Elimination of Cal Grants????

College Search & Selection
1

<p>What up with this? I just received an email which I will post below:</p>

<hr>

<p>Dear Grant Recipient,</p>

<p>Over 252,000 California students like you are currently receiving funds from Cal Grants. At UCLA, approximately 7,000
students receive Cal Grant Funding annually totally $46 million dollars. Last week, Governor Schwarzenegger
submitted a new proposed budget that would make a number of spending cuts, including a phased elimination of the
Cal Grant program. Students who are currently receiving Cal Grants would continue to have their awards renewed as
long as they are eligible. However, all new awards for the 2009-10 year, approximately 116,200 new awards, would be
cancelled. Over the next few years, all Cal Grants would be eliminated.</p>

<p>The Joint Legislative Budget Committee will be holding hearings on cuts to education this week and deliberating this
serious matter, and it is important they hear your voice on this very critical issue which affects college access and
your continued enrollment. YOUR HELP IS NEEDED IMMEDIATELY! Please contact the members of the Joint
Legislative Budget Committee by email or by fax using the contact information provided below. Additionally, we
strongly encourage you to send this similar communication to your specific Senate and Assembly state
representatives in your home district. Let them know how these cuts will affect you, your younger siblings, and other
California students like you who need Cal Grant assistance to help finance a college education.</p>

<p>To receive updates on this important issue and additional information regarding opportunities for you to become
involved in Bruin Advocacy, go to UCLA Government and Community Relations. YOUR VOICE IS IMPORTANT. Below you will find four
attachments regarding specific ways you can help. Thank you for your important contribution in opposing these
proposed cuts.</p>

<p>Sincerely,</p>

<p>Ronald W. Johnson
Director of Financial Aid
UCLA</p>

<hr>

<p>If the Cal Grants indeed become eliminated, then that really really sucks for many of us. I think they should have told us about this before we made our decision to come to UCLA. I'm out of state and I seriously need the money they gave me in order to attend.</p>

<p>This will probably affect a lot of you prospective students who are thinking about attending UCLA in the coming years, but at least you will know ahead of time so that you can choose a different university. </p>

<p>Any thoughts on this?</p>

2

<p>I agree this puts students in a terrible position, but I have a question about your post:

Out of state students are not eligible for the Cal Grant, so how were you awarded one?</p>

3

<p>I’m not sure though, but I did receive this email after all. It’s addressed to Cal Grant recipients. I did, however, received a first-year scholarship from UCLA worth about 11,000 dollars.</p>

4

<p>Congratulations on the scholarship! It isn’t a Cal Grant, so that is good news for you - but there certainly may be further cuts as the California budget situation is very bad. The students most affected by the elimination of Cal Grants will be in-state students at the UCs and CSUs. California students attending California private colleges are also eligible for Cal Grants, and how much they are affected will depend on whether the particular private can replace the Cal Grant with university grants.</p>

5

<p>Thank you for the response. Do you know why I received the email then. Is it probably a generic email sent out to all Financial Aid applicants?</p>

6

<p>You are probably right. I know my daughter received one from her university as well. I am sure the universities are very concerned about the students promised financial aid packages including Cal Grant and want to mobilize California college students in defense of Cal Grant.</p>

7

<p>Oh okay. Thanks a lot for the help. By the way I received what they call the Scholarship Recognition Award if that changes anything. The description is as follows: “The Scholarship Recognition Award is a one-year, non-renewable scholarship awarded to entering freshmen and transfer students who completed their FAFSA before the March 2 priority filing deadline. These are made to recognized stellar academic achievement, as evidence by admission to UCLA, to students who demonstrate significantly high financial need. Since these scholarship are offered for one year only, students who apply on time and continue to demonstrate financial need will be funded through University Grants for their future years of study.”</p>

8

<p>I hope this doesn’t affect OOS students because if it does I will lose $9,000 in scholarship.</p>

9

<p>Cal Grants are only for instate students.</p>

<p>collegeundergrad: I hope you recognize that your costs will increase $11k for years 2-4, when your one-time Frosh scholarship goes away. If finaid is critical, the UCs are not a good place for OOS students.</p>

10

<p>I understand that I will not receive this scholarship during my future years at UCLA but I’m hoping this statement is true: “Since these scholarship are offered for one year only, students who apply on time and continue to demonstrate financial need will be funded through University Grants for their future years of study”. </p>

<p>And still I understand that there’s a good chance that tuition will continue to increase…</p>

11

<p>Well yes the statement is true, BUT by policy, UC does not waive the OOS tuition even for a family with zero efc; in other words, financial need is calculated after subtracting the OOS tuition (which they assume you will pay separately). Thus, the one-time $11k (scholarship/grant) will go away and most likely will not be replaced by a grant. </p>

<p>The reason for this of course, is so that California tax payers are not subsidizing kids from OOS when the parents of those kids pay taxes somewhere else. Call Finaid and ask them.</p>