Hello,
So I live In california, in a household of 6, and my primary caretaker has 0 income. I qualify for the need base cal grant, but I really want to go to NYU. Does that mean when I apply for fin aid I apply for the NY grant (do they even have that?). Will I be able to afford NYU if I am going to have to pay for college myself? And I’m assuming the cal grant only works with schools in CA, so any infor/tips/advice would be great.
Thanks A Bunch
Yes cal grant only works for CA colleges. If your income is that low you need to apply widely to UC campuses because between Pell and Cal grant and the university grant and some reasonable loans you will be able to afford to attend college because UCs ‘meet 100% need’ for low income CA students. CSU will for the campus for commuting from home.
NYU is not a ‘meets 100%’ of need. So you will have to apply for aid to see what they will give you. You may get the COA covered or may not. You will have your federal loans in the package. NYU is known for being stingy with financial aid, NY is known as an expensive city and many people have to drop out for lack of affordability, unfortunately. But sometimes people get a really good package. One problem is that you have to pay health insurance separately as it is not in the package like it is in UC and that will add 2 to 3k per year unless you have very good coverage (not medi-cal) already. Another expense that will likely not be covered enough in the COA is enough funds to travel home for breaks.
You as a student can only borrow:
Student Federal Direct Loan
freshman 5,500
sophomore 6,500
jr 7,500
sr 7,500
Most schools will put these loans in as part of your aid. NYU sometimes also puts Parent loans in as a way to not actually cover you themselves and that just means the college is unaffordable for you. So keep expanding your search so you make sure you have some schools that will pay all your costs.
And, yes, there are NY state grants (comparable to Cal Grants), but they are available only to New York residents.
How does a family of 6 live on zero income?
@brownparent @dodgersmom sorry for the late reply, but thanks a bunch, you’ve given me a lot to think about
@madison85 why is that necessary ?
Colleges will certainly verify a student’s financial aid application if they claim they have $0 in income. The college will want to know how the family is meeting basic expenses.
sirbentley…NY grants are available to NY residents only. You are not eligible for the TAP award because you are not a resident of NY. NYU costs in excess of $60,000 a year. The school is less than generous and does not guarantee to meet full need for accepted students.
What is wrong with the many colleges in CA?
ETA…do you still want to do filmmaking? If so, can’t imagine why you would leave CA?