<p>Quick question: I'm currently living in the dorms. I have until feb 15th to apply to live in the dorms for next years. The payments are way too high ($1,150 per month). I want to find a place to live next semester but I am worried about how drastically my financial aid package will decrease. </p>
<p>Anyone have an experience to share in this matter? Did your financial aid package decrease a lot? Approximately how much did it decrease? Did you find that you saved more money living off-campus?</p>
<p>Any help will be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>ps. Does anyone know if the co-ops are worth living in. I believe it $3,000 to live in a co-op per semester, which is $2,750 less than the on campus dorms.</p>
<p>im also having the same problem. im an out of state student so my total costs were about 54k this year. and my Financial Aid gave me 21k Gift Aid and about 30k loans (but we didnt accept the loans and paid it off at the beginning this year). if i apply for off campus housing, which are SO MUCH CHEAPER, will i still get the 21k gift aid next year? or will the amount go down?</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure it will go down. </p>
<p>I remember I had put my status as ON CAMPUS when I did my FAFSA (this was before I found out I needed to take care of my grandma). As a result in Fall I got like $5000 which went toward paying for food, BART, books, etc. </p>
<p>Somehow, my status got changed to OFF CAMPUS and this semester I did not get any money.</p>
<p>Financial aid really depends on “financial need” vs the amount the government think you can afford to pay</p>
<p>Typically, universities set an estimated student budget published on their websites. The numbers here is what they use in deciding how much overall you will get. For Berkeley, here it is: [UC</a> Berkeley Financial Aid and Scholarships Office Cost of Attendance](<a href=“http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/home/cost.htm]UC”>http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/home/cost.htm)</p>
<p>According to the website, the expected cost to live on campus is $31,044 per year. Whereas, the expected cost to live off campus is $26,600. So if you look at these numbers, yes, your financial aid package will decrease indeed. But its really cheap to live off-campus!!! Berkeley expects you to pay $7,784 for an off campus housing (this does not include the 2,520 budget for food). But if you look at it, you will only be paying $500-700/month for rent. It really depends where you live. Also, if you are thrifty when it comes to grocery shopping, you can save more! </p>
<p>Overall, your financial aid package will decrease, but you might be able to pocket more money depending how much you pay for housing and food.</p>