EFC- 0
Tuition- 26,219
Total Aid- 11,420
(2,000 of which is a unsubsidized loan)
This is for Cal Poly Pomona, my dream school. I was offered work study and there is no way I could possibly meet the $11,000. What can I do? Was there a mistake in processing my financial aid packet?
Is the $0 EFC from FAFSA? Does Cal Poly Pomona commit to meeting 100% of the student’s demonstrated financial need?
the Cal States/Polys only really have Cal Grants and Pell Grants to offer. So, 0 EFC kids get really gapped.
You should have rec’d about a $7k Cal Grant, a $5700 Pell Grant, and about $5500 student loans…and maybe $2k of work study.
What EXACTLY did you receive?
How much can you work/save over the SUMMER???
Unless you’re OOS, tuition isn’t that much. The COA might be that much, but not the tuition.
If you are OOS, then you would not get the Cal Grant.
What is the cost breakdown of the school?
Tuition?
Room?
Board?
Books?
Fees?
Travel?
Personal expenses?
Are you instate?
Cal states do not meet 100% need and do not offer full rides. Did you run the Net Price calculator on the Cal States before applying? Just because your EFC is $0 does not mean you will get to any college for free.
In-state Tuition is $7027 but if out of state than an additional $396/unit on top of the in-state tuition fee so 15 units could cost an additional $6,000.
The costs posted look like Tuition/Housing/Board/Books/Transportation according to the following link:
https://www.cpp.edu/~financial-aid/costs/Estimated%20Total%20Cost%202015-2016.shtml
Are you close enough to commute? Some of the costs can be reduced such as books, transportation, personal expenses, smaller meal plan and a triple dorm.
For dependent California resident students with FAFSA EFC = $0, CSUs generally will give aid that produces a very low net price for commuter students living with parents, but the aid is not increased for students who live on their own on or off campus. The net price calculator at http://www.csumentor.edu/finaid/pais/ will show this (a test run with CPP gave net price of $3,353 for a commuter and $12,475 for living in the dorm, so there may be some question if your net price is around $15k).
Do you have the option to commute to a local CSU (or is CPP local enough to commute to) or attend a UC (which does adjust aid for commuter versus non-commuter)?