Cal Grant

Paying for College
1

This question may have been answered somewhere before. I am having trouble trying to figure out a specific situation. Our income fluctuates wildly and we actually qualify for a Cal Grant for this one year. But, my D is an entering Junior staying at the same 4 yr private institution.

Is it true that Cal Grant is only available for entering Freshman and Transfers from a community college to a 4 yr institution? When I was researching prior to the March 2 deadline, I could not find any application that was not for Freshman (requires High School GPA report) or Transfers from a CC.

Did I miss an application somewhere?

2

Here is what the Cal Grant website says:

Four chances to get a Cal Grant Entitlement Award!

You can apply for a Cal Grant Entitlement Award in one of four ways:

1.Within one year after you graduate. So even if you have to go straight to work before going to college, you don’t have to miss out on a Cal Grant.

2.As a community college transfer student, as long as you are under the age of 28.

3.As a high school senior.

4.Within one year of getting your GED.

This is what leads me to believe that students cannot get a Cal Grant DURING their college attendance (only upon graduating from high school)

3

I think I might have the answer, but you can call CSAC at 1-888-224-7268 to confirm. If you do not fit the criteria for the Cal Grant entitlement award, which is out of high school or from a CC - you get thrown into the Cal Grant competitive award pool. The entitlement and competitive Cal grant are the two awards handed out. There are only 22,000 of these competitive Cal grants handed out for the entire state. The chances are slim for many students, and it relies on a point system which includes college GPA, college completion rate of parents, income level, etc. The higher the points the student gets, the better chance of getting the award.

Did you complete the FAFSA and have your daughter’s college submit her GPA by March 2nd of this year?

4

You are correct - eligibility for the entitlement grant is limited as you described.

5

The Cal-Grant system is definitely complicated, and CSAC doesn’t lay out all of the details clearly on their website, IMO. I swear, I learn new things about it every day.

6

Yes, submitted FAFSA by March 2nd, but did not realize that there might be ‘other’ requirements such as college GPA submitted. However, I believe that each college just submits all their students enmasse so I will assume that the GPA made it somehow.

I can guarantee that we won’t win one of those special competitive grants so I just chalk it to lesson learned.

7

I know for a fact my school does not submit GPA’s to CSAC unless the student requests this process, but obviously every school is different.

8

Log on to the webgrants for students website and see if the ‘gpa received’ box is checked. We did not qualify in year one, but did for year 2 and I had to go to the high school and ask for the gpa to be sent again. Maybe because you are in 3rd year, the gpa will come from the college instead.

9

If a student has at least 24 units completed at a college, the college will be the one who needs to submit the GPA.

10

Thank you for the website information. I just checked and, by some miracle, her college did send in her GPA. It looks like I have to wait until May to see if she gets an award, but not holding my breath.

11

I’m not sure why you have to wait until May? Doesn’t the website already say if you are eligible? Or are
you in the ‘competitive’ category because you didn’t submit fafsa and gpa for years 1 and 2? I don’t know anything about that process. I knew we didn’t qualify, but I submitted everything just in case we qualify in later years. We got emails within a week of the Mar 2 deadline directing us to look at the website for the determination and again after I submitted our tax returns and updating the fafsa.

12

I am in the ‘competitive’ category because we weren’t in the system from Year 1. Never even bothered in the previous years.