Need Advice on Appealing Inaccurate Aid

Paying for College
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<p>You are implying that you can appeal and appeal until THEY meet your financial aid award requirements. This is simply NOT TRUE. You can appeal all you want, but as others have pointed out, UCLA has a formula for dispensing financial aid and it does not include the high cost of living in some urban areas. Just for the record…the Profile doesn’t consider this either. Yes, there is a place to write that down, but if you use the institutional methodology on any EFC calculator you will see that your area’s high cost of living doesn’t matter a speck. But anyway…it doesn’t matter…UCLA uses the federal methodology…and that is it. Period. You are not going to get increased aid because you don’t agree with the formula a university has chosen to use. You just aren’t.</p>

<p>In addition, scholarship awards based on GPA and what your child has to offer a school are different than need based aid which is what the Profile and FAFSA help schools determine. Decisions about scholarships are based on certain criteria usually unrelated to need…and to be honest, your chance of getting a merit aid award increased to cover $20,000 in costs is VERY VERY unlikely. </p>

<p>UCLA is a public university in California. You knew that when you applied. You knew the costs. You knew you were not a resident. If you did your FAFSA in February like you should have, you also knew the EFC they would be using for need based aid. You also should know that a school like UCLA gets tons of TOP applicants…it’s a fabulous school. It’s first obligation is to the students who are residents of the state of California. These residents are paying for that school to exist with their taxes.</p>

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Yes, I understand that. But ForeverLearning, if you learn nothing else from this discussion, learn this: Financial aid is not fair, and it never promised to be. This is especially true for popular schools that do not even pay lip service to meeting a student’s full financial need.</p>

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<p>I also would like to know his EFC.</p>

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<p>Sounds like he was offered PLUS loans ( oh.how. generous. )
:rolleyes:
PLUS loans should not be part of the package, they are how parents come up with EFC.
Also student was offered Stafford, doesn’t say if it was subsidized or not- but assume maximum, which will not go very far unfortunately toward paying for college, especially out of state schools, especially california, even if you have relatives that were born there.</p>

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<p>^^ ek: the UCs gap, and always have by virtue of state policy.</p>

<p>FL: Please understand that even a family with zero income will have a financial aid package that is comprised of $9k of self-help per year, which includes work study, summer earnings and a student loan. Therefore the maximum grant a a family of zero income will receive is $14k, which includes Pell and Cal Grants (instate residents). These numbers are approximately the same for all campuses since it is state policy. Since your son is a US citizen, he would be eligible for a Pell grant and federal work study.</p>

<p>For calculation purposes, a UC campus will run the numbers as if instate, develop a finaid award based on instate prices, and then tack the OOS fees on top. Or, viewed another way, assuming you can prove poverty, the maximum grant that you will recieve would be $10-14k (not sure if they’ll make up for the loss of Cal Grant) from the total cost of attendance of $42,000. Thus, you should assume that it will cost you at least $28k out of pocket.</p>

<p>And, no, pleading poverty will not eliminate a Stafford loan since it already federally-guaranteed. The loan itself becomes a debt of your son, to be paid back from his earnings after graduation.</p>

<p>

They have already "help"ed you (with their offer). A successful appeal will only result in changing loan to grant.</p>

<p>See examples in the attached brochure link.
<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/payingforuc/finguide_fr.pdf[/url]”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/payingforuc/finguide_fr.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>I think you are getting lots of good info here. I’m going to add some thoughts that came to mind.</p>

<p>FAFSA does not care about your high cost of living area. That is something everyone has to deal with that is in your situation. We live in a high cost area too. </p>

<p>The cornerstone of financial aid is the Pell grant. If your son did not get one of those, he also is not going to get the SEOGH. The Pell and the subsidized Stafford loan are the only guaranteed things your son can get from a revised FAFSA. Bear in mind that this is a federal form with heavy penalties for not telling the truth. I am going to assume that what you are planning to do in revisions is legal. </p>

<p>As for funds from UCLA, itself, as the others have said, there isn’t much to go around. UCLA does not cover most kids’ need completely. Not even close. And that’s not getting into how much coverage is with grants. You are going after some scarce resources. As a non Californean, any state monies are not going to go your way. The only way I see that you will be getting much additional is if there are some merit within need awards that are still outstanding. You are very late with this, and colleges do not tend to have much left in their larders at this time, particularly in grants. The fact that all they gave you was $250 is a pretty clear message.</p>

