Financial stuff help

<p>Hey guys. I'm new to this site. My friend said that this site was pretty helpful, so I decided to give it a try. Anyway, here's my situation:</p>

<p>I was offered a Regents Scholarship invitation for UCLA a while back. My mom had lost the letter and didn't tell me until yesterday. So when I found out, naturally, I started to sweat. I don't blame her though, because I wasn't home for a while so she just wanted to keep it safe for me. Anyway, now that I'm about 3 weeks late for the Regents Scholarship competition, I'm in a bit of a dilemma.</p>

<p>Now, I have to somehow make up for that BIG mix-up that could have potentially saved me upwards of 22000 dollars. For that reason, I'm applying for MANY scholarships.</p>

<p>Okay, the important part now. I just received my CAL Grants letter in the mail today. Under CAL Grant A, it says see Code #1 and under Cal Grant B, it says $1551. I understand that this means I am eligible for both Cal Grant A and B. If so, does that mean I get to only pick one of two? I searched this online already, but I seem to keep getting the same vague information, even on the official site itself. </p>

<p>If I can only choose one grant, which grant should I choose?</p>

<p>What are the total amounts each grant offers?</p>

<p>To my understanding, since there is an amount listed under CAL Grant B, that means that the university suggests that I choose Grant B. Wouldn't Grant B give less money?</p>

<p>Thanks for reading my long list of questions, and thanks for any replies!</p>

<p>With regards</p>

<p>Cal Grant A for UCLA is $6141 for the year (it covers tuition fully), so if you're eligible for A, take it. What's Code #1 say?</p>

<p>Code 1 says that I am eligible for both A and B, but the column with the amount listed is the one that the university suggests I accept. That university would be UCLA. Why would they suggest me accept the one with less money? That is what confuses me.</p>

<p>Another question for you experts: </p>

<p>The Regents Scholarship letter stated that for financial need, more aid would be available. Now I stated earlier that I didn't even know about the letter until too late, so even competing for the scholarship was out of the question. Would UCLA give me a better financial aid package, even if I'm not a Regent?</p>

<p>I think Regents is full tuition for four years, so about $6K per year (in-state). Cost of attendance at UCLA including room/board/books/misc is about 24K, so you'd still have some 18K to cover. IF you have financial need (you do, since you're CalGrant eligible), UCLA will put together a finaid package to cover the difference between the cost of college and your family EFC (you should know it by now). That package will include university grants, loans, and work study.</p>

<p>I'd call the Regents Scholarship folks asap and see if you're still eligible:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.fao.ucla.edu/uclascholarships/regents.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.fao.ucla.edu/uclascholarships/regents.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>But even if you're not, you can expect a significant aid package from UCLA.</p>

<p>I think the UCLA finaid people want you to take B the first year and they make up the difference with a campus grant. Then the B is higher in subsequent years and the uni grant goes away. I have seen this before with UCLA & Cal, it works better for them in the long run.</p>

<p>Thanks for the replies, guys. Yeah, I called them right when I found out, but was unable to talk them into giving me a chance to compete. I guess I can't blame them for that. </p>

<p>So now, the question is:</p>

<p>Should I take the Grant A and cash in $6141 now, or should I accept the $1551 and expect the University Grant to make up for the difference?</p>

<p>I think it would be safer to apply for the CAL Grant A, since it's guaranteed; I have no guarantee that UCLA would be able to make up the difference between Grant A and Grant B with its University Grant.</p>

<p>However, now that UCLA has denied my pleas, they'd have to give me a pretty good package to sway me in that direction (and away from Berkeley). lol</p>

<p>Thanks for all your help, guys!</p>

<p>Take the 6141 birds in the hand, over the birds in the bush. So to speak.</p>

<p>Good way to put it. Thanks!</p>

<p>Wait and see the total package from UCLA :)</p>