<p>Is this really happening? I read it on the UC website and they said that if we make an income of 100,000 or less, we get 40% of the tuition and if it is between 100,000-150,000 you can get from 10% to 40% of the tuition? Can someone shine some light on the specifics? Thanks a lot! </p>
<p>@alememom if you know anything about this? :)</p>
<p>Was that on Cal’s website? Cal has a generous aid program that gives aid based on a % of income for those earning under a certain amount.</p>
<p>Maybe UCLA is doing likewise.</p>
<p>Are you instate or OOS? </p>
<p>For those who are OOS, those rules don’t apply like that. You don’t get anything off of the OOS portion.</p>
<p>“My mom has not been working since October and my dad’s income is around 72,000. My mom does receive an unemployment benefit of 2,656 a month.”</p>
<p>Plus you have assets.</p>
<p>I don’t know the fine print, but usually you have to have “need”…and with FAFSA, you don’t have need if I recall from your other posts. USC determined that you were full pay. </p>
<p>I am instate california resident coming from a community college. This is for all the UC’s.</p>
<p>And I mean… assets are common amongst the middle class. Who doesn’t save up their money? This is a scholarship. </p>
<p><a href=“http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/paying-for-uc/glossary/middle-class-scholarship/index.html”>http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/paying-for-uc/glossary/middle-class-scholarship/index.html</a></p>
<p>Lots of people don’t have much in savings as your family. You have a highish EFC. What is your FAFSA EFC? What was their income for 2013? your mom worked until October and then received a generous unemployment (suggesting that her income was quite strong).</p>
<p>it’s unclear if this might be a problem for you:</p>
<p>New, transfer and returning undergraduate students to the University of California or California State University with a family income of up to $150,000 who also meet the following requirements may be eligible:</p>
<p>California resident or have AB 540 status
Not in default on a student loan
Maintain satisfactory academic progress
Meet income and other financial aid standards
File a FAFSA/California Dream Act Application and GPA verification form by March 2nd.</p>
<p>This isn’t a scholarship that depends on high stats. </p>
<p>I’m not sure what they mean by: Meet income and “other financial aid standards”. I’m guessing that if someone has a $100k income, but has $1 million in the bank, they wouldn’t qualify…but I could be wrong.</p>
<p>When you’ve listed your parents incomes, you didn’t include the income they get from their investments. Your parents either have a LOT in assets or they have income from their investments …which is why USC determined that you have no need for a school that costs over $55k per year.</p>
<p>Our assets are 100,000. My fafsa EFC is 18,000</p>
<p>Then how did USC come to the conclusion that you could be full pay? And, didn’t your parents say that they would pay for USC out of savings? </p>
<p>Something is not right. Your parents’ income was too high in 2013 for that EFC. Your mom worked until Oct, and then got several thousand in unemployment benefits. Do you have a sibling in college? </p>
<p>No I would not be able to and wouldn’t want to pay for 56,000 plus loans a year for USC with savings. I would probably be in a lot of debt. My parents income is 89,000. I do not have a sibling in college. The fafsa estimated my efc to be 18,553. </p>
<p>I feel like USC didn’t give me any money due to the assets? ( mostly money in the bank) I’m not completely sure tho. </p>
<p>As discussed in this thread <a href=“How can I get financial Aid? - #10 by alamemom - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>How can I get financial Aid? - #10 by alamemom - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums; , USC considers assets the FAFSA does not including home equity. Given that your parents (according to your posts in that thread) felt comfortable with your EFC of ~$18,000, posters suggested you look into the Cal States. They would be near that price range. The cost of a UC was also discussed in that thread (to address your question in this thread). </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>"My parents income is 89,000. "</p>
<p>your dad earned $72,000 last year. Does it make any sense that your mom only earned about $12,000…then got laid off…then earned about $2600 a month in “unemployment benefits”??? </p>
<p>Who earns that much in unemployment benefits if they only earned $12k that year???</p>
<p>Again, something doesn’t seem right. </p>
<p>Alamemom is right about the home equity issue. Your parents must have a LOT in home equity to boost “family contribution” from an $18k EFC to “Full Pay”. That’s a $40k jump. Seems like you’d need about $700k in equity or so.</p>
<p>Yeah those are rough estimates.
Looking at the Fafsa-
mom: 17,000
dad: 67,300
Can you elaborate on what you mean by home equity? Is it the price my parents have to pay for the house subtracted from the amount we already put down? Also thanks for your concern about my issue @mom2collegekids</p>
<p>And yes @alememom, USC is out of the question for me for good now. Im just wondering about UC’s and the middle class scholarship. I already know the cost of it.</p>
<p>Ok…I want your mom’s former job. (what kind of job was it?) I want a job where I can earn only $12k in a year, get laid off in October, and then get $2600 a month in unemployment! Sign me up! :)</p>
<p>ok…Home Equity.</p>
<p>If home value is $1Million (the amount that you’d sell if for)
and current mortgage is $200k (the amount you still owe on the house)</p>
<p>Then equity is $800k. That $800k would be an asset considered by USC.</p>
<p>The point is…if USC determined that you have no need, and you say that your parents only have $100k in assets (not home), then the rest must be in home equity.</p>
<p>Or…wait…do YOU the student have a lot in assets??? (edit, no, that wouldn’t make sense…your EFC would be higher)</p>
<p>Home equity is the price you would receive if you sold it today, minus what you owe.
