Paying for Berkeley

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

<p>I applied to Berkeley, LA, SD, and SB. My EFC is 0, and my twin brother is also going to attend college next year.</p>

<p>I didn't apply to any scholarships or anything, so assuming I got into a UC (say, LA or Berkeley, which are my top choices), what kind of aid will I be looking at? How much should I expect to take in loans every year?</p>

<p>What do you think my financial aid package will consist of? How much can I expect from grants, such as Cal Grant and Pell Grant? I'm planning to live on campus, btw.</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

2

<p>Your pell grant should be maxed out at EFC 0, which is around $4000.</p>

<p>Cal Grant can vary greatly and depends on how much wealth your parent's have and their combined yearly salary.</p>

3

<p>Well, my parent's income is very low. We don't have any "wealth" either, lol. We're basically low-income and w/out any assets and such.</p>

4

<p>There's info on the web about student loans and the max you can take out each year as an undergrad. There's also work study jobs. If your grades and test scores are high enough you might qualify for Regents. If your EFC is $0 there is merit money from Regents too.</p>

5

<p>Do you need to be in eaop or upward bound or puente or whatever to qualify for Regents?</p>

6

<p>lhDCpage06,</p>

<p>I forget if you're in-state or not. If you are, there is Cal Grant, which will offer upwards of many thousands of dollars depending on your financial situation. I had an EFC around yours, and got around $5-6K a year from Cal Grants alone until my last year.</p>

<p>That, plus the Pell Grant, covers a good portion of your costs. Work-study, scholarships (make sure to look into Regents and the Cal Bears (?) scholarships).</p>

<p>You should have an easy time meeting your need without taking out a large loan package.</p>

7

<p>virtuoso,</p>

<p>Regents scholarships are merit based.</p>

8

<p>Thanks UCLAri. </p>

<p>I got an e-mail from some Cal alumni assoc. for a scholarship, but apparently I need to have been in some outreach college program to qualify. : (</p>

9

<p>apply for the alumni scholarship...the leadership one. it's 1500 a year, ain't big, but it helps. it also gives you like...20% of at the student store on merchandise, and some other weird perks i have yet to discover (it makes you an alumni without being an alumni or something like that.</p>

10

<p>I believe the Leadership Award at Cal is $2500 annually...</p>

11

<p>Interestingly, both of you are right...sorta.</p>

<p>It's based on "divisions."</p>

<h1>Lower Division: $1500-$2000</h1>

<h1>Upper Division: $2000-$2500</h1>

<h1>High Need Supplement: $3000</h1>

12

<p>If your EFC really is zero then the university will probably work out a nice package for you that includes grants, loans, and probably work-study. It costs roughly $20,000 - $25,000 per year for in-staters assuming you live on-campus, factoring in tuition, room and board, living costs, etc. I would estimate roughly $10,000 per year from various grants, $4,000 from work-study, and then $5,000 - $10,000 in loans. Honestly after the grants (which is essentially free money) you'll be paying around $10,000 per year for college which is a great deal.</p>

13

<p>keep in mind many students get jobs on campus and work part time while studying. i think the pay is in the 1-2 thousand range depending on how much you work and alot of kids come out of school just taking out some student loans. And it sucks being indebt but you dont have to pay as much taxes and you get great rates -shrug-</p>

14

<p>How do I apply to this alumni leadership scholarship?</p>