Will I be able to attend Cal-Berkeley if I get accepted?

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

<p>I'm a 19 year old hispanic american male from New Jersey. I don't speak any language other than English and I'm an English major. I attended a private, liberal arts college in NY but once the tuition increased and returning for my sophomore year became unaffordable (the school costs $40,000 and I was given a roughly $30,000 financial aid package) I had no choice other than to enroll at my local community college because at that point it was too late to transfer to a cheaper state school such as Rutgers for the year.</p>

<p>Additionally my SAT scores in HS (10/2007) were CR- 600, Math- 580, Writing- 720 and I received a 3 on my AP English and AP Government exams.
Would the 720 in Writing waive the composition requirement at Berkeley? Their site says it would</p>

<p>Anyway here's my coursework
Fall 2008
EN 111 World Literature: B+
TH 103 Script Analysis: A
RFT Reflective Tutorial (College Experience course): B+
PH 109 Political Philosophy: B</p>

<p>Spring 2009
EC 101 Honors Macroeconomics: B+
EC 102 Microeconomics: A-
AC 101 Financial Accounting I: A
PS 101 Intro to Psychology: A
CS 106Computer Computency Fundamentals: A</p>

<p>Cumulative Freshmen Year GPA: 3.6</p>

<p>Current Year Courses (NJ Community College)
Fall 2009
CH 111 General Chemistry I: B/B+
EN 214 Intro to Shakespeare: A
HI 101 Western Civilization I: A
MU 106 Appreciation of Music: A
MA 101 College Math I: A</p>

<p>GPA: 3.75-3.9</p>

<p>Spring 2010:
EN 220 Development of the American Novel
CJ 208 Criminology
EN 216 World Literature II
EN 290 Topics in Literature
FR 101 Elementary French I
SO 208 Deviance & Social Control</p>

<p>My mother hasn't worked in over 5 years and we basically live off of SSI. I have a part-time job which requires me to work anywhere from 32-34 hours each week (and some weeks I work 38-40). I'm also the editor of the sports section of my school's paper, was a Division I tennis team member at my other school and have joined the christian fellowship club, the sociology club and the psychology club at my community college.</p>

<p>If I get into Cal-Berkeley, which I think is a long shot, what type of financial aid package can I expect as an out of state URM transfer student from a low-income household? I'm willing to move to California if I get in and rent an apartment using the money I save from my job to eliminate room & board costs and then hopefully will have established in-state residency by the following school year.</p>

2

<p>The most you would be eligible for (in terms of “free” money) is for Federal grant money as an out of state student (the Pell Grant). Cal Grants and UC Fee Grants are reserved for in-state residents, and in the case of the Cal Grant, you must have graduated from a California High School. The UC Fee Grants is part of a program called “Blue and Gold” and will only cover tuition for those who qualify (it cannot cover any other part of the cost of attendance). However, it asks you to apply for Cal Grant to qualify so my guess would be this is available to those who also graduated from a California High School, but I see no mention of the requirement to be anything but a California resident as part of the requirements.</p>

<p>The cost of attendance for UC Berkeley exceeds what you were being charged at the private liberal arts college you attended previously. The out of state tuition fee is $22,718 on top of an estimated $28,897 cost of attendance for in state residents. That makes the out of state estimated cost of attendance $51,615. Of course, that is if you live on campus. The estimated cost of attendance is $46,897 if you live off campus as an out of state student.</p>

<p>None of the UCs are among those universities in the US that claim to meet full need. And most of their grant resources go first to in state residents.</p>

<p>Note that if you are establishing residency, you will have to make it clear you are not doing so only for tuition purposes. They want people who intend to make California their permanent home for the foreseeable future and will pay taxes that will help support the state schools.</p>

<p>UC Berkeley has announced their intention to accept more out of state students (I forget whether this was freshman exclusively or included transfers) because the California public school system is hurting for money. They want full paying out of state students.</p>

<p>There are also loans you could take out (you would most likely qualify for the subsidized stafford loans as well as the unsubsidized ones), but there is only so much you can borrow per year.</p>