Refinancing frees up that amount & some schools may expect your parents to do so.</p>
<p>The UCs will not consider your home equity - they are FAFSA only. Since you have now eliminated USC it may not be an issue.</p>
<p>The UCs have a student contribution (loans, summer earnings, work/study) of ~$9,400. That plus your EFC of $18,500 = $27,900. The UC cost of attendance may vary depending on campus, but averages about $32,000. $32,000-$27,900 = ~$4,100 in potential grant aid. Systemwide fees (tuition) are ~$12,000. Your potential grant aid is about 35% of that, which comes close to your assumptions in the opening post (maybe your were thinking it would be 10% to 40% of total cost rather than just of tuition?).</p>
<p><a href=“http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/paying-for-uc/how-aid-works/estimate-your-aid/index.html”>http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/paying-for-uc/how-aid-works/estimate-your-aid/index.html</a>
<a href=“http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/paying-for-uc/tuition-and-cost/index.html”>http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/paying-for-uc/tuition-and-cost/index.html</a></p>
<p>Right…UCs won’t consider home equity, but I suspect that is not what caused the high USC family contribution. While it’s possible that the student’s parents’ home has $700k+ in equity, I guessing that it doesn’t. </p>
<p>anyone know if notification for the middle class scholarship has gone out yet?</p>
<p>Here’s some information on the Middle Class Scholarship. If I’m reading this correctly it looks as though the amount offered this year is 14% and it will increase each year until it reaches 40% in 2017/2018</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The Middle Class Scholarship (MCS):
The Middle Class Scholarship (MCS) is a new program beginning in the 2014-15 academic year that provides undergraduate students with family incomes up to $150,000 a scholarship to attend University of California (UC) or California State University (CSU) campuses.</p></li>
<li><p>Students must meet the following requirements:
Be a California resident attending a UC or CSU; be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident or have AB 540* student status; meet certain income and other financial aid standards; maintain satisfactory academic progress; not be in default on a student loan; and, must not be incarcerated.</p></li>
<li><p>Apply starting January 1, 2014:
Complete a 2014-15 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online at <a href=“http://www.fafsa.gov”>www.fafsa.gov</a> or the California Dream Act Application at caldreamact.org. Use the California Dream Act Application if you do not have a Social Security number (SSN) or if you have a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) number. Make sure your email address is listed on your FAFSA or California Dream Act Application.</p></li>
<li><p>If your family earns up to $100,000 per year:
You may be eligible for a scholarship of up to 40 percent of the mandatory systemwide tuition and fees: The maximum award amount is a lesser percentage of mandatory systemwide tuition and fees for each academic year beginning in 2014-15 at 14%, 2015-16 (20%), and 2016-17 (30%)</p></li>
<li><p>Students whose families earn between
$100,001 and $150,000 per year:
May be eligible for a reduced scholarship of no less than 10 percent of the mandatory systemwide tuition and fees.</p></li>
<li><p>MCS scholarships are not set amounts and
may vary by student and institution:
The award is determined after you are awarded any federal Pell Grant, Cal Grant and institutional need-based grants for which you are eligible. The final award amount will be based on the number of students eligible for the MCS statewide and the funding allocated by the State Budget.</p></li>
<li><p>The MCS is being phased in over four years:
Each academic year, the maximum amount of the scholarship will increase until 2017-18, when the maximum scholarship award will be up to 40 percent of the mandatory systemwide fees and tuition.</p></li>
<li><p>To get assistance completing the FAFSA
or California Dream Act Application:
Attend a Cash for College workshop January 1 thru March 2. Students must reapply each year. Visit <a href=“http://www.calgrants.org”>www.calgrants.org</a> for locations.</p></li>
<li><p>If you are selected to receive a MCS:
If you are selected to receive a MCS, you will be notified by the Commission. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Does anyone know how this works with the Cal Grant? If Cal Grant pays the tuition and fees, will this scholarship assist with books, housing or other student charges if there is a still a need to reduce the amount of loans a student would take out?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>As stated above, the MCS is awarded only after all other available resources (including Cal Grant) have been credited. So if you’re available for a Cal Grant (which generally covers 100% of tuition and fees), you’d no longer have any need for a grant to cover tuition and fees.</p>
<p>I understand that you want to “stack” the grants - get the Cal Grant first (for your tuition/fees) and then get the MCS on top of that to cover other expenses. Think about it, though . . . it’s called a “Middle Class Scholarship” for a reason. The purpose is not to increase aid for low-income students, but to provide some (albeit small) assistance to those middle class families who don’t qualify for Cal Grants. It doesn’t kick in unless all your other grants (including Pell, Cal Grant, etc.) are less than the 14% you’d be eligible for under MCS.</p>