Just received my financial aid offer for UC Santa Cruz. What does that cover? Is it the total cost of attendance? Thanks!
Are we supposed to be mind readers through the interwebs?
^^^^^ Laughing out loud, MiddKid !!
I just bought a new car. Do you like it?
OP, type out what you received and people here can help decode it.
LOL. Y’all are so funny!
Lavender…try again. What did you get from UCSC?
I am sorry I should have made things more clear earlier, since it was not understood by many. I am asking if financial aid generally covers full cost of attendance. Full cost of attendance based on the UC Santa Cruz website covers tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, transportation, personal expenses, and campus health insurance. I did not think my personal financial aid was necessary to provide since what the financial aid covers is the same for every student. If it necessary please let me know. Thanks.
You need to provide the details since all packages are different.
LOL. Lavender, no honey. You’re wrong on how financial aid works. Everybody has different packages.
Oh well thank you for your help. Would anyone be able to determine what my financial aid covers if I give the amount of grants and loans I received, if all it says is what kind it grant or aid it is?
Just post it already!
I’ll take a stab at a generic answer:
The school has a “Cost of Attendance” (COA) (how much it costs for tuition, room board, supplies etc. that you mentioned).
You are given financial aid – this could be loans, grants, scholarship etc. (Loans you have to pay back, grants and scholarships are free money!)
Subtract what they are giving you in financial aid from the COA and you have what you need to come up with from other sources (parents, part time work, savings etc.).
That is how you read your financial aid. So unless your COA is equal to your aid, then NO it doesn’t cover the COA.
So if COA is $40K and they are giving you $15K in loans, grants and scholarships, you still have to come up with $25K. (Not to mention eventually you have to come up with the loan money to pay back).
Oh thanks ClaremontMom, I appreciate your help! I was basically wondering if financial aid goes towards certain expenses such as only room and board and only tuition. Sorry I think I may have made it confusing, like when I asked if financial aid covers full cost of attendance, I meant to write if it goes towards it. I think I made a simple question more complicated. Have a nice day everyone.
@lavender123 The aid will be applied to your Direct Costs first.Tuition and fees, and room and board if you are on campus. If you have comprehensive health insurance with your family you can apply for a waiver and get that charge removed. Otherwise that is a direct cost too. If there is any aid left after direct costs, you will be given a ‘refund’ to use for the other listed expenses. If you are still short, then you will have to provide the funds up front for the rest of the direct costs. For indirect you pay as the expenses come up. Books at the beginning of class.
Tuition and Fees $13,398
Room and Board $14,730
Books and Supplies $1,440
Transportation $573
Personal Expenses $1,800
Campus Health Insurance*** $2,415
Total California Resident Budget $34,356
interesting - we just received our financial aid package from UCSC and it had $4,667 in grants and the rest loans while our package from UCSB showed a ‘you qualify for Blue & Gold’ logo at the top and had $12,804 in grants. I would have expected that if we qualify for Blue & Gold, then we qualify period, not that it would be different at a different UC.
Jbourne, the email I received said that if your are eligible for the Blue and Gold Scholarship as well as Middle Class Scholarship the monies will be included into financial aid offers in October.
@lavender123 - thanks for the info! My DD just showed me the ‘package’, not the email.
According to a financial aid rep at USCB, a student can only either get the blue and gold scholarship or the middle class scholarship, but not both. @Lavender123
Unless you mean “OR” instead of “as well”
Glad to help @Jbourne, and yes @Luckyname, my bad. I was saying that both will be included in the financial aid offers in October, I should have mentioned separately though. Thank you.