Clarification on COA

Paying for College
1

Would someone be able to give me some clarification on a few things about financial aid, COA, and how they off set each other? I have been accepted to CSUSB and I’m just trying to wrap my head about the costs.

CSUSB Cost of Attendance is (see below) and note that I’m awarded a Cal Grant B and my 2015-2016 EFC is 0

-Tuition: $6,549
-Books: $1,577
-Food/Housing: $9,933
-Transportation: $999
-Person/Misc: $1,365

$20,403 (On-Campus)

-Tuition: $6,549
-Books: $1,577
-Food/Housing: $10,929
-Transportation: $1,278
-Person/Misc: $1,365
$21,678 (Off-Campus)

Now my question lies here, does the Pell Grant ($5730 FASFA) and Cal Grant B ($7120 CSUNPCC ONLINE) only need to cover my tuition for me to attend that college? Or does it have cover ALL the expense mentioned above? For instance, if I lived with my parents paying 0 rent, housing cost alone would cut the COA in half. Is the Pell Grant and Cal Grant being subtracted from the COA total, or just the tuition and on-campus housing costs?

2

Your direct cost with going to college while living at home and commuting is tuition and fees. It seems that your cal grant will cover this.

Other costs that you will need to consider are books, transportation costs, which will be offset by summer of your Pell money. you may need a part time job to help make ends meet for other misc. stuff.

Look for ways of keeping cost down; purchasing used text books, purchasing textbooks on line, borrowing and swapping books from friends. You have a tight budget, but you can do it.

3

You left out the COA for commuters which is what you would be if you were living at home with parents. That COA is about $15k. http://finaid.csusb.edu/applyAid/costAttendance.html