<p>So according to the UC website the blue and gold promise applies to all of those who make less than $80,000/year and are CA residents and will cover up to full cost or even more for books and such. My question is why I didn't get it. On my financial aid for UCD it says nothing about blue and gold and I only got $18,000 in scholarships. This is an issue because my family makes less than 50k a year and our EFC was 5k. So why did they give me loans? Don't I qualify for them giving me all but my EFC?</p>
<p>If you have 18k in scholarship your tuition is already covered. B&G won’t give you money above basic tuition and some books if other scholarships have filled that need. </p>
<p>Also, B&G covers basically tuition–not full COA. If you have 18k in scholarship already, that’s about it. </p>
<p>Loans are to be expected, even with B&G (or via other scholarships that fill the tuition/books costs).</p>
<p>Blue and Gold does NOT cover up to “full cost”. It only is a promise to cover the UC system wide fees …which are about $13k.</p>
<p>You misread the UC website. </p>
<p>Taxpayers can’t even really afford this, much less provide free room, board, and books. Do you really think that Calif taxpayers can provide free rides to all UC students with incomes under $80k? </p>
<p>There is an expectation that the student should pay for most/all of room and board thru loans, etc. Otherwise, you’d essentially be getting welfare. </p>
<p>You’re getting a LOT of free tax payer money for having an EFC of $5k. With your $5k from your family, your $18k in grants (which is more than Blue and Gold), and your loans, you should have your costs about covered. Anything else you can earn over the summer.</p>
<p>And, for those who don’t want to take out loans and such, they should apply to a UC or CSU that they can commute to.</p>
<p>I did not misread the website it does cover more than tuition. I just got this off of the general uc website, the page for the blue and gold opportunity plan
“Students with greater financial need can qualify for even more grant support to help defray other educational expenses (like books, housing, transportation, etc.) In 2010-11, UC provided grant and scholarship assistance averaging $14,514 per student to more than half of undergraduates.”
I know not everyone gets that much, but I wasn’t sure where the cutoff for more past the tuition was. Also it wouldn’t be welfare since it would be for a state school where all students from that state are supposed to be able to attend, regardless of financial status. I’m sorry if I sound rude but you post seemed condescending and I’m 17, I’ve never done this before so I have a lot of dumb questions but I look at this site and express people to be helpful not mean because I don’t understand</p>
<p>Also the only uc with in commuting distance to me is Berkeley, which as everyone knows is not an option for everyone, I wish I could save my parents the money but I didn’t even apply so as not to waste the money applying to such a difficult school</p>
<p>“Students with greater financial need can qualify for even more grant support to help defray other educational expenses (like books, housing, transportation, etc.) In 2010-11, UC provided grant and scholarship assistance averaging $14,514 per student to more than half of undergraduates.”</p>
<p>That doesn’t indicate a free ride. </p>
<p>First of all, it says “can”. </p>
<p>Secondly it says to “help” defray… Help defray does not mean pay for all of it. If I said that I was going to “help” you clean your room, I’m not cleaning all of it. I’ll help YOU clean your room.</p>
<p>Thirdly, you DID get some more support to help defray…you got more than just the tuition/fees.</p>
<p>Lastly, you have an EFC of $5000, you’re not the neediest. There’s a whole bunch more kids with EFC 0 and other very low EFCs. </p>
<p>I really don’t understand the thinking that taxpayers are going to pay for your bed and food. why would they? They don’t pay for those things for other people. My goodness, don’t you think you should have to pay for some of your education (with loans and summer earnings, etc)? You’re the one who’s going to benefit from the education, why shouldn’t you have to pay for some of it? </p>
<p>Seriously, most kids do not get to “go away” to school. Most have to commute to a local CC or a state school (like a CSU or whatever). Going away to school is a LUXURY. Taxpayers don’t pay for luxuries.</p>
<p>Ok. I just had a question. Again, you don’t have to be so rude. If you don’t like the fact that taxes help pay for state colleges or help too much, I’m sorry, not everyone thinks they should and that is a valid opinion and I respect that. I just wanted more information though, not a lecture. I was looking for help and you decided to get angry at me for asking something that I honestly just don’t understand very well. I know it says can and it’s not a free ride, as I stated earlier if you had paid attention, I don’t know where the cut off is and just wanted to understand better since the website doesn’t go into great depth.</p>
