<p>okay so I checked my online financial aid and it showed that the total cost to attend UCLA would be about 29K. All my financial aid gift amounted to about 20K, thats including the Scholarship Recognition award which was about 4K. My question is how would I pay for the rest of the 9K if my Total Family Contribution is 0. I really want to attend UCLA, but I don't want to take any loans.</p>
<p>if you look carefully im sure it says that the 9k is covered through government loans. if you dont wanna pay for it then try to get some scholarships. thats what im trying to do.</p>
<p>From what I understand, there is a 8k to 9k gap in the financial aid this year for all students due to the budget crisis. You are supposed to come up with ways to fill the gap or take loans. There are still some scholarships available but most deadlines are fast approaching, so start researching and applying to as many scholarships as you can find.</p>
<p>Here is the link on how UCLA figured out the 29K COA. There are several thousand dollars allocated for personal expense, transportation, books, etc.
[Fees</a>, Tuition, and Estimated Student Budget - UCLA Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/budget.htm]Fees”>http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/budget.htm)</p>
<p>If you live very cheap which many students do, you can probably get away with ~26K instead.</p>
<p>Find a summer job. Jobs are out there if you are aggressive about looking for one. You can probably make ~2-3K if you work full time the whole summer.</p>
<p>Apply for scholarships as others have suggested.</p>
<p>The loans that are on my FAO, are those for one year or for four years? And when can you pay off loans? Do you have to have them paid off before you graduate your freshman year? I am just thoroughly confused as people keep telling me different things.</p>
<p>[UCLA</a> Financial Aid Office !](<a href=“http://www.fao.ucla.edu/fao_information_types.htm#loans]UCLA”>http://www.fao.ucla.edu/fao_information_types.htm#loans)</p>
<p>According to that link you posted, it seems that the loans included on my fao (which is approximately $23,000) is for four years and not every single year (in terms of Stafford Loans), am I correct? Please someone clarify this for me as I am very confused.</p>
<p>Sorry, but where did you log in to find that 29k number?</p>
<p>Ok I had the similar problem when I was entering UCLA last year. First off, the estimation of 29K is pretty off unless you choose to spend your life at UCLA living in the most expensive plazas and with the biggest meal plan and if you plan to buy a lot of textbooks every quarter. </p>
<p>Try calculating on your own how much it costs to go to UCLA. Add your tuition cost, your housing cost (cheap if you live in residence halls, I suggest sproul), meal plan 14G or 19G should be fine unless you want to swipe your friends, textbooks at first cost around 300-400 bucks but you will reuse some textbooks especially if your a premed, and transportation and all that other stuff. It should be a lot less than 29K. For me it was, so I got covered. Good Luck!</p>
<p>So OnceFOB, did you have to pay the entirety of that estimation or did you pay what you finally ended up using for that year?</p>