Community College or an UC School?

Your opinions are toxic and evil.

:smiley:

But I still respect them :3

@anikom15 No please keep going with this amazing display of ethnocentric arguing, this is gold.

I’m ethically naturalist, not ‘ethnocentric’ as if individual freedom is restricted to specific cultures, but please, enlighten me on this great culture that prides itself on never working until getting married, as I’ve never heard of it. Surely this is a grand tradition that must never be broken for practical purposes.

@BrownParent Thanks for answering! I’m not sure what my family’s financial plans are at the moment, so I won’t be able to answer your question, but I guess according to what you said, going in as a resident to UCLA/UCI would make much more sense… Also, if situation calls for it, of course I’m going to have to work, despite what my family says. However, if it’s very much avoidable, I’m not allowed to.

@SDGoldenBear Thanks for the information! I understand, and in order to establish residency, my mother and I will be getting a California Driving License , and whatever else that was mentioned on this (http://registrar.berkeley.edu/Residency/establish.html?no_server_init) website. I understand the difficulty of trying to be a resident and that I have to stay one year or so in California to establish residency. Thanks for the advice though, I definitely will call the residency advisor if I get admitted. I also have never heard of the BOG waiver! Is it only a waiver for CCC, though?

@apocalypso Hello! I never thought about the online money-making option, I’ll look more into it. Thanks for the other information though! This is starting to sound way better than attending UCLA/UCI first.

@goldenclub Hello! Ha, there’s no possible way I could get into Haas School of Business unless I work my butt off in CCC, but I get what you’re saying. The figures for sound way better if I go to CCC though, so I’ll probably take that route instead. I never heard of TAP/TAG until recently, so thanks! Also, i’m just curious, but you make it seem like UCI isn’t that great, why? I consider any UC school to be amazing, except maybe Merced or Riverside, but I guess I’m just naive.

@iTransfer1 Of course, but I would like to know what my options are first.

I am sure you will qualify for FAFSA.Try to apply for that.

@anikom15 Thanks for replying! I understand what you mean, but please let me clarify that my parents aren’t abusing me in any way because they won’t let me contribute to my families income for now. Because we currently have enough money to put food on the table and I also don’t have time for a job (four AP classes and Newspaper takes all of my time, what a horrible decision), I can’t really argue with him and I feel like he’s right too. My father isn’t patriarchal, so I’m sure he’ll understand if I have to work during college. However, I don’t think you have to say what values are “simply wrong” that my family follows.
A gap year wouldn’t be ideal, and I’m counselor and teachers agree. It’ll put me behind and make my resume look bad (compared to other candidates), since I’m eventually going to work. Plus I’m pretty sure I’m going to study in Business Economics.

@NCalRent Hello! I want to plan out what I want to do, which is why I’m asking all these questions. I’m not going to even apply to UCLA/UCI if it doesn’t make sense to; why should I bother filling out an application for an UC school if I’m going to CCC anyways? Again, I would like to avoid a gap year as much as possible.

@Orangered123 Hello! Sorry, I would rather not. It’s probably not a shared cultural belief, which would make other CC users angry at me for even mentioning it. Thanks for the information though!

I would rather you guy (@anikom15 and @goldenclub not argue on this post. Everyone had their owns beliefs, so please keep them to yourselves. If situation calls for it, I’ll convince my parents to let me work. If I would’ve known this would be made into such a big discussion about human sacrifice and patriarchy, I wouldn’t have mentioned it. Also, @boxandwhiskers, don’t encourage them.

@Iamsobusynow Hello! I already did, but thanks for mentioning it!

@muzzles,

Unfortunately, yes, the BOG waiver is only at the CCCs. The UCs have the Blue and Gold Opportunity plan as an equivalent (of sorts).

See: http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/paying-for-uc/glossary/blue-and-gold/

If you end up not attending a UC next year, I highly suggest you talk to a UC adviser before enrolling at a CCC. You will likely have major issues proving that your move to California was not motivated by “educational opportunities” or with an “educational purpose” in mind.

See: http://ucop.edu/residency/10-things-undergrads.html (Specifically #2, #3, and #9)

@SDGoldenBear The Blue and Gold Opportunity seems almost too amazing, but I don’t think I fully understand it. I’m under the impression that Blue and Gold pays for your tuition if your family makes under $80,000, and that’s it? Is there a loop hole i’m not seeing (like only a certain amount of fees? just the classes you take but not other fees? is there a limit to how much you get?) Because that almost seems too good to be true.

