<p>so if your efc is about 0 and you are a California resident. How much financial aid can you expect based on experiences so far or experiences of people you know I especially would like to know about UCSD</p>
<p>I don't know specifically about UCSD - each UC does things a bit differently. You might try posting this question on the UCSD forum. Here is the UCSD webpage about fin aid: Current</a> Students: How UCSD Determines Financial Aid Awards . </p>
<p>My own experience (as a CA resident) with other UC campuses is that they met my full FAFSA-determined need with a combination of State grants, Federally subsidized loans and work/study, and then filled the remaining gap with university scholarships. My EFC was not 0.</p>
<p>There is the Pell grant $4000+, the Cal grant which may be either the A or the B, if it is the B it is a smaller amount year one and the school usually gives a school grant to make up the difference, then it is just the Cal grant in subsequent years ($6000+??) plus any merit awards- alumni, chancellor, regents, Byrd, etc plus ACG or SMART grant IF you qualify (ACG is the first two years, Smart thereafter and the amount starts at $650 and goes up from there)</p>
<p>So, assuming no merit and no outside (ELks, local) you would see the Pell and the Cal grants and maybe an SEOG, so assume $12k or so in grants and the remainder in loans or work study</p>
<p>Isn't there on a max on the amount of direct loans and work study that a student can have from the government?</p>
<p>Cost of Attendance (including tuition, fees, room/board, books, misc, transportation) is about 23K.</p>
<p>UCSD meets about 82% of need, on average, so you might be looking at an aid package totaling about 19 - 20K.</p>
<p>Agree with somemon that you'll end up with Pell and Cal Grant totaling about 10K or so, and you'll likely be offered a University Grant of around 3K. So around 13K in grants.</p>
<p>Then you'll likely be offered Stafford or Perkins subsidized loans of around 4K, and probably work study for around 3K.</p>
<p>Fees are around 8K and room/board around 10K-- these are your hard expenses-- and I'd guess that between grants and subsidized loans, these will almost be covered. You'll probably be left to pick up your miscellaneous/transportation/book expenses through work study and whatever your family can muster.</p>
<p>Depends on how strong a candidate you are. UC's offer the Regent Scholars program, which replaces work study and loans with grants, but only for very strong candidates. Regents Scholars get 100% of their need met, so EFC=0 Scholars get full rides, basically. I would suggest applying to several UC's, because you might be a better match for one campus than another. </p>
<p>Try doing a web search for UCSD and Regent Scholars, for more information. You don't apply for the award, by the way -- they tell you if you're a candidate and ask you to submit additional materials, during the application process.</p>