<li><p>What is the difference between a Cal Grant A, Cal Grant B, & a Cal Grant C?</p></li>
<li><p>How come the amount for Cal Grant B is present, but not the amount for Cal Grant A?</p></li>
<li><p>How do you qualify for a Cal Grant C?</p></li>
<li><p>On the Cal Grant Recipient Change Form, do we leave section G blank if you don’t want to change the Cal Grant Programs you qualify for?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I just got my letter today as well and I was pretty confused. I got my information for question one from a simple google search on the CSAC and from the SFSU website. </p>
<ol>
<li>"Cal grant A is a grant that pays $2,520 per academic year. Eligibility is based on Grade Point Average (GPA) and financial aid criteria established by the California Student Aid Commission."</li>
</ol>
<p>"Cal grant B is a grant that pays a stipend of $1,551 per academic year for the first year of eligibility and $4,071 for the following years. Eligibility is based on GPA, parents'highest educational level and marital status and financial aid criteria as determined by CSAC."</p>
<p>"Cal Grant C awards assist low- and middle-income students with tuition and training costs for use in occupational and/or career training programs. A recipient’s minimum program length must be at least 4 months at a vocational school, community college, or independent college. A few four-year colleges and universities may also offer vocational studies. You will need to check with your institution to see if they participate in the Cal Grant C program. Cal Grant C award amounts are determined through the annual State budget process. "</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If under your Cal Grant A section it says See Code #1 it means that they determined that Cal Grant B would give you more money over the course of your college career. If you disagree you can request to recieve Cal Grant A but you can only recieve benefits from one grant at a time. </p></li>
<li><p>Cal Grant C is for students who are going to vocational schools or a four-year university but participating in a vocational program. </p></li>
<li><p>If you do not wish to change the Cal Grant program you have qualified for then you should leave section G blank.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Hope this helps!! I was really confused a few hours ago but now I feel much better.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your help zelly! :)</p>
<p>
[quote]
If under your Cal Grant A section it says See Code #1 it means that they determined that Cal Grant B would give you more money over the course of your college career. If you disagree you can request to recieve Cal Grant A but you can only recieve benefits from one grant at a time.
[/quote]
</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I am a little confused by this. So which one is more beneficial? Doesn't Cal Grant A offer more money??</p></li>
<li><p>Also, if it says "SEE CODE #1" under Cal Grant A, that means that I only get Cal Grant B, right?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I got mine today.. pretty much told me I need to stop wasting their time because I'm way "over the ceiling"</p>
<p>I also got "see code #1". Basically what code #1 says is that they determined that Cal grant B would be more beneficial for you. However, if you want to be considered for Cal Grant A you can do the Recipient Change Form. But remember.. you can only get the benefits from one! I THINK that Cal Grant B is more beneficial over the course of four years but Cal Grant A is more beneficial for the first year (???). You might have to double check because I'm still a little confused as well!! haha.</p>
<p>its sad that you didn't get any aid, theantithesisof. perhaps you'll get some federal aid :)!!</p>
<p>cal grant c is pretty much only offered if you go to a vocational school.</p>
<p>cal grant b offers more aid, true, but it's intended for low-income people. if you're not exactly low-income, cal grant a weighs merit more. yeah, usually they'll offer you the one that benefits your situation more.</p>
<p>therefore - if you're low-income, try b. if not, try getting a good gpa for a.</p>
<p>I just got Cal grant A, I am probably going to UCB. The award is 6,600 per year.</p>
<p>These are already in the mail? Hmm...I didn't get anything yesterday or today :(</p>
<p>i'm still a little confused about the award amount. on the cal grant website it says for cal grant A:
"At CSU and UC schools, this Cal Grant covers up to the full systemwide fees of $2,520 and $6,141, respectively."</p>
<p>and for cal grant B:
"Most first-year students receive an allowance of up to $1,551 for books and living expenses. After the freshman year, Cal Grant B also helps pay tuition and fees in the same amount as a Cal Grant A."</p>
<p>my letter says that i am qualified for $1,551 under cal grant B (for cal grant A it just says see code #1). but wouldn't cal grant A give me way more money since it would theoretically offer me $6,141 per year at a UC? why would the amount for cal grant A be greater than cal grant B? am i missing something here?</p>
<p>i actually just found the answer to my own question. apparently cal grant B only gives $1551 for books and supplies the first year. but in the following years, it will continue to give money for books and supplies as well as aid for tuition.</p>
<p>I'm in the same situation as 024. So does this mean that I'm not getting Cal Grant A?</p>
