Guys I need help on my Financial Aid award

Estimated Cost of Attendance for On-Campus Student

Tuition & Fees $14,382.00
Books & Supplies $1,253.00
Room & Board and Personal Expenses $17,417.00
Health Insurance $2,298.00
Transportation $381.00
Other $150.00
Total Estimated Cost of Attendance for On-Campus Student
$35,881.00
The 2017-2018 UC Davis Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) is not yet final. The Estimated Cost of Attendance will be adjusted after the September 15, 2017 SHIP waiver deadline to take into account the cost of the plan for those who purchase SHIP, and financial aid packages will be adjusted based on updated eligibility.

Please note: Your financial aid package may be subject to change if your 2017-2018 SHIP waiver status is revised.

Contributions
Student Self-Help $2,500.00
Expected Family Contribution (EFC) $9,060.00

Total Contributions $11,560.00
Financial Need $24,321.00

Estimated Financial Aid
Cal Grant A-confirming elig. $12,630.00
Fed Direct Parent PLUS Loan $7,060.00
Fed Direct Subsidized Loan $3,500.00
Fed Direct Unsubsidized Loan $2,000.00
University Grant $3,893.00
University Student Loan $2,000.00
Total Estimated Financial Aid $31,083.00
Remaining Cost $0.00

Why do I have so much loans, and can you just explain what these loans are…? My family income is lower than 80,000 so I did get this blue and gold opportunity, so how do I do that…?

and they said “We have identified you as a student who may be eligible for Work-Study.
The Work-Study Eligibility Certificate will be available starting in June.”
What does it mean by that? I never worked or had part time job…

Oh and plus, I see some people having Federal Pell Grant?? I think that’s the grant you get from this website, https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/
I did apply for that, and why do I not see that…?

You did not get a Pell grant because your EFC is above the maximum to be eligible (yours is $9k and the maximum to receive anything is about $5500 - and at that amount it would be very little)

You’re getting about $12.6k in Cal Grants and another $4k in university grants. Everything else is loans.
Work study is a chance to earn $2500 (looks like that would be your max). There are some tax benefits to working a work study job, but it is job just like any other and you only get that amount if you find a job and work the hours.

The universities expect students to help contribute towards the cost of their university education. Usually, you have some savings or have part-time jobs in the summers.

Work study is a federal program where you can work a couple of hours per week, at the university, and earn some cash for minor expenses. They limit the amount of hours you can work, so that you don’t overwork and get bad grades or miss classes. These hours are not guaranteed so you have to find the on-campus job yourself. It’s not a big money maker.

Contact the financial aid office.

It does say that they are confirming your eligibility for the Cal Grant.

Did all of your FAFSA and Cal grant information get sent in?
You are a California resident, right?

Another thing: your health insurance fees of $2298 can be waived. That means your parents won’t pay that fee if you can prove that you have health insurance to cover your health issues at Davis. Have your parents copy and print every page of their health insurance, front and back, that covers you. Make sure your name is on the first page. (My daughter’s copies were about 25 pages.) Yes, that is a lot of copies, but it will save your parents $2300. Send it to Health Services. You can fill out the online application, but it’s a pain. It is easier to just copy your coverage and send it to health services with your UC Davis student number. https://shcs.ucdavis.edu/insurance/uc-ship-waiver-application-paper-version

Wait before signing your offer. You need to find out if you will be getting the blue and gold.

But i remember putting EFC to be about $2000 when I filled out the form @twoinanddone

FAFSA sends the forms directly to the schools. You don’t get to pick and choose your FAFSA EFC amount. That FAFSA report is sent automatically by FAFSA to your schools.

No one gets a full ride anymore. Parents have to pay the majority of fees.

Next year, your room and board will be a LOT cheaper because you will be living off campus and the rates are a lot less expensive that living on campus.

Contact Financial Aid at Davis and find out if you are eligible for the Blue and Gold. You are panicking too early.

@“aunt bea” How do I find out if I can get blues and gold?

The actual EFC is calculated by the fine folks at FAFSA, and they think your family can afford $9k. You don’t calculate it.

You will need your Davis ID number and call the Financial aid office.

http://financialaid.ucdavis.edu/contact.html
They may have you resubmit some paperwork and make copies of everything.

The Davis staff is very helpful. BUT . . . . play nice, be polite and do not panic:

“Hi, my name is Kim ____. I have a question about my financial aid package. I don’t see the Blue and Gold Scholarship listed in my award offer; can you tell me when those awards are being distributed?”

If you want to compare this aid package with others, it will be good to break the numbers out into certain buckets.



   - Direct billed expenses (tuition, fees and room and board) - you can't control these
   - Indirect expenses (books, transportation, etc) - you CAN control these.


Note that you may be able to control your room and board by selecting a cheaper dorm or food plan - depends on the school so research to see if you can do this at Cal Davis.

Then break out your aid between:



   - Scholarships/Grants - this is money you don't have to pay back
   - Self-help and loans - this includes any loans and work-study you receive. this is money 
                           you will have to pay back or come up with at the beginning of the 
                           semester (work-study isn't given as a lump-sum - you get a job and
                           are paid throughout the year)


The more loans the school bundles into the package, the weaker the package. All that being said, it does look like they are ‘meeting your need’ (assuming the Cal Grant comes through) because the loans are included in that. But your ‘net price’ is the amount you’ll actually pay (add all the loans back in) - yours is $14,560. This is the best number to use when considering a single price point among multiple schools.

Also, note that if you exclude the insurance, they might adjust your aid package, so pay attention to that.

here’s a link to a good spreadsheet I’ve used in the past to help with FA comparisons: http://services.vsac.org/wps/wcm/connect/55bd61804a1f9ec69055f871caf9b70b/ComparingAwards.xls?MOD=AJPERES

ookok thank you guys!

The costs the school will bill for are tuition and fees, room and board. And SHIP if not waived.

Looks like that is $14,382 for tuition/fees and last year the room and board estimate was about $14,000 (will depend on room and meal plan choice).

So let’s say you need about $29,000

Calgrant and UG total $16,523
You can take $5,500 in direct loans

So that’s $22,023

So your parents need to pay about $7,000 They were offered a Parent Plus loan, but they don’t have to take it.

Then you can work in summers and a work study job at school to earn some money for books and personal ecpenses.