<p>Being a URM would have no effect (from my understanding) on either your acceptance or your aid as Affirmative Action is illegal in California. There are not many scholarships available for transfers, but you might be able to find ones targeted for your ethnicity and your academics. The Financial Aid and Scholarships forum on this website would be able to help you better with finding ways to pay for college, but forewarning, they may tell you that it would be a huge financial burden to the loans you will probably have to take out. Even as an in state resident, the cost of attendance is still over $28,000 and there is another percentage step increase coming in Fall 2010 from what I remember a representative from UCSC telling me.</p>

<p>Sources:
[UC</a> Berkeley Financial Aid Office Cost of Attendance](<a href=“http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/home/cost.htm]UC”>http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/home/cost.htm)
[Grants</a> for School, College Grant, School Grants](<a href=“http://www.calgrants.org/index.cfm?navId=12]Grants”>http://www.calgrants.org/index.cfm?navId=12)
[UC</a> Blue and Gold Opportunity - Am I Eligible?](<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/blueandgold/eligible.html]UC”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/blueandgold/eligible.html)</p>

3

<p>As Kender said, Cal is not the best school for out of state students who cannot fund their own education in full. I have a friend at Cal who has worked very hard to graduate one year early because he can’t afford it anymore. He basically has no money and is constantly worried about how he will pay his tuition, housing, for books, etc. His financial situation is similar to yours - he gets Pell Grant, but not much else. My advice, especially if you are planning on grad school, is to transfer to a good public school in NY, save money, continue to get good grades, and attend grad school anywhere you want, such as Berkeley. But if you are dead set on going to Cal for your final two years, look into living in the Berkeley Student Co-ops for housing as they are fairly inexpensive and at least you won’t starve. But apply for them early. Or you could always live in an RV and shower at the RSF, like another friend of mine (who is in-state, but still struggling with finances).</p>

4

<p>“UC Berkeley has announced their intention to accept more out of state students (I forget whether this was freshman exclusively or included transfers) because the California public school system is hurting for money. They want full paying out of state students.”</p>

<p>Kender, where did you hear this? Source?</p>

<p>Does Berkeley look at whether or not a student will be requesting aid before they make an admissions decision? How do you show you’re a full pay student; is it understood if you don’t apply for financial aid/scholarships?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

5

<p>Top Top: [UC</a> Berkeley to admit more out-of-state students](<a href=“http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/20/BAFI1A89U6.DTL]UC”>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/20/BAFI1A89U6.DTL)</p>

<p>It was all over the news for weeks. Albeit in a minor fashion as the occupations were getting more coverage, but it was still being noted. And it’s been talked about on these forums.</p>

<p>And I cannot find a direct source on whether UC Berkeley is need-blind or not, but from what I have seen, most state schools are (considering we pay taxes to our state’s schools, I would hope so). Thus they would not look at your financial status when you apply. You are admitted whether you can afford it or not. But my best guess would be that as California state grants are limited to California residents and California High School graduates (at least in the case of the Cal Grant) and the only real grant option for out of state students is the Federal Pell Grant, the rest must be made up in loans and out of the student’s own pocket. Therefore, the school is still getting their money without having to put out any of their own.</p>

<p>DreamingBig: I did forget to mention the possibility of being granted Federal Work Study. Again, this is nothing that is provided by the college. The downside, though, is that while the money is offered to you, you cannot receive it unless you are lucky enough to find a work study job. And all jobs, especially work study, are in high demand.</p>

6

<p>Dreaming Big
You should redirect your interests at schools that guarantee to meet 100 percent of your need, or schools that have “no-loan policy”, and/or ones that have policies for low income students were you would get a free ride at just for having an income below a certain number.</p>

<p>What I don’t understand, is why’d you be willing to pay for out of state housing at Berkeley, yet the 10K gap in your financial aid package from the school you used to attend is about the same amount of money you’d have to pay for out of pocket or take out in loans for berkeley housing.</p>

<p>Berkeley won’t give you a full ride, not even at the tuition level. It’s not because you are not qualified, its because they don’t have a responsibility to do so since you’re not a California resident.</p>