<p>I think it’s fine for taxes be used to help pay for tuition and maybe books. But, once it’s beyond that it becomes excessively expensive and frankly, welfare.<br>
Do you realize that many people who are paying those taxes can’t afford to send their own kids away to a UC? How fair is that? </p>
<p>Most kids can get a fine education by attending a state school ( a CSU or UC) that they can commute to. </p>
<p>But, we’ve encouraged this idea that kids can skip over their local CCs and CSUs and go elsewhere and someone else is supposed to pay for that? Why? </p>
<p>If a student wants to go away to school, then he should fund most/all of those costs…thru loans, work-study, or summer job earnings. </p>
<p>Yes, using tax dollars for room and board is essentially welfare. We pay for K-12 tuition, we don’t pay for K-12 kids to go to boarding schools. Going away to a state school is not some right. </p>
<p>We told you from the beginning that B&G doesn’t cover everything. We told you that you misread the site, but you didn’t believe us.</p>
<p>Seriously, I did not misread the site. I did not know the cut off for how much more they would cover and for what income it would be. That was what I wanted to know and it does not specify it on the site.*
Honestly I don’t care if you think it’s welfare. I asked a simple question, you decided to use it as a soap box. You have every right to express your opinion but I see no reason for a grown adult who has been through the process and understands it to make a high school student feel bad just for asking an honest question.*</p>
<p>I understand that not everything can be met for everyone, I just didn’t know where it was separated so I didn’t know why I didn’t get more. I wasn’t trying to cause a fight, I just wanted to understand and to get help from someone who knows more and honestly wants to help students, which is the vast majority of people on this site. I’m sorry that I obviously made you angry, but not everyone is knowledgeable about these things and the website does not tell even a hint at where the different ranges of aid are, so I had no idea.*I hope you’ll understand that</p>
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<p>OP, you’re absolutely right. The website can be vague or misleading to those who are not familiar with school finances, or really not familiar with certain language at all. In short, yes, it seems you may already meet full tuition+ from the 18K scholarships (in fact you do since UC system tuition and fees are ~13k in state). The B&G is supposed to come into play IF your other scholarships and loans combined do not provide enough financial assistance for you to attend a UC you were admitted to. No, it wouldn’t cover every college expense or offer “full ride”, but it would assist in those areas described on the site. I think the key phrase to take away from the site is “qualify for even more grant support” which implies that the student has already received grants, but those end up not covering the full system tuition and fees.</p>
<p>And on a side note from a third party perspective reading the thread chronologically in it’s entirety - IMO, you came off as a bit strong, mom2. I understand there are some students out there (and surely on this forum, and outside of it) that have an air of entitlement where things should be handed to them at minimal financial risk to them. This can usually be determined within the first post or 2 of a new thread with similar questions, but in this case, IMO, it reads like the OP just didn’t understand the website (probably because, like most government websites, it leaves as much ambiguity as possible) or the B&G in general and just wanted to make sure that if they were rightfully eligible for something that they did not receive (possibly in school error), then they just wanted to gain some online opinion on whether it should be brought up or mentioned to the school’s FA office.</p>
<p>Mom2- why are you being so hostile toward this poster? Has he been trolling or posting other things that conflict with this thread? It just seems like he wanted information not a tongue lashing and he was even polite after your first two posts. I’ve never noticed you get so hostile on other threads. Is there something about this particular post that we are missing?</p>
<p>mom2collegekids- I do not think this is a forum dedicated to your political and social views. If you want to share these views please go to the Fox news website. Please keep your opinions to yourself. If you have something of value to contribute feel free to help. But ranting at a kid that got into a college that is trying to figure out how to afford an education is pretty silly. I think you should apologize to this kid and the rest of the thread.</p>
