Should i take Cal Grant A or Cal Grant B?

Paying for College
1

<p>Im an incoming freshmen for the Fall 2013 year, and i will be attending a CSULB (cost of attendance is approximately $22,000). What if...I qualify for Cal grant A & B freshman year because dad was unemployed for the 2012 year. He has a job right now so EFC will shoot up for my sophmore year, is it better to take Cal grant B in this case, after looking at the total grant picture for freshman year? </p>

<p>Cal Grant A -$5,472 for 4 years=$21,888</p>

<p>Cal Grant B-$1,473 for 3 years (and i think $5472 for 3 years?) =$22,308</p>

<p>My fin aid package for freshman year:
Pell- $5,645
FSEOG-$300
work study-$2,500
first granted scholarship-$2,000
=$10,455, so i need $11,545 without the calgrants or loans pulled out yet</p>

<p>*I also applied to a bunch of scholarships, so should i take that into consideration?</p>

2

<p>Cal Grant B is the better deal. And if your family incomes rises enough to make you ineligible for it in subsequent years, you’ll automatically be transferred over to Cal Grant A (assuming you’re still below the income ceiling for that one).</p>

<p>Cal Grant B does not cover tuition & fees freshman year, but those will be covered by a SUG (state university grant) or other grant from the CSU itself.</p>

3

<p>You will want to do the Cal Grant A because if you take the Cal Grant B and next year you do not qualify for it they will not change you to Cal Grant A. You have to keep the same type of Cal Grant all 4 years. I know this for a fact because that was my same situation last year.</p>

4

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</p>

<p>Yes, this did indeed use to be the case. But it is no longer. Starting with the 2012-13 school year:</p>

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</p>

<p>Source: [url=<a href=“http://www.csac.ca.gov/doc.asp?id=1452]California”>http://www.csac.ca.gov/doc.asp?id=1452]California</a> Student Aid Commission - 2012 Eligibility Changes as a Result of the 2012 Budget Act<a href=“See%20the%20final%20section%20-%20titled” title=“Program Changes.”>/url</a></p>

<p>And thanks to Kender for bringing this to my attention!</p>

5

<p>Can’t students take Cal A for frosh year, and if they qualify, take Cal B for the other 3?</p>

6

<p>No, if you elect Cal Grant A, you stay with Cal Grant A.</p>

<p>The only way to change from one to the other is if you start with Cal Grant B, but later go over the income/asset ceilings (so that you’re no longer eligible), at which point you’d be transferred automatically to Cal Grant A (assuming you haven’t exceeded the income/asset ceilings for that one also).</p>

<p>Why would anyone want to start with Cal Grant A and later switch to Cal Grant B? Cal Grant B, for those low income students who qualify, is a much better deal.</p>