Cal State and UC System

Paying for College
1

Hi everyone! My dream is to go to a Cal State or UC school (I’ve been admitted to San Diego State and applied to UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, UC Irvine, UCSB, UCLA, UCSD, CSULB, Cal State Channel Islands, and Cal Poly SLO).

However, I am out-of-state, so money is going to be an issue. I can mostly afford the Cal State schools (I will probably end up concurring some student debt, but they cost the same as my in-state institutions), but the UC schools are out of my price range.

Does the UC system offer any merit or financial aid? Or am I better of getting independent scholarship funds to contribute to my student debt?

Thank you!

2

UCs offer little/no merit scholarships…and even fewer to OOS students. UCs announced that they’re no longer giving OOS FA because they need the funds for instate students.

what are your stats?

What is your FAFSA EFC?

How much will your parents pay each year?


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can mostly afford the Cal State schools (I will probably end up concurring some student debt,

[/QUOTE]

Did you know that YOU can only borrow $5500 as a freshman? And the phrase should be “incurring some student debt.”

3

Use each school’s net price calculator to see the bad news about financial aid. UC financial aid does not cover the $25000 additional out of state tuition.

There are a few top end merit scholarships that do cover that, but they should be seen as reach for everyone.

4

@ucbalumnus OOS tuition is supposed to go up 8%

Do the NPCs now reflect the policy change about no institutional grants for OOS students.

5

@ucbalumnus Okay, thank you! I will look at the net price calculator.

@mom2collegekids

STATS:

Term: Fall 2016

Status: Undergraduate Admissions

UW GPA: 3.984

Weighted GPA: Approximately 4.36 (My school doesn’t weight GPA, but this is what the CSU Mentor calculator said.)

Rank: 3/278

SAT #1: 1890 (Writing 640, Reading 640, Math 610)

SAT #2: 1880 (Writing 630, Reading 630, Math 620)

ACT: 28 (English 25, Math 28, Reading 33, Science 25, English/Writing 25)

AP: United States History (5), English Language and Composition (4), Chemistry (2), and World History (4). Currently enrolled in English Literature and Composition and Calculus AB. These are virtually all of the AP classes my school has to offer.

Honors: (Out of state school approved honors, so not California approved honors) English 10A/B, and Chemistry.

Major: History (Political Science alternate, which will end up being my double major/minor)

Residency: Out of State, but I qualify for the WUE Tuition at CSUCI.

Extra Curricular Activity: Interact Club (High School Rotary) President, National Honor Society Vice President, 4 year DECA competitor, 2 years girls’ soccer (one year varsity), 2 years cross country, 4 years girls’ tennis, 10 years club soccer, weekly volunteering at senior citizen adult day care center, weekly volunteering at local animal shelter, volunteered over 110 hours last year, and traveled to Honduras with Rotary International for a humanitarian project.

Race: White/Asian

Gender: Female

FAFSA: I haven’t applied for it yet, but my parents make enough money where the aid wouldn’t be very beneficial (about $7,000 of loans and work study).

PARENTS: I have a fund that will pay for 2 full years of in-state tuition ($24,000 total), and my parents are willing to contribute $15,000-$20,000 a year out of pocket.

LOCAL SCHOLARSHIPS: I am eligible for many local scholarships ranging from $500-$10,000 each, but I haven’t looked into any national scholarships yet.

UC SCHOLARSHIPS: On the UC Application, I was asked if I qualified for several scholarships on the scholarship page. Since I am OOS, would I not be eligible to receive any of them? I selected the “comes from a rural town,” “descendant of a Union Civil War vet,” “descendant of a WW2 vet,” and many of the academic ones.

Thank you for your help as well!

6

Keep in mind that you may take more than four years to graduate from one of the more impacted CSU campuses. If this would be a big problem for your budget you might want to think hard before you commit.

7

Current UC TUITION alone is in the $38,000 a year range. And housing/board is in the $15,000 a year range with a total,cost of attendance in the $50,000 plus range.

With your college fund of 12,000 a year for two years…and parent contribution of even $20,000 a year…you are just over halfway in terms of the costs.

I am not sure how you think this will be affordable.

Some of the CSUs might be, but I’m going to say most of the UCs will not be.

The UCs provide very little need based or merit aid to out of state students…very little.

8

Those war decendant awards are tiny, if you get one. We had to provide proof, which we did, and the award was less than $50 (one time award). didn’t bother doing it for second child.

Rural awards are likely for rural Calif.


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LOCAL SCHOLARSHIPS: I am eligible for many local scholarships ranging from $500-$10,000 each, but I haven't looked into any national scholarships yet.

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National awards are usually for low income and deadlines are likely passed.

9

Most of these are small.

The big ones at UC campuses are rare and highly selective:

  • Regents' at UCB: covers cost (including out-of-state) minus EFC with scholarship (no loan or work study).
  • Drake for ME majors at UCB: full ride regardless of EFC.
  • Stamps at UCLA: full tuition (5 in-state, 5 out-of-state)
  • Jacobs for engineering majors at UCSD: full ride (not sure if it covers additional out-of-state tuition)
10

@AlbionGirl I have considered that, and I will do my best to be extremely focused on my academics in order to graduate on time. My major is only a history major, which shouldn’t take me more than 4 years. My aunt was able to graduate in only 3 in Chemical Engineering at Stanford, so hopefully I can graduate in 4 at a Cal State institution! Thank you for reminding me though, that is a very important aspect to consider.

