I’m from LA and I am starting to apply to universities. My backup plan is to attend SBCC and transfer to UCSB, however I would not be able to afford SB housing but do plan on getting roommates and a part time job while I attend SBCC. However would FAFSA help me pay for housing if I planned to live on an apartment close to SBCC?
FAFSA doesn’t give you money…It’s an application for fed aid.
I doubt that you’d get enough aid for a couple of reasons…fed aid isn’t much…and CCs usually have low COAs.
Typically, you’re supposed to commute from home and go to a CC. Which CC is near you?
are you low income?
Just like at a 4-yr college, the community college will have a COA for students who live off-campus. However, most community colleges have very little aid. So you’ll definitely qualify for some loans and you might qualify for Pell, state aid and/or work-study depending on your family’s income, you might even get scholarship money if the cc offers it but there probably isn’t enough gift money at a cc to pay your rent.
LAVC is the closest to me and yes I am low income. EFC = 0
Are you Cal Grant eligible? Your first year could look something like this:
Pell 5,770
Loan 5,500
Cal Grant B 1,656
I think you could live on this possibly. I think you can get a BOG waiver for CC tuition. But this will mean you are taking loans to go to a CC. If you take loans for 4 years you won’t have much left if you need to go an extra semester or year to graduate. You don’t want to use up all the capacity you have for loans on CC because you could run out of money to finish school if you don’t take the correct amount of classes and don’t have to drop or withdraw any unexpectedly–it happens all the time. Or if they all transfer correctly and don’t leave any gaps that you need to fill after transfer. Or if you have to attend the CC for more than 2 years because you can’t get in the classes you need, or the ones that articulate to your major.
I think it may be better to get some basic CC transfer classes done commuting from home and reserve the cal grant for when you transfer.
Cal Grant B
provides a living allowance of up to $1,656, in addition to tuition and fee assistance after the first year, at a two- or four-year college pays most first-year students a living allowance only, which may be used to pay living expenses, books, supplies and transportation, as well as tuition and fees when renewed or awarded beyond your first year, you’ll receive the living allowance as well as a tuition and fee award (up to $12,240 at a UC campus, up to $5,472 at a CSU campus and up to $9,084 at independent colleges for 2014-2015) requires at least a 2.0 GPA
@BrownParent If this student plans on transferring to a 4 year college later, then he should not accept Cal Grant B at a CC otherwise he’ll “use up” one of his much BIGGER cal grants for when he transfers…and then he’ll be stuck.
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If you receive a Cal Grant B, you can use your $1,656 living allowance to help pay for books and other community college costs. (If you do, however, keep in mind that you’ll be using up Cal Grant eligibility that you may instead want to save if you’re planning to transfer to a four-year college.)
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