Cal Grant Denied. Help!

Paying for College
1

Hello,

CA Resident here. My Cal Grant was denied. I’m not sure why. Is there a way to specifically check? I just got an email linking me to the disqualification sheet, but no indication of which disqualification criteria.

I think it might be my family’s assets. My parents have assets of roughly 95k to 100k in savings/checkings accounts combined.

From the Assets’ cap limit: https://www.csac.ca.gov/sites/main/files/file-attachments/2019-20_income_and_asset_ceilings_for_new_applicants_and_renewing_recipients.pdf

Does the cap of $79,300 apply to my whole family’s assets?? Not sure what that means by cap for Dependents?

ALSO!!!

How will this impact me in financial aid? I ran net price calculators on the schools I want to go to, already. Will I still get the same amount of aid and pay as much as the NPC said I would? Or would I pay more???

Is the Cal Grant a significant contributor to my financial aid? Because I need a LOT of financial aid to afford any of the colleges I apply to, especially the privates. Or is it a minor contributor (A couple of thousands - say $3000 or so - instead of 40k?)

Also, how about UCs? I am eligible for their Full Tuition waiver program because our family income is 68,000 (under 80k). Will this disqualification mean I won;t be able to get this waiver?

Thank you.

2

I’m confused. It sounds like you are applying to colleges now. Not sure how your Calgrant for 2019-2020 academic year would be denied already…

@Gumbymom

3

You can contact the CalGrant office (Student Aid Commission). They are very good about answering your questions. They can give you the reason why you aren’t qualifying. Don’t be afraid to contact them.
https://www.csac.ca.gov/sites/main/files/file-attachments/g-20_disqualificationfactsheet.pdf
and
http://www.pcicounseling.org/File%20Links/Cal%20Grant%20Disqualification%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

4

@thumper1 I didn’t even file a Cal Grant. Supposedly, they automatically filed one for me after I submitted my FAFSA. The Portal indicates that my school had already filed my GPA Verification for me already. I just checked the User Portal and it indeed says it was for 2019-2020 that the Grant was denied. Maybe they opened the application cycle already?

EDIT: It was indeed automatically filed the day after my FAFSA was filed and my disqualification email came today.

5

@“aunt bea” I will contact them tomorrow morning. Thank you!

6

The Cal Grant application was available as of October 1, 2018 for the 2019-2020 school year.

@Neurotic2027:

The asset ceiling is $79,300. You state your family income is $68K but they have around $100K in Savings/Checking? That makes your assets around $168K which is well above the Cal Grant thresholds. Colleges expect your parents to contribute towards your education. How much are they willing to pay each year for college and what are they planning to use the $100K for if not for some of your education?

Based on your family’s finances, you should not expect to get any financial aid from the UC’s if what you are posting is correct.

You need to run the Net Price calculators on all schools of interest and based on your NPC’s, you might have to make some changes to your school list.

https://www.csac.ca.gov/sites/main/files/file-attachments/2019-20_income_and_asset_ceilings_for_new_applicants_and_renewing_recipients.pdf

I am far from an expert on financial aid especially for the UC’s, but my family had a similar income/assets when my son’s applied to the Cal states and UC’s and we pretty much were full pay and no need-based financial aid.

7

@Gumbymom

Correct, our annual income is $68,000 (before taxes). On top of that, we have around $100k in savings/checkings accounts combined. Thus our assets are indeed $168k, which is above the Cal Grant ceiling.

My parents are contributing to my college costs. They have agreed to cover three years of my UC costs. However, we were under the impression that we would qualify for the Blue and Gold Opportunity, which my counselor and the UC website says is for families making less than $80,000. Given my CAL GRANT was denied, does this mean I will not get the Gold and Blue Opportunity and have to pay full 30kish price?

If I had to give a number, they agreed to pay a total of $50,000 for all four years. This is assuming we still get the Gold and Blue Opportunity Plan, which would make most UCs cost around $15,000 to $18,000 per year.

I did run NPC’s on the UCS and all of the NPCs gave me this estimate of $15k to $18k, which I assume is accounting for the Gold and Blue plan. But are these no longer accurate given my Cal Grant was denied? I inputted all my assets (the value was above the threshold) so I don’t know if this is accurate or not.

I hear Cal Grant only helps pay for UCs, CSU’s, and CC in CA.

if true, then will I expect the same amount of financial aid that the estimates for private out-of-state colleges told me before I knew this grant was denied? For example: Swarthmore told me it would cost $23,000. Will I pay this $23,000 or likely more now since my Cal Grant was denied?

Thank you

8

Carleton doesn’t care about your Calgrant. They will base their financial aid award on the info you provide on the financial aid application forms.

9

@Gumbymom

You are correct in the math and how we are above the Cal Grant threshold.

My parents were willing to pay three years of my UC education. However, we were under the impression that we would be getting free tuition due to the Blue and Gold Ribbon Award. After running UC Net Prices, with the over threshold asset information, the UCs cost us $15,000 to $18,000. I assume this is because the tuition is waived off due to the Blue and Gold Plan.

Will we still get the Blue and Gold Plan, seeing our income is below $80k? Or will we have to pay the full 32kish?

Also, how about private out-of-state schools? If a non CA private tells me I have to pay $26,000 per year, would this number hold true even if I didn’t get the Cal Grant (as is in my case). I hear CAL GRANT only pays for inside of CA schools, so this out-of-state net price will still be accurate, right?