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<p>^^cpt:</p>

<p>UCLA does not have “merit” awards, just several hundred Regent’s scholarships which have already been awarded.</p>

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<p>Blue</p>

<p>Post #25 is excellent.</p>

<p>Thank you for spelling it out…</p>

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<p>I wish to thank one and all for your advice and opinions, whether positive, negative, or in-between.</p>

<p>Those of you who haven’t seen it, may wish to read the 4/11 letter from the UC president at: </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.fao.ucla.edu/Forms/pdfs/FEES001.pdf[/url]”>http://www.fao.ucla.edu/Forms/pdfs/FEES001.pdf&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>I stumbled upon it a few weeks back as I was beginning my discussions with UCLA’s Financial Aid Office (FAO) personnel. Soon thereafter I spoke with my son’s designated FAO counselor. He was of course aware of the letter, but assured me that UCLA already has the funding that it needs for 2008-2009.</p>

<p>He also told me that they will consider the cost of living in Tokyo, knowing how it is exorbitant by even NYC standards.</p>

<p>I do not plan to revise my FAFSA. It is an honest depiction of my 2007 situation–from a Stateside cost of living viewpoint. What I will do is make UCLA aware of the financial hardship of living in the world’s largest metropolitan area, something I have been doing for 30 years (yes, 30).</p>

<p>Let me give you some more context. A decade ago I bought an average Tokyo apartment. It is just under 75 square meters in size and has but one bathroom. The cost? $560,000. For that money, I could have purchased a very nice mansion in many parts of the US. And since I bought my Tokyo apartment, land and house prices have gone down here, meaning that I owe more in mortgage payments than the apartment is worth. So I can’t sell it to help fund my son’s schooling.</p>

<p>I think housing is something that we are all more interested in now that we have to deal with the aftereffects of the sub-prime loans. </p>

<p>Another example that you might take to heart is the cost of gas. Paying the equivalent of $4 a gallon for gas has been taken as a given by Tokyoites since way back when. It was not considered a problem–just a fact of life. People in the US are now up in arms over having to pay that amount. The reaction is only natural in that it is a major increase in the cost of something that many people consider to be essential. Well, guess what the price of gas is now in Japan. Six bucks.</p>

<p>I could go on and on. But my point is that my EFC, which is 18k, does not reflect the economic realities my family has to deal with. Thus, I am pleased that UCLA said they will consider our cost of living when I petition.</p>

<p>Solving problems is what life is often about. I wish you all the best in that regard and, at the same time, hope that you won’t have too many to solve.</p>

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<p>I wish you luck…but still I say..“don’t hold your breath”. I seriously doubt that you will see a huge increase in free money from UCLA. If your EFC is $18,000, you can expect to spend AT LEAST that amount on your son’s education there. The school does NOT meet full need at all. It is up to them to determine how any funds beyond federal funds are used. Your EFC will not qualify you for a Pell Grant. It will not qualify you for any other grant money for those with a low EFC. Do keep us posted.</p>

<p>By the way…10 years ago, you would not have been able to buy a mansion in the U.S. for the money you describe…a nice house in some areas, yes, but a mansion…NO. Where I live, that money (10 years ago) would would have gotten you a nice home far from an urban area. It would have gotten you a tiny tiny home closer to an urban area. If you had been living in mid-town Manhattan, you likely wouldn’t have gotten anything better than what you have.</p>

<p>Gee…most of us are paying $4 a gallon on gas. And where I live there isn’t an option for public transportation (rural area). This is what it’s like for everyone.</p>

<p>Look…I have economic realities too. I have TWO kids in private universities. The costs are high. Do you think for one minute that the colleges will adjust my financial aid because MY expenses are high? Guess what…they won’t. The likelihood of a state funded school doing that is small.</p>

<p>But go forward…and good luck to you. I think you are hearing what you want to hear and I hope in the end you are not disappointed and have the money to pay your kid’s college bills.</p>

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<p>Thanks, thumper1. You have been a big help. And I hope you have great success with your two kids in college.</p>

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<p>ForeverLearning,
You might want to take a peek at this thread for an additional perspective:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/492777-swallows-capistrano-financial-aid-myths-realities.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/492777-swallows-capistrano-financial-aid-myths-realities.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Good luck to you and your child!</p>

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<p>ForeverLearning – </p>

<p>If you would let us know how it works out, I would really appreciate it. Whether good or bad, it helps us to give more accurate information to those in your position in the future.</p>

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<p>hsmomstef,</p>

<p>I’ll be happy to let you know.</p>