<p>So I am going to be transfering soon, probably to UCSD or UCB. Well my dad makes fairly good money and that puts our expected family contribution through fafsa at like 17,000 yearly, but he can't contribute that. Say my tuition is 25,000 yearly:
1) Will i have a good chance at grants for the 8,000 that is over my EFC?
2) If my dad cannot contribute 17,000, but contributes 12,000, will i be able to pull loans out fairly easy for the 5,000 that he did not contribute, eventhough it is part of my EFC?
So confused, any explanation will help...</p>
<p>What you have to understand is that, depending on the schools, you might have to pay even more than your EFC to attend. Schools are not necessarily obligated to meet your calculated need, and they’re not obligated to meet part or all of your need with loans. If your total COA is $25,000 – you might only get the unsubsidized Stafford loan (the maximum amount of which depends on your year). That amount isn’t subtracted from your EFC but from the total cost of attendance, so unless you receive departmental or other outside merit scholarships you might have to make up more than the EFC.</p>
<p>Do you know what you’ll be classified as (sophomore, junior, senior?) at the new school? Do you know what the cost of attendance for the school is (not just tuition, but room and board, if applicable?)</p>
<p>**So I am going to be transfering soon, probably to UCSD or UCB. Well my dad makes fairly good money and that puts our expected family contribution through fafsa at like 17,000 yearly, but he can’t contribute that. Say my tuition is 25,000 yearly:
- Will i have a good chance at grants for the 8,000 that is over my EFC?**</p>
<p>No, the UCs don’t really have funding for those with good incomes. They will “meet” the need of $8k with a $7500 student loan and probably gap the rest. </p>
<p>**
2) If my dad cannot contribute 17,000, but contributes 12,000, will i be able to pull loans out fairly easy for the 5,000 that he did not contribute, eventhough it is part of my EFC?
So confused, any explanation will help… **</p>
<p>Probably not because your “need” is going to be met with a $7500 Stafford loan (the max for juniors and seniors). </p>
<p>You will have to cover your dad’s EFC gap with earnings from a summer job and maybe your dad will have to take out a Plus Loan.</p>
<p>If you’re transferring in as a sophomore, you’ll be eligible for a total of $6500 in Stafford loans, $7500 if you’ll be a junior or senior. The split between sub/unsub depends on how much remaining need you have (COA-EFC-other aid awarded). My guess is that, unless there is some scholarship or state grant money in play, you’ll get as much as possible in subsidized loans, and the rest will be unsubsidized. Either way, that may not be enough to help your family meet their EFC…can you work and save a few thousand before you transfer? You could also look for ways to beat their COA number, which is not difficult at most public schools.</p>
<p>The UC transfers are juniors.</p>
<p>Bottom line, UCs how bad aid for all but the poor. Expect a lot of loans.</p>
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<p>The COA is often heavily padded. You can probably cut into the books amount by buying used or renting if that’s available, and the transportation figure seems to be wholly fictitious, based on a parallel universe – I’ve seen a COA that included a $2000/yr transportation figure for a school that didn’t even allow freshmen to bring cars on campus AND offered free use of the city bus service for all students. </p>
<p>Even with that, I’m not sure if you’re going to be able to use $12,000 + an unsubsidized Stafford loan to meet your costs without a job or a Plus loan.</p>
<p>Bottom line, UCs how bad aid for all but the poor. Expect a lot of loans.</p>
<p>Exactly…</p>
<p>There are sources of money for instate Calif low-income students who go to UCs…Pell, Cal Grants, Blue and Gold, etc. However, for everyone else they meet “need” with loans and gaps.</p>
<p>So, that’s why your “need” will be filled with a Stafford loan and therefore you won’t be able to use it for EFC.</p>
<p>Both UCSD and UCB are around 25,000 for attendance since im in state. About 12-13,000 of that is tuition. And i will be transfering as a Junior.
So if i were to not board and only ended up oweing 12,000 or so for a semester could i still get a stafford loan with an EFC of 17,000 or does the cost have to be over my EFC?</p>
<pre><code>Also i have contemplated applying to USC. The cost of attendance there is much higher, around 50,000 i believe. But i have heard their financial aide programs are much more generous. But i assume they are not generous enough to cover that 25,000 dollar gap are they?
