Regents + Alum Scholarship = Money from regents taken away?

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

<p>I went to the Fin Aid office during Cal Day and talked to one of the representatives about my financial aid package. She told me that since Regents is "need based", it covers everything and my award (15K) will be reduced if I also get the Alumni scholarship.</p>

<p>What?????</p>

<p>Is it useless to be interviewed for the Alumni Scholarships then? I really need the money in order to go to Berkeley but apparently any outside scholarships will decrease my Regents award. </p>

<p>I have read some forums on the Alumni Scholarship topic and a few Regent scholars are quite excited for the interviews. </p>

<p>Am I missing something? This kinda blows.</p>

2

<p>Makes sense. The Regents' and Chancellor's Scholarship is an amazing scholarship (money-wise, if you have the need), so any student should be ecstatic to have it, but only few do. The Alumni Scholarships are there to help more. Why should one student have both, when there are many other deserving students who could have it too?</p>

3

<p>Yeah but the problem is that if a Regent's Scholar gets an Alumni Scholarship, the aid from the Alumni Scholarship will be canceled out but the money will not go to another student. It'll go back to Berkeley.</p>

4

<p>My point is, the Regents Scholar shouldn't bother with the Alumni Scholarship. (Don't be greedy, etc.)</p>

5

<p>Well, I didn't mean it to sound greedy or anything but my parents can't pay 10K for berkeley. AND, apparently outside scholarships I may get will NOT help at all.
:(</p>

6

<p>Outside scholarships will help if they are addressed to you instead of to Berkeley. You might want to ask any outside scholarships if that is an option.</p>

7

<p>
[QUOTE]
Outside scholarships will help if they are addressed to you instead of to Berkeley. You might want to ask any outside scholarships if that is an option.

[/QUOTE]
</p>

<p>Don't count on it. I made the mistake of reporting an outside scholarship and they took it out of my work study.</p>

8

<p>
[quote]
Well, I didn't mean it to sound greedy or anything but my parents can't pay 10K for berkeley.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Berkeley wouldn't make you pay any more than they think you can pay. So either a) your parents don't want to dish out 10k, or b) there was a mistake in you financial aid, so you should probably check that out.</p>

9

<p>So if you get an outside scholarship and you don't report it, then the check shows up in Berkeley's FAO, what will they do with it?</p>

10

<p>When I went to a UCLA seminar on financial aid (before I got into Berkeley), they warned us that scholarship information would be reported through the organization's tax deductions and would eventually reach them. We would then be billed for anything we failed to report.</p>

<p>I submitted the information, but I think I might have fallen victim to scare tactics. Do you really think organizations pass around their information this way? Do you really think that they would go ahead and report it to each school individually? </p>

<p>I doubt that they would for small scholarships. Large ones, on the other hand.....</p>

11

<p>I don't think large corporations that give out scholarships have time to report them. So when you reported scholarships, did they take away your grants or was it used to decrease the self-help and loans portion of your aid? Berkeley sent me an informational pamphlet with their financial aid package saying that they use outside scholarships to lower your self help and loans before they decrease your grants. Is this a lie?</p>

12

<p>They decreased my work study, which I guess would be regarded as self help.</p>

13

<p>Alumni should reduce self-help firs- first loans, then wor study. I am not sure if it can go toward EFC amount. So it Berkeley tells you their cost is $25k, regents is $15k, loans and work study are $5k and you have an EFC of $5k, the alumni will reduce loans.
If your fin aid is $5k in grants, not loans & WS, then it might reduce other campus grants.</p>

<p>Also, if you get the alumni, be sure to note your campus grants before you report it, as sometimes they make mistakes and do reduce your grants not loans first- but if you point that out they will fix it.</p>

14

<p>Regents covered all my work-study so my parents have to pay the 15K in loans. The financial aid office said that this loan is determined by my parents' EFC and outside scholarships cannot deduct from it. Therefore, there's nothing I can do to reduce this 15K?</p>

<p>If scholarships send a scholarship to my name directly, will they still report it to the school? </p>

<p>Also, even without the money, the Alumni scholarship has other benefits too right?</p>

15

<p>Yeah something like 20% off in the student store and membership in some organization.</p>

16

<p>Financial aid is a numbers game. Your grants and scholarships cannot add beyond tha alloted student budget.</p>

17

<p>i have an EFC of ~9k, but on my financial aid report, it says parent contribution: ~4k, student contribution (loans+w.s.): ~5k</p>

<p>i got an outside scholarship that will be addressed to berkeley, would this be deducted from my Regents money or loans?</p>

18

<p>This is from what I understand from my experience with Regents need-based scholarships:

  1. You do not have any loans or work-study (these are covered by scholarships from the school) EXCEPT unsubsidized loans (usually the amount of parent contribution); so if you have an EFC of ~9K, your cost of attendance minus your EFC = financial need = amount of scholarships you get
  2. Any outside scholarships will reduce the amount that the regents gives (usually after work-study). It WILL NOT go towards reducing your parent EFC.</p>

<p>As for student contribution, I am not sure how Regents/outside scholarships affect it since work study is included. I suggest you all email Carole Walker or Catherine Guzman to clarify - they are in charge of Regents awards and financial aid.</p>