<p>If you are enrolled in the college, you already paid your upfront fixed costs, tuition, fees, room, board. So your W/S gets given to you in a paycheck each week or 2 weeks just like a regular job and it is intended to cover your other expenses. For some schools, jobs are plentiful and for others limited, so w/s students get preference. There is nothing to prevent you from working or earning more except your time, so scope out what pays the best or what has built in study time because you just man a slow desk…</p>
<p>@BrownParent Ahhh, I see. Makes sense now. Thank you very much. </p>
<p>So to recap, you pay one semester at a time, and not both at the beginning of the fall term?</p>
<p>Not that it really matters anymore, but hypothetically if I wanted to go to Berkeley, I wouldn’t even be able to pay for it? So Berkeley accepted me knowing it was impossible for me to pay for their school?</p>
<p>Right, one semester at a time. Once you break it down, you can see how very close you are. Take a couple extra thousand in loan for the first year to make it not so tight would be my advice. Then when you are there you can figure out where the cost savings are so you don’t have to borrow extra again. And you can look for decent paying summer work through the uni.</p>
<p>But you are also waiting for Swat’s offer. So figure it out like above. </p>
<p>Yes, you couldn’t borrow that amount for Berkeley. Your parents would have to if they don’t have a bad credit history and they would have to start making payments on it right away. Clearly they can’t do that. UC’s are public schools dedicated to covering costs for instate students. They simply present you with the cost and it is up to you to figure it out.Out of state students are welcome for that premium they bring in income. All OOS students pay at least the OOS surcharge of 23k + 9k self help. Minimum. So you got exactly that. For all they know, you may be awarded an outside scholarship to cover it.</p>
<p>@BrownParent Oh okay. I keep seeing that as a freshman the maximum amount in loans I can get is $5,500. Is that for only one type of loan?</p>
<p>Good point on Berkeley.</p>
<p>5,500 for freshman, then 6.500 sophomore, 7,500 last two years. Seems this is already in your package.</p>
<p>Likely 3,500 is subsidized (govt pays interest while you are in school), and 2,000 unsubsidized (interest accrues.)</p>
<p>In addition your parents can take Plus Loans for the rest of the cost of attendance (that family contribution you say they can’t come up with.) If they are not approved.then the student is allowed to take additional unsub loans up to 4k (might be 5 now). Your parents can have their loan deferred until you graduate. If it is in your name it will be deferred automatically. Be judicious with use of this.</p>
<p>@BrownParent Thanks for being so helpful ^:)^ </p>
<p>yw, and look again at what alamemom said in the post about insurance because that will add another grand to each semester cost if you have to buy that, that you will have to plan for as one of the upfront fixed costs. The non fixed costs you have a little wiggle room with. The COA just estimates what a typical student needs.</p>
<p>Berkeley accepted you because you were a qualified candidate AND because the UCs view out of state students as a cash resource. The UCs do not provide need based aid to cover the differential between the OOS and instate costs $23,000 minimally plus self help costs.</p>
<p>In addition, as a public university, their first obligation in terms of aid is to their instate students. </p>
<p>You have a great offer from USC. Financially it seems workable if you conserve carefully. </p>
<p>Maybe you can ask for gift cards for Southwest Airlines as HS graduation gifts. If you got a bunch of $25 ones from relatives, that would help with your travel costs. It’s better than a bunch of dorm things you might not like, and will have difficulty schlepping to CA anyway!</p>
<p>“Not that it really matters anymore, but hypothetically if I wanted to go to Berkeley, I wouldn’t even be able to pay for it? So Berkeley accepted me knowing it was impossible for me to pay for their school?”</p>
<p>The people that accepted you were from the admissions office. they have no idea of what your finances are. the FA office only worked on your FA pkg. They had nothing to do with your admissions.</p>
<p>Also…Cal is a FAFSA only school. Even if the admissions office had seen your FAFSA (which they didnt), they would have no idea if your family had the funds in a source that FAFSA doesnt capture…like home equity.</p>
<p>Thumper was right to question the logic of your question about whether paying for Cal would be worth it. Even if it were “worth it” (its not), your question seems odd since you cant afford USC and that’s a LOT cheaper for you. </p>
<p>Car A may be a better car for me (the best!!), but if I cant pay than why would I be asking if its worth it? how would I pay for it.</p>
<p>Cal is NOT much better than USC…that’s ridiculous. And do you realize that the grads from USC will get paid the same as the grads from Cal? A company isnt going to give a Cal graduate a higher salary than the USC grad (or the CSULB grad, or the Cal Poly grad or wherever).</p>
<p>@thumper1 Hahaha, that is exactly what I was just thinking! When moving into a dorm and then moving out, will I have to be shipping a bunch of things back and forth to CA? Should I buy things once I get to CA? </p>
<p>@mom2collegekids Yeah I know, it was just confusing because when I looked at my Berkeley finaid report they gave me loans to cover that large amount of money (now I know they were parent PLUS, which my parents probably can’t qualify for) and when I looked at USC, the option wasn’t there to cover that $5,000 with loans, only out of pocket. I’d have to request loans, etc. But yeah, I understand where you both are coming from.</p>
<p>Berry, my kid went to college in CA, 3000 miles from home. We never shipped one item, not one. In the summers she came home, she shared a storage u it with some friends, and only brought home the things she would need for the summer. </p>
<p>I’m sending you a PM about our moving things. </p>
<p>Berry, you are about to become a poor college student. You won’t be able to buy things, and you simply won’t have things. You need to pack 2 suitcases, fly Southwest as you get 2 free, and pack all the sheets and towels you need in one bag, your clothes in the other. That’s it. That’s how you ‘go away’ to college. Rich kids who go away to college need microwaves and fridges and 38 pairs of shoes, but poor kids don’t need that. Luckily, you are going to a similar climate, and your clothes will work.</p>
<p>I’m really not kidding. I went to college and I think I shipped one box, had a suitcase, and it was 10x what I really needed. Your dorm will have a desk, bed, and chair. You’ll need sheets, towels, clothing. A fan would be nice. That’s it.</p>
<p>And Berry, you will be the smart one. College dorm rooms are NOT very big. You will be bringing the right amount to fit in…and things you will use. </p>
<p>As my son said…college students should put everything they THINK they want to take to college in ONE room of their house. Then they should choose half of those things to really take. They will still find that they don’t need or use much of what they take.</p>