It’s what it says from my experience. Tuition is fully covered which essentially removes the $13,000+ tuition fees from the (inaccurately low) estimated COA.

For most people in that income bracket, myself included, the other associated expenses are still a hefty cost. We still have to finance around $10-20k a year. For instance…on-campus housing options average $15k a year and nearby off-campus housing normally doesn’t go under 10k annually. The UC Health insurance plan is an additional $2k as well if you don’t qualify for a waiver.

As far as limits, they are extremely stringent on residency (due to the amount of money at stake) and if you receive any outside scholarships/income they seem to just take it out of the B&G allocation so your never going to be at a net positive financially. They are also very strict on eight semesters (four for transfers) so definitely avoid any extra semesters.

Good to know. Sounds like a good deal to me considering I already live in the bay area (if I get into UCB or UCD) and pay my own rent, and wouldn’t need their health insurance since I already have my own through the ACA. If you qualify for the B&G plan, are you still eligible to receive Pell Grants?

You do, but they supplement each other so you don’t get any additional money since they are both under the same category of need based financial aid.

In a (very) oversimplified example:

Say B&G is set to “give” you $13k toward tuition. If you receive an additional Pell grant that gives you 6k, then they would reduce your B&G allocation by the equivalent amount of 6k so that 7k comes from B&G and your total aid still remains 13k. The only way to get gain additional financial aid is through merit based aid to overcome and not need based aid.

@SDGoldenBear I’m curious, how exactly is the estimated COA inaccurately low? The people who I’ve talked to say that it’s pretty much accurate.

Maybe they are just using a federal template, but they seem to underestimate a lot of the associated costs of living in Berkeley (California in general).

I can only use my personal experience for examples but my financial sheet estimates my off campus housing costs at just over $3,500 per semester when in reality a decent double is around $4,200 (800 a month) and a single is normally over $1,000 monthly. My food costs are also listed at $1200 which breaks down to about or $65 a week or $3 a meal which is very difficult to meet without buying bulk and cooking everything yourself. (I sure don’t have time to cook for myself.) Especially irritating to me is that they list my transportation costs at a mere $250 which doesn’t even pay for the gas for two round trips to SoCal via private automobile much less other modes of transportation.

The transportation costs always upsets me because I live in San Francisco but go to school in Berkeley. There’s a deal at my school (as it is with UC Berkeley) where riding AC Transit is free (when I pay $36 a semester for the pass - I think it’s free for UCB students, like it comes with the tuition/perks of being a UCB student?). But I still pay for muni and BART to get to the free AC Transit, which seriously racks up fast. I’m afraid for the future, where the cost of living in Berkeley and Oakland (and i’m only talking about rent) is beginning to spike massively, almost to a point where it’s nearly impossible to live in Berkeley, be a student, and work enough hours while balancing school to earn enough money to afford the insane rent - or unless you have rich parents who can pay your rent while you go to school. It’s kind of troubling.

I think it’s a major flaw that students don’t get some sort of BART discount.

@boxandwhiskers @lindyk8 I live in Berkeley but am taking a class at CCSF - I know your pain. $8 roundtrip, 3 days per week, is crazy. This is more of a BART issue than a Cal / CC issue, though.

@SDGoldenBear I always thought that the food estimate was oddly low. Noted.

How is a double $4200 per semester? Going by ~20 weeks, or 5 months? I also thought that the average double in Berkeley is $650-$700 - that seems to check out to $3200-$3500, not including wifi and whatnot.

The takeout in Berkeley definitely does not amount to $65 per week. Maybe $100 per week is a better estimate. Even that can be hard to meet, though. I see what you mean.

Most places I’ve seen require a 6 month lease agreement and generally people prefer the option of paying for the extra month (or extending to a 12 month lease) and having the option of subletting rather than go through the trouble of moving out and going through the process again. (Those application fees can add up fast.)

I haven’t found any good doubles near enough to the school that can accommodate me for under 800 a month. Most of the sub 800 place’s are too far for me and the one’s I did tour were either unfurnished or have a discernible red-flag. I normally stay on campus until the late evening so having to walk a longer distance at night is not a safe choice and I don’t want to have to bother friends to help me move furnishings around.

One thing that’s been happening a lot is that landlords will post a below average price, collect applications, and then re-post the place at a higher rate until they wittle down their applicants to maximize their profits. I went to a one near Shattuck and Francisco for $600 that had at least 30 people in my showing. Lo and behold it was re-posted 3 additional times later with increased rates and eventually was taken off the market at the $900 mark. If your not from the area this quagmire is really disorienting and can be a hair pulling experience with the time you waste!