I received my expected amounts for Cal Grant today. For UC I got 12,240 for tuition and fees. But it doesn’t have any money next to housing even though it says I am living on campus. Does this come later when we actually apply to housing or are they just not giving me any ?
I think they expect your family would pay for your living.
You may qualify for institutional grants from each IC once you receive your final FA package from the UCs you apply to
Cal Grants do NOT cover your costs for room & board - that’s up to you to pay. If you qualify for a Pell grant, you can apply that to your housing costs, I believe. And you can definitely take out federal loans (up to $5,500 for your first year) and apply those funds to your housing costs. And, as noted above, you may get additional grants from the the UC’s themselves. So, wait and see what you get from the colleges, and then figure it out from there.
What’s your FAFSA EFC? Which UC’s did you apply to?
My efc is 0 . And I applied to Davis , Santa Barbara , Santa Cruz , and LA
UC’s promise to meet your FAFSA EFC if it’s below a certain threshold. With an EFC of zero, you should be able to get your entire COA covered. You’ll have a student contribution of about $8-9k (a $5,500 government loan + work contribution), which every student gets and counts as part of meeting your need; however, everything else should be grants.
Try these:
https://app.financialaid.ucla.edu/FASEstimator/Dependent.aspx
http://www.finaid.ucsb.edu/dependent-net-price-calculator
http://financialaid.ucdavis.edu/aidEstimator/Dependent.aspx
http://www2.ucsc.edu/finaidcalc/dependent.php
When you get your aid packages, they should be pretty consistent with the calculator results.
Thank you very much
^ no problem!
When you filled out your FAFSA, did you indicate that you would accept work study and loans?
FAFSA doesn’t ask if you will “accept work study and loans.” It only asks if the student is “interested in work study.”
I wonder if that’s a change. I recall a student posting here awhile back saying that he indicated that he didn’t want loans because he thought he’d get more grants. Maybe that Q was removed because too many thought the same thing, and it created a lot more work for everyone.
^^^^ @mom2collegekids - You win the prize! That is exactly correct.
Sometimes I can hit the nail on the head. lol