7

<p>The general consensus seems to be that Berkeley will not be able to provide sufficient enough need-based financial aid for me to attend the school.
I don’t mind taking out substantial loans if I get in, if only for my first year. I already have a $20,000 under my belt. If you really want something I don’t think any monetary barrier should stop you from going after it. In this case, attending Cal-Berkeley. We’re not taking our bank accounts with us to heaven, I say just live on.
I just hope that if I get in the financial aid (w/loans) will cover the expenses that I can’t cover out of my own pocket</p>

8

<p>Note that you will need a co-signer for loans of that size and you most likely will have to seek them from private sources which will not always offer stellar interest rates. Do also take into consideration if you are expecting to go to graduate school. Many students tend to save their “large loans” for that time rather than undergraduate work, but in the end, it is your choice. But I highly recommend looking up just how much you will be having to pay back per month for the next ten years and how much interest you will accrue.</p>

<p>Something you may also need to consider is that your residency is determined by your parent’s (in this case, your mom) residency if you are a dependent.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Source: [Legal</a> Residence Information - Office Of The Registrar](<a href=“http://registrar.berkeley.edu/Default.aspx?PageID=legalinfo.html]Legal”>http://registrar.berkeley.edu/Default.aspx?PageID=legalinfo.html)</p>

<p>So unless you meet any of those requirements thus making you a financially independent student, your mom would have to move to California to establish residency herself for you to be considered as a resident for tuition purposes.</p>

9

<p>That’s why I’m planning to move to California if I get into Berkeley. But it does seem like somewhat of a waste if I was able to get in and only receive financial aid as an in-state resident for my final year of undergraduate study. But I guess it beats some OOS students who amass a ton of loans right? Will I really need a cosigner considering I’ll be 20 years old?</p>

10

<p>You’ll likely need a cosigner for many, if not all, private loans since you may not have a long, established record of personal good credit. I considered attending a private LAC and would have had to take out a personal loan to do so. I have excellent credit, a high FICO score, and am older than most undergrads. I called one of my long-time credit card providers to ask if I still needed to have a cosigner to get a personal education loan from them, and they said yes, those are their rules. Another provider said they didn’t need a cosigner, but only because of my excellent, well-established credit rating. </p>

<p>I don’t think the money issue should prevent you from applying to Cal, but I think you should also apply to other schools as backup. I’m grappling with this myself as I think about grad school. I really want to go to London for grad school, but can I truly justify the $35,000 it will cost for just one year? I’m still applying and hoping that they will provide at least half the cost of tuition, but if not, there are plenty of excellent schools in the US.</p>

11

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<p>I don’t think you’re understanding. Unless you qualify as financially independent per the guidelines stated, your mother will have to move to California as well for you to gain residency. You cannot establish residency in a different state than your mother when you are still considered a dependent of her.</p>

<p><a href=“1”>quote</a> you are at least 24 years of age by December 31 of the year you request residence classification

[/quote]
</p>

<p>You’re 19 now and you’re applying for Fall 2010, yes? Or even if you apply for Fall 2011, you do not qualify under this for financial independence.</p>

<p><a href=“2”>quote</a> you are a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Considering your age and the fact it seems you have been in school since you graduated from high school, I doubt you qualify under this criteria. But please correct me if I’m wrong.</p>

<p><a href=“3”>quote</a> you are a ward of the court or both of your parents are deceased

[/quote]
</p>

<p>You have indicated your mother is alive therefore you do qualify under this.</p>

<p><a href=“4”>quote</a> you have legal dependents other than a spouse or a registered domestic partner

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Do you have child of your own who is considered your dependent? If not, you do not qualify under this.</p>

<p><a href=“5”>quote</a> you are married, a registered domestic partner, a graduate academic student, or a graduate professional student and you were not/will not be claimed as an income tax deduction by any individual other than your spouse or domestic partner for the tax year preceding the term for which you are requesting resident classification

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Are you married? If not, you do not qualify under this. Are you claimed by someone else as a dependent? If yes, you do not qualify under this. Are you a graduate student? Since you are seeking your undergraduate, no, you do not qualify under this.</p>

<p><a href=“6”>quote</a> you are a single undergraduate student who was not claimed as an income tax deduction by your parents or any other individual for the two tax years immediately preceding the term for which you are requesting resident classification, and you can demonstrate self-sufficiency for those years and the current year.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Has your mother claimed you on her taxes for the past two years? Will she claim you for this year when she files taxes next year? If yes, you do not qualify under this even if you are financially supporting yourself 100%.</p>