</code></pre>
<p>Are you a CA resident? You can apply for a Cal grant…they say that a Cal grant is about $9,700 at USC. But I’m not a CA resident so I don’t know how it works.</p>
<p>USC’s financial aid might be more generous…for new first-time freshman applicants. You, as a transfer student, are a much less attractive applicant and won’t get the red carpet treatment. Financial aid packages for transfer students are almost always worse than the ones freshman get.</p>
<p>If the COA at USC is $50,000 and your father can only contribute $12,000, you don’t have a $25,000 gap. You have a $38,000 gap. However, USC meets 100% of financial need (although I’m not sure whether this just applies to freshman applicants, or to all). Assuming that it does apply to transfer applicants, USC determines what your financial need is. They use CSS PROFILE so it could be more or less than the federal determination. Let’s say it is $17,000, though. Likely USC will give you a combination package of a grant, some work-study, and the Stafford loans to cover your expenses less the the $17,000 EFC. It’s then up to your family to cover the rest. Since your Stafford loans will likely already go into calculating your package, they won’t count in the $17,000. If your dad does pay $12,000 out of pocket, you’re going to have to find another way to cover the remaining $5,000 (a private bank loan, working over the summer, who knows).</p>
<p>She probably won’t qualify for a Cal grant if her EFC is 17K already. I doubt USC’s financial aid package would be feasible, either.</p>
<p>I don’t believe you will be able to get loans beyond the Stafford Sub and Unsubs. The Stafford Loans for the UCs you listed will already be tagged by the universities to cover everything BUT the 17K EFC. In other words, the UCs treat a 17K EFC as coming from “cash” and not drawn from your Staffords/Pell/Grants, etc. They will award you those Staffords/Pells/ParentPlusLoans/Grants and leave that 17K gap for you to come up with via cash or non-government private loans (which just aren’t out there these days).</p>
<p>It just sounds a little bit like a UC (especially if you live away from home and have to cover room/board vs living at home) may end up being unaffordable - there are no banks offering 5K private loans to young college students.</p>
<p>One last question… When filling out FAFSA last year i was living with both parents which is where my EFC came from; however my mother moved and i will be living with her for the next couple years. For the next couple years do both parents count or just the highest income or what?</p>
<p>You can apply for a Cal grant.</p>
<p>Cal Grants are awarded to low income students…not students with EFCs of $17k. </p>
<p>Next year, you will fill out your FAFSA using your Mom’s income if you’re living with her.</p>
<p>If she’s commuting from home, her COA will be reduced, making the $12,000 + Stafford loan more workable.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Does the student say that he/she will be commuting for college? </p>
<p>I thought the student just meant that he/she will be living with mom during senior year of high school and during summers/holidays during college.</p>
<p>She said this:</p>
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<p>I think that by “not boarding” she means that she won’t be paying the room and board at the college, necessitating either living at home or living off-campus (either way is probably significantly cheaper than paying the cost of a meal plan and a dormitory/residence hall/whatever). If she does live at home, especially, she can probably be only on the hook for tuition, books, and assorted costs, which is a pretty big cut from $25,000 a year.</p>
<p>A technical note about FAFSA - OP asked if she would have to use her mom or dad’s income. It wasn’t clear the parents were divorced. If the parents are divorced she can use her mom’s income. If the parents are <em>married</em> (and just living in different houses), both incomes would be included on the FAFSA.</p>
<p>*If the parents are <em>married</em> (and just living in different houses), both incomes would be included on the FAFSA. *</p>
<p>I thought if the parents are separated (not just because of jobs), that only the custodial parent’s income is used.</p>
<p>Not sure about the detail of whether or not “separated” is treated the same as “divorced”.</p>
<p>The parents must be considered legally separated in order to use just one parent’s income. Sometimes parents live in separate towns due to jobs; they are still considered married even though they are separated by distance. Most aid offices are picky about the “separated” issue.</p>