fully covered by grant money. Since the Pell grant and the UCSD grant are grant money, they would be counted that first year. How much they’d be counted would be up to UCSD. In other words, UCSD could decide to give you only an additional $1,790. That amount, plus your preexisting UCSD grant, plus your Pell grant would be enough to cover your tuition/fees that first year.</p>

<p>In subsequent years, you’d have full tuition plus book payments from the Cal Grant B, plus the UCSD grant, plus your Pell grant . . . but that still wouldn’t be enough to offset the loss from that first year.</p>

<p>So, you need to contact the UCSD financial aid office and find out exactly how much they’d give you that first year. If all they’ll give you is $1,790 (new money) plus $4,672 (their original grant), and they expect you to use your Pell grant to cover the difference, you could lose money - a lot of money! - by switching from A to B. So contact them and ask . . . and make sure you do the math, right down to the last dollar, so you really do end up with the most grant money possible over the four years.</p>

<p>Congratulations on the admit to UCSD, by the way!!!</p>

3

<p>@dodgersmom Great information. Thank you so much! </p>