<p>I applied and qualified for Cal Grant A, anticipating I would be going to a UC this fall. However, I have decided to enroll in De Anza community college. To reflect this change, I applied for a school change on my Cal Grant account. Will I still be able to use my 12k dollars from Cal Grant A during my time in community college? Or, do I have to reapply for Cal Grant B in order to receive financial aid in De Anza?</p>
<p>You don’t have to reapply, but you won’t receive Cal Grant A. You will receive the one out of the few that applies to community colleges, I can’t recall which one off the top of my head, but the max for that one is $155X. I believe it is Cal Grant B.
Sorry, hopefully someone will know more of the specifics.</p>
<p>Cal Grant A award is ineligible for use at a CCC, however Cal Grant B and C are. B and C have max amounts that are significantly lower than A and I can almost guarantee you that you will not receive anywhere near 12k grant for a 4k/yr school.</p>
<p>I too was awarded Cal A thinking I would go a 4-year, but ended up choosing CC and I went in to the FA office at De Anza to ask the very same thing. They explained the above to me and also stated that I would most likely not qualify for Cal B (income based) or C (vocational school).</p>
<p>IMPORTANT: However, remember that you will remain eligible for the same Cal Grant A award for 3 years while at a CCC. Basically, you are put on a “reserve” status with your Cal A until you can attend a 4-year, so long as you get there within 150% of the time it takes to transfer. CA thinks it takes 2 years to transfer so you have 3 years of reserve status to get to a 4-year and use it, or you lose it and will need to reapply.</p>
<p>[California</a> Student Aid Commission - Cal Grant A *](<a href=“http://www.csac.ca.gov/doc.asp?id=105]California”>http://www.csac.ca.gov/doc.asp?id=105)</p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses everybody, very helpful.</p>
<p>@turtlerock-- so essentially, does that mean I will not be able to get financial aid until I transfer?</p>
<p>Technically you can qualify for Cal B, but you must be very low income. Also, you can use Pell Grant from FAFSA for CC as well (which is also income/need based award). And, of course, you can always take out loans, though it is highly ill advised to do so, especially at the CC level.</p>
<p>Other than the above and private scholarships, then no, there’s not really any other forms of aid for CC students.</p>
<p>You can always double check with the FA office just to make sure you covered all bases and opportunities (I don’t pay too close attention to specific FA for school since I attend with the GI Bill, which is a whole other beast).</p>
<p>Do you best to transfer within 3 years and you will not have to apply for Cal A again.</p>