@thumper1 I didn’t say I could afford any of the UC schools, I said I could afford the CSU schools. I know the UC’s are way out of my price range, but I was trying to find some way to lower the cost so I could attend one of them.

@mom2collegekids Thank you! Knowing this, I will be on the lookout for more local scholarships.

@ucbalumnus Thank you! I will definitely apply to those scholarships, but thank you for letting me know they are highly selective and that the other UC scholarships are small.

11

@collegegirly2016

Keep in mind…most local scholarships are smaller amounts and are for ONE year only…they are not usually renewable. College is a four year event (at least) and prices will increase. Make sure that your plan includes potential funding for four years.

You don’t want to get someplace only to find that you can’t stay there for subsequent years because you don’t have the money.

Why CA schools??

And I’m curious…what instate public universities cost the same as OOS costs for a CSU? Are you saying that the instate costs to attend college at a public university in the state of Washington are the same as those for OOS students at the CSUs? Really?

12
  1. **Very, very limited; at most $2k per year, and, only for the tippy-top students. Most private, independent scholarships only cover one year, and are for low amounts.
  2. Your current stats won't garner much aid at the CSU's. Tuition is $36K for OOS students and continuing to rise.

1. Qualifying is one thing, getting WUE is another. They usually have a handful of students that they select for WUE because everyone wants to come to California.**

*Before you pack your bags for Channel Islands, do the research and visit. WUE schools (in California) are the schools where they have room because they are not very popular campuses for a number of factors and reasons.

*Channel Islands may sound “wonderful” and look great on the web, but you REALLY need to visit because it is not what you may expect.

*The CSU’s (like: CPSLO, CPP, SDSU, Long Beach, Fresno, Chico, Northridge, Fullerton, Sacramento) are generally very full. Channel Islands is in Ventura County, near Oxnard and Camarillo. You would need a car or a friend with a car. *Ventura County is largely rural and there is nothing really “white sand beachy” about it unless you get to some of the sandy areas near Santa Barbara and you will need a car to travel up the PCH. Our public transportation stinks. These are rural towns, with rocky coasts and cold coastal waters to the west.

My question for you is why California??? It’s not what you see in the movies.California is really expensive.

Read our link: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/california-colleges/1802004-so-you-want-to-come-to-california-for-college.html#latest

You could go to any school and then move to California after you graduate. Your parents will be paying a lot of money for an education that you could get in your state for a decent amount of money.

Oh and trying to get residency won’t work since an OOS diploma tells the schools that you are coming to California for educational purposes: you will be paying OOS tuition for at least 4 years.

13

@collegegirly2016

You have solid stats and I’m sure you would work hard and could do well at a CSU. The problem is that many of the popular CSU campuses are impacted (i.e. there are too many students trying to register for the required courses) and therefore it can be challenging to graduate on time. You could try your luck at the less popular campuses but honestly you’d be be better off attending a higher level institution in your home state.

14

Not sure why would you pay an absurd amount of money for a CalState. Not knocking on them but for their price as an OOS student, you can go use that money to go to a decent private university.

15

“Oh and trying to get residency won’t work since an OOS diploma tells the schools that you are coming to California for educational purposes: you will be paying OOS tuition for at least 4 years.”

Wow, is that right? Moving in with a relative, and showing that one has worked over the summer after the first year in the state, registered for in-state driver’s license, private health insurance, etc., would not be the beginning steps to establishing residency?

16

^
Nope, not in Calif…and not while going to school there.

Besides, the student has already indicated that parents will be contributing towards costs. Can’t be considered independent for instate residency purposes while getting money from parents.

17

Right, I understand about the parental financial tie and dependency, but had not known a student who simply leaves the home base and essentially moves to the state where they have matriculated could not begin to establish permanent residency, with the benefits of that status.

Thanks.

18

Not all the benefits of residency accrue in the same manner and at the same time.

19

<<<< moves to the state where they have matriculated >>>

That’s usually the big problem. Many states, including Calif, would say that the primary reason to move to Calif was education. so, no, to residency.

20

@Waiting2exhale
From page 17 of UC residency requirements:
http://www.ucop.edu/general-counsel/_files/ed-affairs/uc-residence-policy.pdf

So @Waiting2exhale, if you come from OOS and want to get instate residency, you cannot accept any help from your parents or any other relatives. You cannot live with relatives unless you pay market rates, which are very expensive. You must work for two years without attending any community colleges or universities. Working some little part time job isn’t going to pay your rent/transportation/food. You must prove that you worked and paid our hefty taxes, and your budget sheet and monthly expenses HAVE to match your income on your W-2s. It is extremely difficult to get instate tuition because the rents alone will get you. And you can’t have any help, at all from anyone, not even roommates.