<p>I am an incoming Freshman to UCSD at Warren College.
My major : Chemical Engineering</p>
<p>In my financial aid offer, i noticed i did not receive complete loans from the federal government. While my other friends received both Perkins and Stafford Loan, i only received the Stafford loans (Subsidized + unsubsidized).</p>
<p>So instead of the Perkins loan, i am offered Work-Study. I don't know if i should accept this offer or not after contemplating my 1st year at UCSD.</p>
<p>THe maximum amount of money i can earn through work-study is $2800. I am worried that this will have an enormous impact on my educational experience for my freshman year.</p>
<p>I have calculated that assuming i am paid $9 per hour, i will have to work about 310 hours!! throughout my freshman year to cover my financial aid gap not covers by loans. This equates to working about 2 hours each day, everyday for the entire school year.</p>
<p>As an entering freshman, i will need to transition into the college academic experience, meet new friends, explore the opportunities on the Campus, and much more..
I just don't know if i can do all of this as an engineering major and take on Work-Study of roughly 310 hours during my freshman year?</p>
<p>(I am considering just to request more loans and pay off those loans with internship money that i will earn over the following summer.)</p>
<p>Can anyone give me any advice or about their work-study experience at UCSD??????????</p>
<p>What you can do is decline the work study (because decline means that you either 1. don’t want it at all or 2. undecided at the time) and then when you actually find a job (preferably on campus - you can find many work study required jobs on Port Triton), then you can change the work study to accept. You do not need to work all the 2800 dollars of the work study. You can always ask the fin aid office to change your entire or part of it into a loan instead. </p>
<p>So here’s what I did. I accepted my work study for 2800 dollars. I decided to get a job only in Spring Quarter (had fun Fall and Winter Quarter, still had fun Spring Q too) and worked like 6-10 hours a week and I only made like 500 dollars out of my 2800. If you don’t really need all of the 2800 dollars to pay for your tuition, then you should just have fun and focus on your classes before taking on a job.</p>
<p>You can also decline the work study and apply to have that amount of money fed through you via the Perkins loan. (It only works if funds are available though).</p>
<p>so should i decline it right now and in a written format, ask the financial aid office to offer me the Perkins loans? <– i feel like this is going to delay my financial aid status…</p>
<p>or </p>
<p>should i just decline it and decide later in the year or in the spring quarter whether i want a loan or not?</p>
<p>hmm, UCSD financial aid webpage shows that if i am undecided about work study, i should still accept it because “declined awards may not be reinstated at a later date if funds are no longer available.” </p>
<p>It seems like accepting it is my only option now…</p>
<p>Also, if i do accept the work study award, do i necessarily need to do it in my freshman year? Are there any penalties or punishments or legal actions if i whatsoever desire not to do it after accepting it?</p>
<p>Well, I took the work study my first year and the only “punishment” I got is that my work study for my 2nd year has been reduced by $1,000. I’m not sure if that’s the result of not working, though.</p>
<p>can someone explain to me where the UC Blue and Gold grant comes in? i heard that Berkeley kids find out well into the fall if they get the grant or not, is it the same for UCSD?</p>
<p>@ xsansterr
. I know that the popular misconception is that the UC Blue and Gold Plan will provide for addition aid to cover costs but, it does not. The plan only guarantees that all the UC system wide fees, about 11k, will be covered. This may mean federal, state or school grants.</p>
<p>If we don’t accept the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, do we need to get a loan from somewhere else? Is a private loan better or worse than the Unsubsidized Stafford Loan?</p>
<p>@UCSD951 You don’t HAVE to get a loan from somewhere else unless you need the money. Keep in mind that the estimated costs are only estimated. I for one did not use as much money as was estimated in my first year. As far as if a federal unsub loan is better or not, it depends on the interest rate.</p>
<p>Federal loans are always better than private loans. Use up all your federal loans first and only take out private loans if you absolutely have to.</p>
<p>so is it better to accept all the federal loans and the work study (instead of private loans) from what UCSD offers? that is if we, students, need those money.</p>
<p>Yes, take the federal loans. I’ve got three kids all in college. The federal loans are the best ones out there at the lowest rates. In this economy, private loans are very hard to get. You would definitely need a cosigner. The federal loans area good deal and easy to get for students. I am assuming you are talking about Stafford Loans, Perkins Loans and Plus Loans.</p>
<p>If I do accept the Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, is it better to pay the interest monthly while in school or just wait until after i graduate and pay the whole thing off then? Also, what exactly is a PLUS loan?</p>
<p>It all depends on what you can afford. My kids are waiting until after they graduate to pay it because they can’t afford to do it while in school. If you can afford to pay the interest, you should do it. A PLUS loan is for your parents or graduate students. It’s a federal loan that has a low fixed interest rate. The credit check is nominal and you can defer payment until 6 months after graduating. This is pretty funny. My son is going to Berkeley and I just stopped by, but I’m happy to help. :-)</p>