<p>Generally, students with an EFC of zero pay are expected to pay around $9,000 a year if they choose to live in dorms. So, how much would I expect to pay if I was to choose "off campus housing" (co-op)? As in, how much would my grants be reduced? Anyone with an EFC of 0 have any experience with this?</p>
<p>Thanks for any replies.</p>
<p>Pretty much the same, I have EFC of 300 and am expected to pay around $9000 next year as well (including loans and workstudy); however, you should be able to save a bit more money from your monthly rents and other stuff if you want by finding a cheaper place to live, eat less, etc.</p>
<p>I wish I only had to pay $9k… :(</p>
<p>Well, there’s one thing that’s certain, and that is: with an EFC of 0, you will get all the money you need to cover your costs, but part of that includes loans and work-study.</p>
<p>There are only three categories: on campus, off campus, and with family.</p>
<p>Because the dorms are so expensive, even with the extra money you get for on campus, it’s still usually much cheaper to do off campus.</p>
<p>Alright, thanks for the replies. Does anyone have any direct experience with this? Assuming that my grants are decreased proportionally with a decrease in housing cost. I am expecting to pay around $5500 less if I live in a co-op. (reasoning with estimated costs: dorms-$14000, co-op $3000, difference- $11000) Is this correct?</p>
<p>I have a 0 EFC and will be living off campus next year. Here’s my offer letter if it helps:</p>
<p>GIFT AID
Cal Grant A Fee Award</p>
<p>10,302.00</p>
<p>Federal SEOG Grant</p>
<p>500.00</p>
<p>Federal Pell Grant</p>
<p>5,550.00</p>
<p>Berkeley Undergraduate Scholarship</p>
<p>228.00</p>
<p>Gift Aid Total</p>
<p>$ 16,580.00</p>
<p>WORK-STUDY
Work Study Eligibility</p>
<p>3,028.00
offered
SUBSIDIZED LOAN
Federal Subsidized Direct Loan</p>
<p>5,500.00</p>
<p>Note: This is missing an additional $1522 fee waiver for health insurance.</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply, Liquidus.</p>
<p>When I was looking through past topics though, I noticed that others kept mentioning a $3000-2000 decrease in their gift aid when switching housing preferences. However, based on my calculations, you lost around $4444 in gift aid. Was this because those topics are old and Berkeley has decreased the amount of gift aid they provide?</p>
<p>“I live off-campus though, where I save a total of $5000/yr off my costs while trading it for a $2500/yr decrease in financial aid.” (excelblue)</p>