<p>I didnt get a pell grant and i never get cal grant. My efc is around 10450. I am an independent student and my spouse n my combined income is less than 80,000 </p>
<p>However ive found this
UC's Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan will ensure that you will not have to pay UC’s systemwide tuition and fees out of your own pocket if you are a California resident whose total family income is less than $80,000 a year and you qualify for financial aid — and that's just for starters.</p>
<p>Since i dont qualify for pell grant/cal grant will i also not get blue and gold? </p>
<p>I’m not sure. It’s either hit or miss. However, since it seems you don’t qualify for financial aid (considering you don’t get any grants in your past experiences) I think your chances are slim. </p>
<p>@Sonic23 - Cal Grants have not yet been awarded for the 2014-2015 school year, so you may still qualify you will know after March 2nd if you did qualify.</p>
<p>Don’t worry yet lol</p>
<p>And of not you don’t get the Cal Grant yes the UC’s are likely to award you the Blue and Gold Oppurtunity Grant to take the place of the Cal Grant covering tuition.</p>
<p>I’ve heard of this program, but doubt it’s legitimacy. There are way too many students with single parents who make less than 80k a year. Are they all getting a free ride? I doubt it. This program is most likely for immigrants or extremely impoverished kids, not average joes living in an apartment with a mom making 30k a year.</p>
<p>@Matt4200 ugh I’m just worried I will only get offered loans. I’ll just have to wait and see.</p>
<p>@BurntCorpse actually people do get it but it only covers tuition. And if for example someone qualifies for cal grant blue and gold ONLY covers the difference left over for tuition like 2k</p>
<p>So it doesn’t necessarily cover everyone’s tuitions. Many times it only covers a small portion. And usually it’s not awarded till September I’ve heard. Once they are able to find any other aid possible to cover tuition. </p>
<p>So although many people qualify for it many don’t actually get it because they get cal grants and scholarships instead that already cover tuition. So although it is real it’s not always received. From what I have read in here at least </p>
<p>@sonic23 - from another Cal Grant UC Thread, "Cal grant is not really a ‘merit based’, or else it would be called cal scholarship (as opposed to grant). there are technicalities that could affect it such as graduating for high school before 2000 or being over the age of 28 but even those have appeals.</p>
<p>So for most of the transfers the main criteria for getting a calgrants are</p>
<p>1) California residency requirements (now dream act included)
2) EFC
3) GPA requirements (vary from 2.4 to 3.0)</p>
<p>And for people that have a low EFC and GPA, not getting a calgrant is not a the end of he world. There is a University grant that will replace a calgrant. However these are are rare because few people are getting accepted to UC that have below a 2.4 GPA." - @Dagoberto</p>
<p>I don’t fully understand how the Blue and Gold Grant works, can anyone explain to me what it is exactly?</p>
<p>I read it covers “system wide fees” but everyone here is talking about tuition?
And is the Blue and Gold Grant just channeling the grant money that someone gets and putting it specifically towards tuition? I’m so confused :/</p>
<p>I think the “system wide fees” refers to tuition and maybe some other stuff. And essentially, Blue and Gold lumps your grant money to pay for that. I’m sure I’m missing some details, but I think that is the gist of it.</p>
<p>@Cayton
Thanks! I’m guessing that some of the other things that might be covered under the Blue & Gold is specific to campus. For some reason I was under the impression that the Blue & Gold grant was a separate pot of money that they gave to qualifying students to pay off all statewide fees and that the Cal and Pell Grant were separate money that would be received, oh well. </p>
<p>But from what I’ve read and understood above the Blue & Gold doesn’t cover everything?
Or do they pay the difference if you don’t have enough grant money?</p>
<p>Oh boy, I thought Blue & Gold was a separate pot of money too. How great would that be, right?</p>
<p>Blue & Gold doesn’t cover everything, but it goes a pretty long way. Unfortunately, it doesn’t cover all of your attendance costs, just systemwide fees I believe. Also, if you qualify for Blue & Gold but don’t receive cal grants for some reason, the university to which you’ll transfer will substitute their own grants for those missing cal grants, which is pretty cool.</p>
<p>@Cayton
That would’ve been quite wonderful, but sadly it isn’t so :(</p>
<p>Hm, I think I’m not fully understanding the benefit of the Blue & Gold Grant because it collects the money you get from grants and scholarships to cover your tuition and other fees but that is what grants\scholarships are for anyway so…? </p>
<p>I think I’m missing something because I would’ve used the money I received to cover those costs first and then other costs like housing, books, etc… so why do they do it for me? I’m sorry, I feel like I’m asking stupid questions with obvious answers but I just don’t see it. </p>
<p>Thanks for the link, it confused me a bit more but that is what the lovely financial aid office, transfer center, and counselors are there for. </p>
<p>You’re not the only one asking these questions. It confuses me too. Blue & Gold is supposed to make the costs of going to a UC substantially cheaper if your family makes under $80K a year. That much I am certain of, lol.</p>
<p>So I suppose that it does make life easier if your family isn’t wealthy, even if the way Blue & Gold works is hard to understand.</p>
<p>Well, if it makes the cost cheaper and doesn’t involve loans, who am I to complain? </p>
<p>Haha, I suppose, I will try to get clarification from someone at my CC sometime this week and will post their response if it does anything to aid my confusion. </p>
<p>Think of the blue and gold scholarship as a ‘promise’ that people whose income is below 80k won’t get charged tuition.</p>
<p>Now if you low income and are getting cal grants + pell grants (like me) financial aid will cover that plus much more so promised fulfilled</p>
<p>If you are low middle class then you will probably get enough aid to pay off tuition, again promised fulfilled.</p>
<p>So the people who benefit most by the blue and gold plan are the ones that are slightly under the 80k threshold. In that case financial aid will do whatever it. takes (university grants, alumni scholarships, ect) to deliver that promise. However if you do get outside scholarships then the blue and gold can only pay the difference and still deliver on the promise.</p>
<p>yes it’s blue and gold plan is real, you just have to read the fine print.</p>
<p>Well, i’m on the low side of the low income spectrum so hopefully the Blue & Gold Grant will be really helpful on that front because paying for university is shaping up to be an incredibly overwhelming process.</p>
<p>So, if I understood correctly, if I get outside scholarships (I’ve applied to quite a few already) the money I will receive will go to paying tuition and system wide fees? Or will I get less aid from the Blue & Gold? </p>
<p>Where is this “fine print” that you speak of because I read the info they had posted on the UC website and am still confused, I should probably go re-read it.</p>
<p>Sorry for all the questions I haven’t had an opportunity to ask someone about this at my CC yet.</p>
<p>So i found this on UCD site idk if anyone else might find it helpful but i did. lol</p>
<p>What is the Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan?
The Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan ensures that eligible California undergraduates with an annual family income of up to $80,000 will have their systemwide - or base - tuition and fees covered by gift aid. As part of your Financial Aid package, you will be awarded enough Federal, State, University and/or private grants/scholarships to cover your base tuition and fees for the school year. Base tuition and fees are $12,192 for 2013-14; however, it is important to note that no student will receive more grant and scholarship support than their calculated financial need.</p>
<p>You are a Blue and Gold student as long as you filed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or, if you’re an eligible non-citizen, a California Dream Act Application by March 2 for the upcoming academic year and meet the following criteria:
An Undergraduate in your first 4 years of UC attendance (first 2 for transfers)
A California resident or qualify for a nonresident tuition exemption under AB 540
Your family earns less than $80,000
Your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is less than your Estimated Cost of Attendance
Enrolled in at least 6 units (half-time)
Meeting UC Davis Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards</p>