<p>On the page it says:
Cal Grant A: Awarded - On Hold
Cal Grant B: Qualified - Not Awarded</p>
<p>Is cal grant B still better than A? Should I switch to Cal Grant B asap?</p>
<p>That depends on your income. The allowable income for a Cal Grant B recipient is significantly lower that for a Cal Grant A recipient - and if you go over that limit, you lose the grant. So if your income is well below the limit for a Cal Grant B, and it’s unlikely to increase, then Cal Grant B might be better for you. But if you’re close to the limit for Cal Grant B, then it’s probably not worth taking the chance. You might qualify this year, and then be disqualified in future years because of an increase in your family income.</p>
<p>In theory, B is better than A if the statewide fees are met as an additional grant on top of other grants received. They’re supposed to award you the one with the most financial benefit, but it has often appeared to me several schools do whatever has the least financial impact on them because there is a technicality that can make A be worth more at some schools than B (although it shouldn’t).</p>
<p>For example, at UCs there is the B&G promise which allows for any grant or scholarship to be used to meet statewide fees (unless specifically earmarked for something other than statewide fees such as B’s access portion). This means one could, in theory, receive less grant money.</p>
<p>However, B when it is handled properly (the statewide fees are covered by additional grant money instead of using existing grants), then it is the best option as it does have the additional access portion.</p>
<p>B is meant to help the lower income students so it would be silly for A to be worth more. I would inquire as to what your package would look like if you were to switch to B.</p>
<p>Dodgersmom: Not true. If one qualified for both A and B, is awarded the latter, but in later years no longer qualifies for B yet still meets the requirements for A then they can switch to A.</p>
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<p>Source: [California</a> Student Aid Commission - 2012 Eligibility Changes as a Result of the 2012 Budget Act](<a href=“http://www.csac.ca.gov/doc.asp?id=1452]California”>http://www.csac.ca.gov/doc.asp?id=1452)</p>
<p>Thanks, Kender! I’ll remember that for the future.</p>
<p>2 questions
- How would I go about switching to Cal Grant B? Do i contact the financial aid counselor of the college that I would like to attend?
- Does Cal Grant B cover systemwide fees during my first year? If not, how would I go about paying for those fees?</p>
<p>Additional Info: I will be, hopefully, attending a UC school.</p>
<p>You can call your FA office, but likely you’ve been awarded A because that’s what works best for the FA office. You’re an incoming frosh. B doesn’t cover tuition for frosh.</p>
<p>Likely, the FA office has “done the math” and that’s what their budget allows. if they gave you B, then they’d also have to give you a huge UC grant to cover your tuition per Blue and Gold. That may not be affordable for the UC.</p>
<p>Like you asked, if B doesn’t cover systemwide fees (tuition), how would you pay for those. That’s likely the problem that the FA office had to deal with. If they gave you B, then THEY would have to give you another huge grant to meet Blue and Gold promise. That’s probably why frosh mostly get Cal Grant A.</p>
<p>UChalpz1 - </p>
<p>(1) If you qualify for both, you absolutely can request to be switched from A to B - so long as you do it before any funds have been disbursed. I believe you would need to submit [this</a> form](<a href=“http://www.csac.ca.gov/pubs/forms/grnt_frm/G-10.pdf]this”>http://www.csac.ca.gov/pubs/forms/grnt_frm/G-10.pdf) to the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC), after getting it signed by a financial aid officer at the school you will be attending. So you’ll want to contact your financial aid office after you know which school you’ll be attending. In the meantime, if you have any questions, you can contact [url=<a href=“http://www.csac.ca.gov/doc.asp?ID=543]CSAC[/url”>http://www.csac.ca.gov/doc.asp?ID=543]CSAC[/url</a>] directly: (888) CA GRANT (888-224-7268).</p>
<p>(2) During your first year on Cal Grant B, your systemwide fees would be covered by a grant from the college you’ll be attending.</p>
<p>In response to m2ck’s comments above, your initial assignment of either Cal Grant A or Cal Grant B is done by CSAC, not the financial aid office of the school you’ll be attending. (No one even knows yet what school you’ll be attending!) And if you request the switch to Cal Grant B (and are qualified to receive Cal Grant B), you are entitled to have your first year’s fees covered by the state school you’ll be attending - the school does not have the discretion to deny that.</p>
<p>Yes, I forgot about the CSAC decision.</p>
<p>In the past, when this question has come up, it’s usually dealing with a student who has an FA pkg in hand from his fav UC and wonders about his Cal Grant A or B issue.</p>
<p>For a UC, it usually doesn’t make a big difference either way. For a low income (say 0 EFC) student, the total grants may be the same, but have different names attached…Cal Grant, UC grant, Pell Grant, SEOG grant, etc. It always seemed that the FA offices figured out what works out best for the student, but also works for what they have to offer. </p>
<p>For instance, with a 0 EFC, an instate student at Davis would get:</p>
<p>Estimated Total Cost of Attendance</p>
<p>Tuition and Fees: $15,257.00
Room and Board: $13,503.00
Books and Supplies: $1,602.00
Other Expenses: $1,806.00</p>
<p>Estimated Total Gift Aid:
Includes both merit and need-based grants and/or scholarships:*** $21,868.00</p>
<p>Estimated Net Price:</p>
<p>Estimated Cost of Attendance minus Gift Aid:*** $10,300.00</p>
<p>IF you notice, the $22k in grants aren’t broken down in detail. The free money aid can be a mixure, but the total amount may end up being about the same.</p>
<p>BTW…much the remaining $10,300 would somewhat get covered by a Stafford loan and maybe some work study and maybe a Perkins loan. Anything else uncovered could be covered by a student’s summer earnings.</p>
<p>My page also says that:
Cal Grant A: Awarded - On Hold
Cal Grant B: Qualified - Not Awarded</p>
<p>That means I can still fight to change to cal grant B, right? </p>
<p>Thanks</p>