<p>UC Berkeley is an amazing school and yes, I'm so glad to be going to UCB in Fall 2013. But... my parents are low-middle class and I'm an OOS student. Although UCB gave me some grant, it wasn't nearly as much as another private university offered me. I know some of you may scold me and say, then why didn't you just go to the other school? (My answer: I thought I could see my future and have more opportunities at Cal.) </p>
<p>UCB says on their site that in order to get a reassessment, we need to submit a parents/ students appeal form. But those forms are only applicable to circumstances regarding death, financial differences from the time we applied-- which is not my case. UCB just did not give me much grant.</p>
<p>Any advice? i know I can apply to some outside scholarship, but is there any way to make a lot of $-- perhaps be given more opportunities to get more $ from UCB, once I'm a first year? Are there different research grants/projects that pays undergraduates, or any new scholarships we can apply for through UCB? </p>
<p>Please, any help and advice is really appreciated. i really need some advice... I've been feeling quite hopeless for the past few days.</p>
<p>There are some (probably quite hard to get), but they are pretty small compared to the additional non-resident tuition.</p>
<p>[UC</a> Berkeley Financial Aid and Scholarships Office: Undergraduates » Types of Aid » Prizes and Honors](<a href=“http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/undergraduates/types_prizes.htm]UC”>http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/undergraduates/types_prizes.htm)</p>
<p>However, $92,000 in additional debt does not sound like a good idea.</p>
<p>Berkeley isn’t worth the OOS debt if you cannot afford it. That’s the truth.</p>
<p>berkeleypride–I don’t think you should feel badly about your decision. Berkeley’s a great school and I hope you do well and love it there. It’s the best public school in the nation, and you’ll get a great education (and enjoy fantastic weather to boot!). Please be happy and look forward to going to college. If you’d accepted the other college, you’d probably be having regrets about giving up Cal. I think the focus should be on looking for a job or different ways to reduce expenses. During your freshman year, you can get a campus job (some of my friends used to work in food service or the tutoring center … but I’m sure there are many other kinds of jobs available). In your second year, you can apply to be an RA. Also, some research jobs are paid. There are jobs at many of the stores close to campus. I’m not sure how best to reduce the cost of textbooks since I went to Cal many years ago, but some current students could probably offer some suggestions on that plus other ways to trim costs. Have fun, and GO BEARS!</p>
<p>Living in the [BSC</a> co-ops<a href=“$6,636%20per%20year%20housing%20and%20food”>/url</a> will save about $3,448 per year compared to the [url=<a href=“http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/home/cost.htm]off-campus”>http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/home/cost.htm]off-campus</a> budget](<a href=“http://www.bsc.coop/housing/info-and-rates/academic-year-housing]BSC”>http://www.bsc.coop/housing/info-and-rates/academic-year-housing) used for financial aid purposes ($10,084 per year housing and food).</p>
<p>I can let you live in my apartment, no charge, if you’re a girl. ;)</p>