<p>Could someone please give me a sparknotes explanation of the UC Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan?</p>
<p>Blue&Gold guarantees your systemwide fees will be covered with any combination of grant and/or scholarship. It does not guarantee campus fees will be covered by grants and/or scholarships.</p>
<p>Basically the college guarantees that your system wide fee (tuition) will be covered some way or another (via private scholarships, federal aids, etc…). This does not however include your personal/living expenses. So basically, if you qualifies for the plan, you’re probably aided enough already. </p>
<p>So for example, the government decides to stop Cal Grant & Pell Grant, thus giving you 0 financial aid. If that does happen, the UC you are attending will probably help you with their own scholarships to fulfill that cost.</p>
<p>I hope that helps :)!</p>
<p>^If California ever finally pulls the plug on Cal Grant, I will not be surprised if Blue&Gold shortly follows it. Only reason it currently works is it seems to rarely have to make up a large amount of the systemwide fees and is really only effective in two scenarios:</p>
<p>1) Student didn’t qualify for Cal Grant
2) Mid-year increase in systemwide fees</p>
<p>There is a reason some UCs despite Cal Grant B being more beneficial will still recommend A to students who qualify for both: they don’t have to use UC funds to cover the systemwide fees frosh year. Considering budget cuts, I can understand why they do it, though.</p>