I’m hoping people can give me a better understanding of Cal Grants. I am a relatively new California resident and this is my first child going to college.
Back in early December my D21 got an email telling her because of her academic achievements she was awarded grants for California schools. She did not apply for this?
Can you tell me how my daughter got selected? Will her final amount awarded be different than what was in her original email? Am I safe to assume that this money will not show up in her financial documents until she selects her school.
Is this performance and needs base? I’ve gone online trying to learn more but I’m not really finding what I am looking for. The amounts are significant so I do not want to miss the opportunity for her to receive them.
Her QC emailed me Friday to tell me they have the updated list and my daughter is still on it but she did not tell me the amounts awarded.
Did you fill out and apply for Fafsa and did she apply for the Cal Grant? There is a separate website to apply for the Cal Grant and yes, you do need to go on there and confirm her school selection. I don’t believe the Cal States and UC’s have received the final notifications yet about which students qualify for Cal Grant, but that should be happening soon.
We did fo Fafsa. We did not apply for the Cal Grant, so that’s why I’m confused that she was granted money. It makes me wonder if the school automatically submits for the kids?
Obviously I can ask her counselor tomorrow but was hoping for some clarification today because we are reviewing financial documents to try and narrow down her decisions and decline spots to open them up for other kids.
Our counselor told us late Friday night that they had just gotten the final list and my daughter is on it.
Our school submits GPA verification for all students. We never received the cal grant because it’s income and asset based. This shuts out many middle income families. The UC’s have always given us substantial university based grants. The cal states receive less funding so no money there. My daughter wants to commit to Cal Poly but it’s almost double the price of UCD and UCSD for our family. Ouch!
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Yes, the school submits the students transcripts and grades, and because you filled out the Fafsa she will be considered for the Cal Grant. You do need to create an account on the Cal Grant site as well…here is a link. How to Apply - California Student Aid Commission Scroll to the bottom and you’ll see where it asks you to create an account. After you do that and log in, you’ll be able to confirm her school choice so the Grant (if she is eligible) can be awarded as part of her financial aid package.
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Ok that’s interesting because the money she was granted for the UC’s was more than twice the amount for the cal states.
Am I safe to assume if income changes (goes up) you loose aid the next year?
I’m looking at the list from our school which shows how much all the UC’s and Cal States cost for residents and I’m not seeing the huge price disparity. How does one go about getting the university based grants for the UC’s ?
I see based on last year for instate: (approximate numbers)
Davis $36,000
UCSD $34,000
Cal Poly $29,000
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Thank you, her counselor did mention that. I appreciate your help. I was more confused how she was awarded anything because we never actually did anything beyond Fafsa and CCS.
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Have you looked at financial aid offers at the schools where she’s been accepted?
Yes, but those offers don’t include the Cal Grant money because she hasn’t committed anywhere yet.
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So the UC system has the ability to offer their own Grant money…Regents Grants, and the Blue and Gold program. Based on your Fafsa information and her grades etc. So yes, my son was offered more money from UC Davis than what he has been offered for the Cal States he was accepted to. The UCs do Cost more than the cal states but if your child is offered a Regents Grant it could make the out of pocket cost the same. And also yes, for Cal Grant…if your income goes up you could loose the Grant in following years. Also your daughter will need to maintain a 3.0 gpa in college to keep the Grant the following years.
So, so helpful. Thank you!
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Oh when she applied to the UCs they automatically considered her for any of their grants etc…no need for a separate application. So when she got her acceptance letters you should be able to look at her financial aid awarded in her portal. It will vary from school to school. I don’t believe most of the cal states have finalized their financial aid packages yet, so check back on those, and they may or may not show the cal grant awarded. In my sons portals the cal grant doesn’t always show there. It’s because cal grant is still in process right now I think. They haven’t notified all the colleges yet.
I’m almost certain that money would be in the offer because they are going off your fafsa info. If it just shows loans, that usually means no money is coming. The exception is the middle class scholarships awards that usually don’t show up until November. There’s usually a box on the UC financial aid website that says if it appears you MAY be eligible for some middle class scholarship funding. Do you mind sharing your EFC fafsa amount? With a 23k efc we received around 5k middle class scholarship from UCI for the current year. Because we’ll have 2 in college next year each has a 14k efc and it shows about 12k grant which I can assume will end up being attributed to middle class scholarship funds. They always make sure you pay your expected efc plus offering kid their subsidized/unsubsidized $5500 loan. From the cal states it always seems to be all loans unless you qualify for dream act or cal grant.
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Got it. I admit that this past week with all the acceptances rolling in out I was totally overwhelmed by it all and have not had the mental capacity to download the financial documents. It was just lots of news all at once amidst an insane college application season.
I want to take advantage of today to understand them all because I know wait lists will be a big deal this year and we don’t want to hold on to spots that other kids are really hoping for. Just like my daughter would love to get off Cal Poiy’s waitlist, we are moving forward and committing elsewhere. This year’s seniors have been through the ringer and we want to do our part to help out.
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Yep totally agree with that! My son was accepted to all 6 of the cal states he applied to, plus the one UC, and several privates, so we will be going in and declining the ones he knows are not his first or second choice schools at this point. He is pretty sure that San Jose State is where he will be going but we are waiting on 2 more decisions to come in before he makes it final. It’s all so stressful and this year was crazy with it being so competitive! Best of luck to your daughter!
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@Gumbymom any thoughts to add?
I think all the above posters have done a great job explaining the FA options to the OP.
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So, I have no looked at my D SAR Information till just now. I am intimidated by documents and all the financial aspects of this 
I see EFC as 15293, there is no dollar sign but I’m assuming that’s the figure. It also says she is not eligible for Federal Pell grant.
Income needs to be $50K or less to be eligible for a Pell Grant. Have you run the Net price calculator’s on all schools of interest? Depending upon your situation, they could give your reliable estimates for Cost of Attendance until you get your FA package.
Cal Grant income limits are different: https://www.csac.ca.gov/sites/main/files/file-attachments/2021-22_income_and_asset_ceilings_for_new_applicants_and_renewing_recipients.pdf?1597785909
Yes we have used the net price calculator. Thank you for chiming in. I will be PM’ing you if that’s ok because I have other questions about SDSU, not financially related. I’m still learning how to use this platform and feel a bit clumsy with it, I think I know how to DM.