<p>And yes, unless you have incredibly good credit to satisfy the company loaning you the money, you will most likely need a co-signer unless you are receiving a student stafford loan (for which a co-signer is not needed, but there is a limit to how much you can borrow each year).</p>

<p>I’m not trying to deter you from going to your dream school, but you seem to not understand that not only will you be paying more out of pocket per year than you were at your previous school, but unless you meet at least one of the qualifications for being financially independent, you will not be able to establish California residency so you will be forced to pay out of state tuition for the full two years.</p>

<p>If you really want to go, then go if you get accepted. But understand just how much debt you are going to get into and how much you will be paying back each month after you graduate. Be sure to factor in what job you are seeking and what the average starting pay rate is so you can determine if you will even be able to afford the payments without defaulting on your loans.</p>

12

<p>Question to OP. Where are your comprehension and writing classes? You don’t need them for transfer? Your stats look more like a comp lit major.</p>

13

<p>Therein lies the loophole. My mother has not filed her income tax return since around 2004. She has not been required to given her financial sitaution. So I’m certain she hasn’t claimed me on her income tax return for the past two years. </p>

<p>So under that criteria would I not be able to make a credible case for permanent California residency?</p>

14

<p>You should have said that before ;). As long as you can prove you are financially supporting yourself (receiving no aid from your mother), then yes, there is a chance to make use of that criteria from how I am understanding it. I highly recommend asking if she has claimed you or not, though, just to be sure. This seems like something that would be verified with a fine-tooth comb.</p>

<p>Also note that if you were able to establish residency under this criteria, you would still be considered dependent in terms of financial aid. This “loophole” for establishing residency does not exist for FAFSA.</p>

<p>[Dependency</a> Status Worksheet - Worksheet - Federal Student Aid](<a href=“http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/FOTWWebApp/fotw0910/WorksheetServlet?locale=en_US&wstype=WSDEP]Dependency”>http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/FOTWWebApp/fotw0910/WorksheetServlet?locale=en_US&wstype=WSDEP)</p>

<p>If you were allowed to establish residency thus reducing the amount you pay out your second year, you would have to not accept any assistance at all from your mother. All aid must be reported on FAFSA and, based on the criteria for establishing financial independence for tuition purposes, any aid from her would also negate your financial independence and revoke your California residency should you qualify for it.</p>

<p>It’s really odd that they do it that way. On one hand, to be financially independent from one’s parents under this criteria, you must be able to support yourself with no aid from them. However, it is your parent’s tax information (along with your own) that must be reported on the FAFSA. But this may not make much of a difference and you could end up with a low enough EFC that you’d still qualify for at least some aid (it sounds like you might be eligible for the Pell Grant). The rest will most likely have to be in loans, however (at least what you cannot cover out of pocket). You would need to cover both the parent’s EFC and the student EFC.</p>

<p>I’m not sure how Blue and Gold works in a scenario like this since your mother would not be a resident, but for financial aid purposes, you would still be her dependent. And you would still not qualify for Cal Grants. So you are possibly looking at quite a large loan for just undergraduate work even if you establish residency. But yes, if you can do that with this criteria, then you could potentially become a resident and pay in-state tuition.</p>

<p>Like I said, if you really want it and you get in (and you don’t mind potentially being in debt for a substantial amount), then go for it. Nothing is stopping you. I just implore you to fully explore how much financial burden this will be putting on you and to make sure all your bases are covered. I would guess and fully expect the schools and such to follow up on a situation like this to ensure you were doing everything properly.</p>

15

<p>What about your father? If he is still alive, you might need to prove that he hasn’t claimed you on his tax return either. I’ve heard stories of people who haven’t seen nor spoken with their father for years - the father had fled the family 100% - and the kid still had to figure out how to prove that the father hadn’t claimed him/her as a dependent. In my own case (sorry I keep using myself as an example, but I’ve got some experience with this), my dad refused to give me his tax returns when I was ready to attend college, albeit “out of state,” at age 22. I had been independent, not at all supported by either father or mother, and living and working in that state for 3 years, but still could not prove residency because my dad would not give me just a few sheets of paper.</p>