Cal Grant A- Why did I get it?

Paying for College
1

<p>So I recently checked my cal grant page and it says I was awarded (although on hold) Cal Grant A which was about $12,000 for UC Berkeley </p>

<p>I wanted to know what Cal Grant is based on, is it need based or merit. I'm really happy to get it because it will help my family a lot since they will have two students in college next year but in comparison to many of my friends who were disqualified for the cal grant, my family is way better off. I thought that only people with incomes less than $60, 000 receive cal grants and that is def not the case for my family. </p>

<p>Also, is it $12,000 for each year or $12, 000 over the period of four years? What exactly does it cover! Thanks for the help! I asked my counselor this stuff and she had no idea -___-</p>

2

<p>Here are the income cut offs for Cal Grants
<a href=“http://www.csac.ca.gov/facts/2012_13_income_ceilings_new_applicants.pdf[/url]”>http://www.csac.ca.gov/facts/2012_13_income_ceilings_new_applicants.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Make sure you submit your Cal Grant GPA form (due 3/2) and must be verified by your school. Here is a link with information and a link on this page to the form.
[California</a> Student Aid Commission - Cal Grant GPA Requirement](<a href=“http://www.csac.ca.gov/doc.asp?id=1177]California”>http://www.csac.ca.gov/doc.asp?id=1177)</p>

<p>And yes at UC’s it should be around $12k per year.</p>

3

<p>Cal Grant awards are based on the income and asset ceilings that NewEnglandMother posted. These ceilings vary depending on student status as a dependent, independent with no dependents other than a spouse, and independent with dependents other than a spouse as well as family size.</p>

<p>Cal Grant is a need-based award, not merit, but does have a minimum GPA requirement. There is a current proposal to raise the minimum GPA requirement, but it has not yet passed and all awards given are based on the current year’s requirements. If the new rules pass, then they will be applied immediately.</p>

<p>Cal Grant A and B cover all systemwide fees at UCs and CSUs. This amount will adjust according to what the current systemwide fees are. The award is for four years of tuition/fee assistance (B is only three years, but the frosh year exception is covered by other grants as B is the low income version of A and offers additional funds A does not give) assuming one enters as a freshman. If one enters as a sophomore, the award is reduced to three years of eligibility to reflect this. Junior transfers only have two years.</p>

4

<p>Thank you for the help. Once again, I’m still confused though. I went to the link with the ceiling caps on income and my family’s income greatly exceeds the caps. I guess I will just have to wait and see if this is a mistake.</p>

5

<p>At least on mine - if you go to the Student Aid Report on the mygrantinfo page - at the bottom, it lists: Parent’s Total Income and Parent’s Net Worth. These are the numbers that Cal Grant sees from the FAFSA. You should be able to tell from those if you might have a mistake on your FAFSA. It also lists the other pertinent data such as family size, number in college, etc.</p>