Hey guys, I’m a transfer student from a CC in California. I am looking to transfer to a UC and have gotten into Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara so far, and still waiting on a few. I logged into my portal for Santa Barbara and went into financial aid tab and got this:
Unofficial Grants and Scholarships $21642
Possible Cal Grant Eligibility $12804
Federal Pell Grant $5775
UCSB GRANT $3063
Unofficial Work-Study Eligibility $2000
Unofficial Loan Eligibility $7500
Federal Subsidized Direct Loan Eligibility $5500
Federal Unsubsidized Direct Loan Eligibility $2000
Unofficial Total Aid $31142
Total UCSB Cost Estimate $31142
Direct Costs
These are costs charged by the University (subject to change).
Tuition and Student Services Fee $12804
Campus Based Fees $1673
Health Care Allowance $2772
Living Expenses
These are an estimate of the costs you will incur for rent, meals, snacks, utilities, telephone and other personal expenses. Room and Board (Off-Campus) $9109
Personal Expenses $1895
Transportation $1012
Telephone / Cell Phone $352
Books and Supplies
This is the average cost of required course materials for the academic year.
Books and Supplies $1403
Loan Fees
These fees represent the average loan origination fees for student borrowers of student Direct Loans at UCSB. Students that do not borrow will not incur loan fees.
Loan Fees $122
Minus Unofficial Grants and Scholarships- $21642
Equals Unofficial Net Cost= $9500
So what I’m asking is, is this a full ride?
Full ride? No. Fully covering your expenses? Maybe with a loan.
You have $21.6k in grants, money you don’t have to pay back to anyone. You have about $14k in tuition and fees. All the rest are fees you control (if you have acceptable health care, for example, you’ll save $2772 by not buying it through the school). So you have about $6000 extra grant $$ to use toward other costs.
Are you living on campus or off? Meal plan or not? Books full price at the bookstore or ordered off the internet? You can use the $6000 and they are suggesting you borrow $7500 which you will pay back. That will give you $13,500 to cover room and board, books, travel, personal items, etc. (and health insurance if you need it).
It’s a good deal, but not a full ride. You have loans, and you’ll probably have a small gap that you’ll need to work to fill (work study or other job).
I would not consider this a “full ride,” but your need is met. The reason I don’t consider this a full ride is because it’s not all free money … you do have to repay loans (it’s just an advance on money you will repay with interest). In addition, your work study is not guaranteed, and it can’t be deducted from your bill (it’s pay-as-you-earn, assuming you get a job & assuming you work enough to earn that much).
But this is a good package. Your direct costs are covered by gift aid (grants/scholarships). Do you have to take their insurance, or are you covered by a parent’s insurance (if you are, you may be able to waive their insurance & save that $2772 health care allowance listed in direct costs). Assuming you will need to pay that $2,772 you have $4393 more free money than direct costs. If you will live in the dorms, you will have the $4393 to put toward room & board fees - if not, you’ll get a refund to use for your off-campus expenses and other expenses (books, personal, travel, etc). If you need more money, you have the ability to borrow loans.
One thing I would caution about is that often I see public universities using a relatively low number of credits in their direct costs. If the amount of tuition they list is for 12 credits & you will take more credits, be sure to factor that in when figuring out what your real costs will be.
Thank you @twoinanddone !