<p>OP, I’m going to apologize on behalf of mom2collegekids. She did indeed jump down your throat. If you read this forum regularly, you’ll know that she is one of the most prolific and helpful participants–I believe she has assisted hundreds of college students and parents sort out the complexities of financial aid. I think you happened to get her on a bad day and also hit a hot button–so many kids do post here with a sense of entitlement, and for those of us who don’t live in California, the state school system there and the state financial aid seem dazzling compared to what is available elsewhere, so it’s hard to imagine that anyone would think they might have the right to more. But I agree that you were just asking for clarification and didn’t need a lecture.</p>
<p>Mom2…you are absolutely way out of line. I am sure glad you are not my Mom. Do not inject your political tea party-like taxing rhetoric on this board, and especially do not infect Charlie87 with your ill conceived pedantry. Your advice is useless to him, and discourages him to seek real answers to a complex problem from helpful people. Please leave.</p>
<p>While I probably should have been more gentle in my explanation as to WHY his need wasn’t all filled with grants, politics has nothing to do with my explanation. How would it? Calif is a Blue state and it won’t promise grants that cover full cost (room and board) because not only would that be unaffordable, but the state expects students and families to pay for much/most of those expenses thru loans, work-study and summer earnings or to commute from home (which is why the most/all CSUs give preference to those who live in the area.) </p>
<p>That’s not really a left or right wing idea. If it were, then surely Calif would have long been funding the full COA in grants. </p>
<p>The issue was that the OP did think he should be given grants up to his EFC. He didn’t think he should be given loans. He was dismayed that he “only got” $18,000 in free money. And, the $18k DOES cover more than just UC system fees - so the promise was fulfilled. </p>
<p>When he was told that Blue and Gold didn’t promise that need would be covered with grants, he disagreed. I guess I should have just said, “Ok, if that’s what you believe, fine. Call your school up and insist that they take out those loans and replace them with grants.” Now, if he had called the school up and he was told that he’s expected to pay for those costs with loans and such and explained why, would you have said the the person had some kind of political agenda???</p>
<p>Getting $18k in grants (times 4 years) is not “small potatoes” when someone has a $5k EFC. It’s an incredibly generous gift from taxpayers. Are you suggesting that only people who are “right of center” think that it’s OK to put loans in the FA packages and all of those who are left of center would fill all need with tax-payer funded grants? I don’t think so, because if that were true, it would have happened a long time ago. </p>
<p>And, jturley…he doesn’t have a “complex problem”. He didn’t think he should have loans in his FA pgk and he was told that the B&G promise doesn’t include covering all need with grants. That’s hardly complex.</p>
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<p>That’s misrepresenting the OP imo. He was confused by something written on the site, and it wasn’t written clearly. He needed clarification because he was confused. He thought he should get grants based on what was written, not because of a sense of entitlement. There is a difference- a rather big difference.</p>
<p>There are many, many, many people that come on here with an entitlement attitude. I do not believe the OP was one of them. I think the OP was confused and needed clarification, not a lecture.</p>
<p>My god Mom2, you just can’t leave it alone, can you? Perhaps you’re trying get your post count up to 34000. My God, get a life, and leave this poor boy alone. He’s a fine bright young man who needed some clarity on what you say is a simple problem. Instead he gets some nasty Tiger Mom with her claws out, giving him a right wing lecture. So what if he wants a full ride, at taxpayer expense. Good for him. </p>
<p>Why not do the right thing and apologize to him, and then, just, well, slink away.</p>
<p>Let’s see if you can get three more posts out of this thread. Maybe they’ll promote you to Elite Status. Meh.</p>
<p>Does anyone know how a sibling in another school affects aid. My family makes slightly over 80,000 but two kids are will be in college. Will I get anything?</p>
<p>I’m honestly sorry if I sounded entitled, I just don’t understand the system that well. My cousin literally gets paid to go to a UC because they give him extra money for room and board but he lives with his parents. I understand I’ll have to take out loans, I just didn’t know how much and how everything was determined, and my aid doesn’t include work study, which I applied for and would be happy to take to help lower some of the loans. Thank you to those who helped!</p>
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<p>Hopefully, you’re mistaken about your cousin. It’s difficult to know another person’s full financial situation, so you should be very careful when coming to that conclusion.</p>
<p>Having said that, it’s an unfortunate fact that every man-made system can be exploited. But such people are stealing from taxpayers and other folks with real need.</p>