<p>All along my Cal Grant eligibility has been for Cal Grant A, which is 10k. All my award letters indicated that. My FINAL award letter from UCSB put that in it. Now I go to the cal grant site and it says I got Cal Grant B, which is 1500 dollars.</p>
<p>***.</p>
<p>Then they say I "qualified" for A, but it would be financially advantageous for me to receive B.</p>
<p>Uhh..</p>
<p>My family makes 18k a year, with 3 people. YOU told me I would be getting this money. I chose this school based on that statement. Now I simply can't afford it. My mom doesn't qualify for any kind of loan. If I had known this I would have attended community college.</p>
<p>What does it say on your UCSB financial aid site? Are they awarding you more grant money to make up for the change?? Don’t despair YET. Contact UCSB right away and get the facts so you know what is really happening. Good luck.</p>
<p>The UCs make up the difference with instituional grant money when they change a Cal Grant A to a Cal Grant B. Cal Grant B funds can be used for expenses such as books and transportation while Cal Grant A can only be used for tuition.</p>
<p>So:
-You will get the same amount of grant aid this year, just coming from UCSB and Cal Grant in different proportions</p>
<p>-You can use the Cal Grant B money to buy your books, etc.</p>
<p>-In subsequent years you will be receiving Cal Grant A PLUS Cal Grant B, and you will still be able to spend the Cal Grant B portion on books and expenses.</p>
<p>You should gather all the information before you post a thread like this - you have not been “screwed” by Cal Grant, you have been handed approximately $48,000.</p>
<p>If you had gotten the Cal Grant A amount, then you would have gotten less money overall.</p>
<p>You weren’t screwed. You got more money.</p>
<p>You qualify for Blue and Gold. You should be getting grants from UC to pay for your tuition (fees) and Cal Grant B, that pays for other things. If you had gotten Cal Grant A (which is for tuition only) you would have gotten less MONEY.</p>
<p>Oh, they never explained this and the UCSB office and Cal Grant office are both closed today. Thanks for clearing it up.</p>
<p>Original Finaid, this is before the A was changed to B:</p>
<p>Pell Grant - 5550
UCSB New Freshman Scholarship 1500
University of California Grant 3932
Possible Cal Grant Eligibility 10302
Federal Work-Study 2000
Federal Perkins Loan 2300
Recommended Subsidized Direct Stafford Loan 3500
Recommended Unsubsidized Direct Stafford Loan 1200</p>
<p>Well UCSB just emailed me (I emailed them yesterday about the change). They just changed their mind that it would be more advantageous to receive A rather than B. They will be doing this for “many other students” as well.</p>
<p>If the student requests A instead of B, the student gets A instead of B. At the UCs, it is usually advantageous to get B because you can use the $1,500 for expenses and they cover the difference the first year, and then the following years you get A plus B - in other words, MORE money. Your email to them probably indicated that you preferred to just get A, so they changed it as you requested. They do as you ask when it comes to Cal Grant.</p>
<p>The only “advantage” being gained by returning you to Cal Grant A is so that the UC system does not have to make up the $10,302 for your first year. If you qualify for B and are receiving A, then you are now being cheated by UCSB. You are losing out on $6,204 of free money.</p>