<p>Hey guys, I was wondering if the amount of financial aid I receive would go down if I switched to off-campus housing instead of on-campus. This was my first time applying for financial aid so I am not sure how it works. I was thinking of living in the dorm after I transfer since I wanted to focus on my school/classes but now that I think about it, it would be really awkward being a junior and also be 24 in the dorm full of 17/18 years old people. However, I also need as much as financial aid I can get. So would switching to off-campus housing lower the amount I can get?</p>
<p>Look into upper division/transfer dorms. Those are usually full of non-traditional students… transfers, older students, sophomores that are still dorming, etc. You’ll still make a lot of friends and get a dorm experience, but you won’t be surrounded by freshmen and you’ll be able to relate to more students around you. At Berkeley there’s an apartment-dorm aimed at transfers (Wada) and it’s really nice… though on-campus apartments might be considered off campus when it comes to aid.</p>
<p>Also, it’s not <em>too</em> weird living with freshmen… I was stuck in that situation when I first transferred. I didn’t know anyone at the school, I was too scared to live alone, and I couldn’t get into the transfer housing. It was okay, but I didn’t have too much in common with them (they liked to party, they all had the same lower div classes, they went to freshman-y programs like choosing your major). Living with them wasn’t too bad, the age gap is only a couple of years. But living with other transfers is definitely better.</p>
<p>As for aid: I don’t get any, so I can’t help you much there. Sorry!</p>
<p>Living off campus does reduce the amount of your financial aid, because they assume you will be paying less for off campus housing than the dorms. If the amount you do pay for your housing is less than the amount they budget for you, I <em>think</em> your financial aid should cover it. I can’t say for sure though-- I lived in the dorms this year. My observation was that the total amount of financial aid and loans I was offered fully covered the estimated budget for living on campus, so I assume that the total amount offered will fully cover the estimated budget for off campus when I live off campus.</p>
<p>The previous poster is correct that Wada is the transfer apartments. Even though it’s on campus, it does count as off campus for financial aid purposes. I have friends who live there and they seem happy enough.</p>
<p>I haven’t minded living in the dorms at all, honestly. I get along really well with my floormates (even though most of them are 18-19) and one of my roommates and two of my floormates are transfer students as well, and closer in age to me (I’m 22). But I can certainly understand why you might not want to live with freshmen.</p>
<p>Check the campus’ net price calculator. Some campuses have lower cost of attendance numbers for off-campus housing than campus dorms, because the off-campus housing is generally less expensive.</p>
<p>Berkeley is such a school. However, there is off-campus housing there that is significantly cheaper than the off-campus financial aid budget, such as the BSC co-ops.</p>