Hello everyone,
I had some questions regarding UC financial aid
Alright. So. I am part of a family of 5. We make about $30,000 a year and live in California. I know the UCs are much more generous to students who are from California but I still have a few questions.
I know that UC schools pay for all tuition for students whose families make less than $80,000 a year according to their financial aid website. However, that leaves a fair chunk of fees like $18,000 for room and board as well as a few others to discuss. I know a typical CalGrant for a UC is about $12,000 and a Pell Grant is $6000. However, I wanted to know if the UCs give you their Grant for tuition on top of the other grants I will receive because If they do I would be able to go there debt free.
Thank you all so very much
@Gumbymom yes. I did. But it is fairly unspecific. It states $8800 in “loans and work study.” Which is why I am asking. Is there a general idea of how much work study the UCs give? At my current college I get $6000 a year in world study. If I got the same (hopefully more) I could afford it.
@Skipper18542: I am far from a financial aid expert but the UC’s tend to be pretty generous with low income students. To me, $6000/year in work study seems high. You are eligible for $7500/year as a transfer but I would say that if you want an exact answer on your FA, that you contact one of the UC financial aid offices and see if they can help you determine an approximate amount you would be eligible as a transfer applicant.
@Kelsmom is the CC resident FA expert so you might want to PM her in regards to your situation.
All…it sounds like you are at least a second year college student.
If the UC net price calculator says $8800 in loans and work study, it’s likely that the loan is the $6500 Direct Loan sophomores get ($7500 if you are a junior) and the balance of the amount is work study potentially…so $2300 or $1300 depending on whether you are a sophomore or junior.
Are you currently at a community college?
You know…the most economical way for this to work is for you to get the Calgrant and have tuition covered…and commute from your family home to a CSU or UC. Is that possible?
Work study is usually about $3000. If you only get the $3000 and want to earn more, you can still do that at another job, usually off campus. I don’t think WS can be for more than minimum wage x number of weeks in the semester x 20 weeks. I don’t think you can work more than 20 hours per week on a work study job. You could still run out of WS if the job you get pays more than minimum wage.
@twoinanddone
Oddly, my DD got work study for a couple of years. Her award was $4000 a year. Her job paid $15 an hour which was well above the minimum wage in CA at the time. Still…she really had to work 10-12 hours a week to earn the full $4000. She worked in admissions…and there was no work the first week of classes, and during exams.
Work study jobs can have higher than minimum wage. But your point about number of hours worked is important. It is unlikely that this student will get 20 hours a week of work study work!
Oh, I think most often they do pay higher than minimum wage and thus can max out before the end of the semester., but I think there is a limit on how much they will award. Minimum wage in my daughter’s state is still the fed rate of $7.25, but most jobs pay more than that.
@thumper1
The difference between Op and your daughter’s situation was that you were a full freight parent. If your D got no work study, she would have still been straight. Op is looking for work study to meet his/her need at the school. Op needs to balance the following:
trying to get enough work study to pay the balance on the bill ( I agree with others Op may need an outside job)
Trying to balance the need to work in a way that the academics don’t suffer
Trying to balance work study federal and a part time job in a way that it does not reduce the Op’s Aid
To Op
If your package with federal aid, loans, workstudt does not cover you, others are correct in saying that the school may not be an affordable option and you may need an option closer to home where you can commute
@sybbie719 Right. My point was that even with a large work study amount, the poster would need a high paying job OR tons of hours of work.
I’m not sure that this poster can fill,the gap with work study earnings only.
My DD couldn’t do that either.
What was in the FA pkg? With a likely 0 EFC, this Calif resident is likely going to get cal grant, Pell, and a generous UC grant…with nearly the rest being covered with loan and work study. Likely he’ll only have a small gap which the student is supposed to be covering by working/saving over the summer.