So I got about $25000 Berkeley transfer scholarship(I think it’s a financial aid)
Can I use this money for both on-campus/off-campus housing? Or would I only be able to use this money when I live in the dorms? Because I want to live in Martines but I found out that it’s considered off-campus housing. So I’m worried that they might not give me the aid if I chose to live off-campus.
Congrats!..Martinez is on-campus housing:
@ProfessorPlum168 Thank you. Am I eligible to use the financial aid they offered me even if I chose to live off-campus housing? Or do they only offer me those money only if I do on-campus housing/
@ProfessorPlum168 might know this better but I believe you can, although there’s a monetary cap.
Sorry, don’t know much about off-campus financial aid coverage. There probably would be some cap I would think.
@ProfessorPlum168 @Ohm888 That’s fine! So then…“Martinez common” and “Wada” is considered on-campus housing right? I thought it was off-campus because on the website it says off-campus apartments. Will my financial aid still apply if I chose to live in one of those apartments?
Yes your FA will apply to those. That I know.
Okay thank you very much 
@magicsauce My teen got a transfer scholarship too of about $22000 and a financial aid person told us that if they lived off campus they would lose about $5000 of that money. Also, the financial counselor said any outside scholarships over $5000 would reduce aid. Our EFC is about $8500.
The officer also said that the scholarship is merit and financial need based and that you have to maintain a 3.5 GPA first semester to get it for the following year and that if you did not, the money would be given in other aid. Then I asked what kind of aid, and she said that would include work study, which my teen currently does not have, and additional loans. For us, we qualify for the Blue and Gold so tuition would be covered if GPA under 3.5, but I think my teen would lose about $8000 of the scholarship money for housing and would have about $3000 of work study and $5000 in loans.
@spiritualgift
Thanks for your reply. So they would only give me the aid through the work-study if I don’t manage to maintain a 3.5 GPA? Do you know how to apply for the blue and gold tuition? Is there a certain due date for that?
@magicsauce My understanding if you do not have a 3.5 in the Fall, they would add work study, which I think has a limit, and then add more loans.
The Blue and Gold, requires your family (until age 24) to have income under $80,000, and does not always show up on your aid-it showed on some of my teens UC packages but not others. You are automatically considered from your FAFSA.
The Blue and Gold is a promise from the UC system that tuition will be covered if you meet certain income guidelines, so basically they take your Cal Grant and add to it if it does not cover tuition. My teen’s Cal Grant is $12,500, but can’t remember which Cal Grant, so without the transfer scholarship they would add about $2000 to cover tuition and make up the rest in work study and loans. So I am not sure how all the Cal Grants work and how much they are for, but this is what I understand for our situation.
Each situation is different and there appear to be complicated formulas, so I guess we never really know until we see the offer or get a job in the financial aid office. Also learning that Cal Grant A & C, B and Blue and Gold all have different income limits.
https://financialaid.berkeley.edu/cost-attendance shows the difference in assumed costs for financial aid purposes for various types of housing situations. Maximino Martinez apartments are considered “on-campus apartments” for financial aid purposes, according to https://housing.berkeley.edu/martinez .