<p>My parents make about 13k a year before taxes. We have 4 people in our house, only 1 student going to college full time (me, obviously). My EFC would be 0. I know I'm probably eligible for the cal grant and state uni grant. I'm planning to attend CSU Fullerton.</p>
<p>Can someone explain to me how this works? Can you get BOTH grants? What happens if you choose one, what happens to the other?? I'm so confused!</p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>Yes, you’ll get a Cal Grant if you’re a Calif resident, but I don’t know if the CSUs have much of their own money to give. The UCs have UC grants, but I don’t know if the CSUs have much to give.</p>
<p>You will get a Pell Grant of $5500 and a Cal Grant for the cost of your tuition…how much do you need? You’ll also get student loans and maybe some work study. Is this for this fall???</p>
<p>What is in your FA pkg.</p>
<p>I’m definitely a california resident! 
I don’t want to get loans, do I have to? I am going to apply for Pell Grant & the Cal grant. Attending CSUF for 1 year would be around $17,000. I’m sure it’ll be ALOT cheaper than that because 1) I’m living with my parents. 2) I’m not going to be buying new books, I’ll probably buy them online.</p>
<p>Yes, if you commute it will be a LOT cheaper than $17k. You probably will not need loans if you commute, since your Cal Grant will pay for tuition, and your Pell Grant will pay for fees/books/transportation/etc.</p>
<p>If you were going to live on campus, then it would be different. They you would need the loans to pay for that.</p>
<p>for the grants i know the max is like 5000 dollars. do they give you $5000 per academic year or is it divived like $1000 per year until you obtain your undergrad?</p>
<p>Cal Grants are for 4 years and cover 4 years of a Calif public…so you’d end up getting about $24k to pay for 4 years of a CSU. Be careful, you don’t want to have to go more than 4 years or you’ll lose your grant money.</p>
<p>you’d also get ANOTHER $5500 per year from a Pell Grant. So, you’d be getting about $10-12k per year total in grants.</p>
<p>However…since your parents earn so little, there is a chance that your FAFSA will need to be verified. It may be unbelievable that you live near CSUF and your family is living on so little money. There may be a belief that your family isn’t reporting all of its earnings. The area around CSUF is pricey.</p>