Thanks once again

10

@Gumbymom

In your situation (Or any other situations you have heard of), did anyone disqualify for the Blue and Ribbon despite having an under $80,000 annual income because of assets? Or the other way around where they qualified despite assets - not income - being the cause of their Cal Grant declination?

11

For the Blue and Gold Opportunity:
You must demonstrate total family income below $80,000 and financial need, as determined for federal need-based aid programs.

If you are eligible, your systemwide tuition and fees will be fully covered by scholarship or grant money. The plan combines all sources of scholarship and grant awards you receive (federal, state, UC and private) to go toward covering your tuition and fees.

Students with greater financial need can qualify for even more grant support to help defray other educational expenses (like books, housing, transportation, etc.).
———————————————————————————-

Your family income qualifies you for the Blue and Gold, however the Cal Grant which is used in conjunction with the Blue and Gold and Federal aid will not be available for you based on your families assets.

What is your FASFA EFC?

Cal Grants can only be used for California eligible schools so it will have no impact on any of your OOS schools.
http://www.csac.ca.gov/sites/main/files/2018_19_eligible_cal_grant_schools.pdf

NPC’s are only estimates. I am not familiar with Carleton, but if they also use the CCS profile, then your cost estimate may not be different.

If your family is only giving you $12,500/year, how do you plan to make up the difference for a school like Carleton? You can only take out a total of $27K for the 4 years as a student ($5500 Freshman year, $6500 Sophomore year, $7500 Junior/Senior year) so there is still going to be a Gap.

Private schools are all different in that they may give you some need-based aid depending upon your EFC, gift aid/grants and merit aid. That is why running NPC’s on all schools is important since each will have their own determination of how much you will be expected to pay.

The UC’s and CSU’s look like the best deal so far. $12,500 from your parents plus $5500 from student loans and possibly working a summer job should cover all the expected costs.

12

@Gumbymom
“Your family income qualifies you for the Blue and Gold, however the Cal Grant which is used in conjunction with the Blue and Gold and Federal aid will not be available for you based on your families assets.”

Since I qualify for Blue and Gold, but not Cal Grant, does it not really matter? What I mean is that my full tuition should be covered, but just not from Cal Grant. Ex: The UCs use their own money or another source to cover it, correct?

After some research, UC Berkeley says:
“Students who are not eligible for Cal Grant fee awards may still be eligible for the Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan. One of the requirements for being awarded the Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan is that a student must have applied for a Cal Grant.”

It appears that the Cal Grant is simply just a way for the UCs to not use up their own money to fund my full tuition, seeing I qualify under the Blue and Gold Plan. Not qualifying will not necessarily hurt - that is my question.

FAFSA EFC is $11,203
Institutional (Profile) EFC (for private schools) is $24,031

“If your family is only giving you $12,500/year, how do you plan to make up the difference for a school like Carleton? You can only take out a total of $27K for the 4 years as a student ($5500 Freshman year, $6500 Sophomore year, $7500 Junior/Senior year) so there is still going to be a Gap.”

Honestly, the $12,500 / year figure is just an estimate. We haven’t really decided anything final. I don’t know how we’d cover the rest, but I’m just applying to see if I get a decent offer. I also have some LACs on my list where I’d likely qualify for merit aid or diversity scholarships.

I’m leaning more towards the UCs because of the cost, but if I disqualify for Blue and Gold, then privates would be cheaper by about $9k / year.

“The UC’s and CSU’s look like the best deal so far. $12,500 from your parents plus $5500 from student loans and possibly working a summer job should cover all the expected costs.”

I plan on getting my EMT certification this summer (or second semester) and working a part time job, so I agree with you on this being the best path. I am more inclined to attend a “lower” ranked UC like Riverside or Davis or Irvine and hopefully get merit there as well. (I remember your post about how these offer Regents).

13

“You can only take out a total of $27K for the 4 years as a student ($5500 Freshman year, $6500 Sophomore year, $7500 Junior/Senior year) so there is still going to be a Gap.”

Is this only for Undergrad loans? I plan on doing Medical School, but I would absolutely not be able to afford a single penny without loans. Would my federal medical school loans (If i make it that far) be also limited to 27k before I have to consult higher interest rate companies for loans?

14

Medical school…you can take out Direct Loans, and if you reach the limit of those, you can take out grad plus loans. Grad plus loans can be up to the cost of attendance.

But really…if that is your goal…Med school… you really don’t want any undergrad loans, unless someone is going to be helping you pay for medical school.

15

As stated by @thumper1, if Medical school is in your future, you will want take minimize your undergrad debt. You will not be limited to $27K in loans for Medical school but add that amount on top of Medical school loans and you are looking a huge amount of debt.

Even though you do not qualify for a Cal Grant, the Blue and Gold does utilize other means of aid to help cover tuition costs. The NPC estimates seem to indicate that your tuition would be covered, but you can reduce costs by commuting instead of living on campus. Working part-time is a good option and the UC’s give some merit aid but are more geared towards providing need-based aid. UCR is probably the most generous with merit aid since their Regents scholarship is $10K/year vs some other UC’s where they only offer $2-2.5K/year.

Your best option is to apply widely and wait for all the FA packages so you can really do a good comparison.