<p>Those that got this letter, when did you submit your FAFSA?</p>
<p>
[quote]
i actually just found the answer to my own question. apparently cal grant B only gives $1551 for books and supplies the first year. but in the following years, it will continue to give money for books and supplies as well as aid for tuition.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I'm still confused. So which Cal Grant is better? (Which offers more money?)</p>
<p>babyblue, i went on the UCLA financial aid website and it says:</p>
<p>"On my California Aid Report (CAR), it states that I am eligible for both Cal Grant A and B and to contact my school. Can I choose Cal Grant A?</p>
<p>We recommend that you choose Cal Grant B. The first year's Cal Grant B award is for access costs only, expenses for transportation, supplies and books. Beginning with the second year of Cal Grant B benefits, you receive the access costs in addition to the tuition and fees. Over four years, you will receive more from Cal Grant B."</p>
<p>i suppose the aid is similar for each UC but cal grant B is worth more than cal grant A over the course of your college education. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/paying.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/paying.html</a> shows the financial aid links for each of the UCs if you want to check each of their policies for cal grants. </p>
<p>oh and to answer azure326's question,i submitted my fafsa at the end of january but my school did not send the GPA verification form until a few weeks ago.</p>
<p>So if I decide to stay with Cal Grant B I probably on my own to pay for the tuition fee on the first year?</p>
<p>Calculation of Cal Grant
Cal Grant A (4 years at UC school): 6,141 x 4 = 24,564 for your whole whole 4 years of college career at UC school
Cal Grant B: 1551 + (1551+6141) x 3 = 24,627 for your whole 4 years of college career at UC school. </p>
<p>***, both grants are not much different. If you are going for Cal Grant B you going to have 63$ more than Cal Grant A. However you are on your own to pay for your tuition fee on the first year. </p>
<p>I think i amma stick with Cal Grant B. Not much of different so I dont wanna bother sending the renew Cal Grant.</p>
<p>I just got my letter. It says "SEE CODE #16" for Cal Grant B, which I found out means I'm over the ceiling for B.</p>
<p>I did, however, get $6,636 for Cal Grant A for Berkeley, UCLA, and UCSD. However, I'm a little confused here. I listed 6 colleges on my FAFSA; why are there only 3 on here? And why is it that online, when I click on Award Detail, under Cal Grant A it says that the school of attendance is Berkeley? Also, I got a paper right behind the first paper that tells you how much Cal Grant money you got; it says "New Cal Grant Recipient Change Form for the 2007-2008 Academic Year" and it lists only Berkeley on there. Why is this?</p>
<p>I believe Berkeley was the first school I put in on my FAFSA (followed by UCSD and UCLA), but don't they know that I don't know if I got in or not yet?
Isn't this material "time sensitive" (I don't find out whether I got in or not until 3 more weeks...could I miss any pertinent deadline for all of this in the mean time?)?</p>
<p>I have another question: Is this all the money I get from doing the FAFSA? Is there still potential for more money, or is it pretty much just the Cal Grant that you get from doing the FAFSA?</p>
<p>Azure:</p>
<p>CalGrant is just one part of the aid package you'll be offered. Depending on your EFC, you'll likely also receive University Grants, student loans, and work study. In our case, UCLA covered 100% or the remaining need (difference between cost of attendance and EFC) after the CalGrant was taken into consideration.</p>
<p>I think CalGrant goes with the college you listed first on FAFSA. If you decide to go elsewhere, you need to call CalGrant or fill out the change form that came in your packet.</p>
<p>My EFC was ~1060. Do you think that's enough to get University Grants, student loans, and work study programs? My parents are really freaking out over the costs of attending a UC, and they really wanted me to attend a CSU/junior college because they're much cheaper.</p>
<p>Azure:</p>
<p>Based on our experience applying at several UC's- I think your parent's needn't worry much. There was some difference in the packages offered by the UC's-- some were a bit more generous with their University Grants than others. But on average, if you have good grades (which opens the door to some of the University Scholarships that they include in the packages), I'd expect something like this:</p>
<p>Total Cost of Attendance: $24,000 (tuition, fees, room, board, transportation, books, misc, insurance)
EFC: $1K
Need: $23K</p>
<p>UCLA has been meeting 100% of our need-- they do for many students with signifcant need. You'll likely end up with a package (roughly) something like this:</p>
<p>CalGrant: $6141
Pell Grant: $500
University Grants/Scholarships: $8,000
Stafford subsidized student loan: $2500
Perkins loan: $2500
Work Study: $2500</p>
<p>which totals pretty close to the 23K of need. The work study is doable, and the 5K in student loans per year is manageable, IMO-- particularly the subsidized loans that don't accrue interest until you're out of college. You may also find that the estimates of miscellaneous and transportation costs are high, and there is some savings to be had there.</p>