<p>So I was accepted to Berkeley.. Whoooo. Yeah I was happy for the first few days until I checked my financial aid and I saw I was only going to receive around ~300 dollars as gift aid. The other 25k is gonna come from loans and such. I only received around 1,700 dollars as a subsidized loan. Anyone else get anything this bad? Is there anything I can do about this, because it's completely ridiculous and I have three sisters that need to go to college after me. So if this continues, will I be 100k into debt by the time I graduate from Berkeley?</p>
<p>Help! I see people crying about having to pay 7000 a year, which is a godsend compared to what I am looking at. This debt looks to be insurmountable...</p>
<p>Federal loan guidelines limit you to 4.5k of subsidized/unsubsidized loans the first two years of UG, 5.5 thereafter. Because 24k~ minus 4.5k leaves a gap it is up to your parents to fill the need with a PLUS loan, home equity(not advisable in most circumstances) or college savings e.g a 529 college savings plan.</p>
<p>You can take out a private loan, but i do promote this type of loan because they have egregious interest rates and fees associated with them.</p>
<p>Scholarships, Cal grants(I hope you applied for this, it's free money!), federal grants(need-based only, doubt you qualify) and loans are the only way besides being born into wealth that one can afford to attend college.</p>
<p>If your parents aren't willing to pay for you to go to Berkeley, I would go to CC for two years (6k versus 40-50k) and reapply mentioning the financial hardship.</p>
<p>It's time for you to have a frank discussion with your parents about their financial role in your pursuit of higher education.</p>
<p>I also recommend researching Ameri Corps and doing Federal Work Study (3k/year).</p>
<p>Does your family have a very large income? If not, there may have been a mistake in calculating your EFC and you could appeal your financial aid. I have no idea how this works but I've heard of people doing it. Other than that, apply for EVERY SCHOLARSHIP YOU QUALIFY FOR, even if you think you won't get it. You never know what you will or will not get.</p>
<p>Not everybody gets a free education courtesy of taxpayers like Shua's parents, Nancy. There is no need to minimize the problems facing middle class families.</p>
<p>Shua, you aren't qualified for a Cal Grant. A family of 6 earning more than 88k, IIRC, is 'too rich' for a Cal Grant.</p>
<p>Shua, for families making over 90k, financial aid is pretty much non existent for Berkeley. At that point your family more or less is expected to shoulder all/majority of the college education cost.</p>