The Real Cost of UC:
Financial Aid for 2015-16
UC Counselor Conference
September 2015
What We Will Cover Today
Financing a UC Education
Assistance for Specific Populations
Outcomes for Students
Conclusion
Questions?
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Financing a UC
Education
Affordability
UC is affordable!
It costs less than you think.
• Most families pay less than the full price of attending UC.
• Over half of resident undergraduates pay no systemwide
tuition at all.
• About two-thirds of students receive grants and
scholarships, with an average award of around $16,600.
All students should apply for financial aid.
• This is the only way to guarantee consideration for every
type of aid possible, regardless of income level.
There are lots of ways to finance a UC education.
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Financing a UC
education is a
partnership between
the student, his or her
parents and UC.
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Average UC Cost of
Attendance (2015-16)
Living on campus: $33,600
$14,200
room & board
$13,400
tuition/fees
$2,400
personal &
transportation
expenses
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$1,500
$2,100
health care
books & fee/allowance
supplies
The net cost actually is
much less for about
two-thirds of UC’s
undergraduate
students because they
receive gift aid.
Net Cost
NET COST is the key to comparing different college prices.
Financial Aid Offer
TOTAL COST
OF ATTEDANCE
GIFT AID
(all grants + scholarships)
NET COST
(student & parent share of cost)
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Students
UC expects students to cover part of the cost of
attendance through working and borrowing.
Parents
UC expects parents to contribute based on their
financial resources and circumstances as reported on
the FAFSA or California Dream Act Application.
University of California
UC covers the remaining costs with gift aid from a
variety of sources. Each campus determines a student’s
total grant eligibility and meets it using federal, state and
UC’s own gift aid programs.
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Sample Financing Plans
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Our Blue + Gold
Opportunity Plan will
cover systemwide
tuition and fees for
students who qualify.
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Blue + Gold
How does it work?
• The Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan gives California families who
qualify for financial aid the assurance that they won’t have to pay
UC’s systemwide tuition and fees if their total income is less than
$80,000 and they demonstrate sufficient financial need.
• Qualified students must be in their first four years of attendance for
students entering as freshmen (first two for transfer students).
How do students apply?
• Students must file a FAFSA or the California Dream Act Application
and Cal Grant GPA Verification form by March 2 of the year they
plan to enter UC.
• No separate application is needed; students will receive benefits
automatically if they qualify.
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Blue + Gold
The Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan provides a minimum
amount of grant money for qualifying students.
• Students with sufficient financial need can qualify for
even more grants to cover other educational expenses,
such as room and board, books and transportation.
• UC currently provides grant and scholarship assistance
averaging over $16,600 per student to about twothirds of undergraduates.
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California’s Middle Class Scholarship (MCS)
program provides scholarships to undergraduate
California students who apply for aid by March 2
and have family incomes and household assets up
to $150,000.
Eligible students will be notified of the actual
scholarship amount by the California Student Aid
Commission (CSAC).
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Student Responsibility:
Part-Time Work
• UC expects that a student will work less than
20 hours per week when enrolled and fulltime when not enrolled.
• Job placement assistance is available on
campus.
• Students do not have to qualify for a workstudy job in order to find part-time work,
either on or off campus.
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Loans
Investing in the Future
• Education loans are available to families and students at all
income levels.
• 55% of undergraduates borrow while enrolled at UC.
• A typical undergraduate at UC who borrows has a manageable 10year loan repayment—around $230/month.
• Borrowing can enable students to work less and graduate sooner!
Federal Student Aid Repayment Estimator
• Shows federal student loan balances and estimated payments
under Standard, Graduated, Pay As You Earn, Income-Based
Repayment (IBR), and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plans:
studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/mobile/repayment/repaymentEstimator.action
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Parent Responsibility
•
Determined by UC based on information reported on the
FAFSA or the California Dream Act Application.
•
Amount based on the income and assets of custodial
parent(s) for dependent students under age 24.
•
Can be paid from savings, current income or federal
parent loans (PLUS).
•
May be $0 for low-income families.
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PLUS Loans
•
Available to most families; maximum that can be borrowed is cost
of attendance minus all other sources of financial aid.
•
6.84% fixed interest rates for the life of the 2015-16 loan, 4.3%
loan fee for amounts borrowed during 2015-16; rates applicable to
subsequent year’s loans may change based on the statutory index.
•
Family repayment can be reduced or deferred until a student and
siblings leave college.
•
Students can borrow additional unsubsidized Stafford loans
($4,000 during the first two years and $5,000 during the remaining
years) if family does not qualify for a PLUS loan.
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Federal Education Tax Credits
•
To the extent that students or their families pay for
their tuition, certain required fees, and/or qualified
books and supplies out of their own pockets (without
grant or scholarship), they may qualify for a federal
education tax credit of up to $2,500 on the first
$5,000 that they pay.
•
Tax credits reduce the amount of taxes owed!
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What if parents don’t pay their
share?
•
UC will attempt to help students find additional
education loans so they don’t work more than halftime.
•
A creditworthy U.S. co-signer will bring the price
down for such private loans.
•
UC will try to offer refinancing advice when a
student leaves UC so their monthly repayment
amount is manageable.
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Tips on Managing Cost
Paying Up-Front Costs
• Financial aid is disbursed in equal installments by term.
• Students and families who have completed the financial
aid process will be expected to pay only the difference
between the UC charges and the financial aid applied to
the student account.
Payment Plans / Credit Cards
• UC campuses have options to spread out UC housing
and tuition and fee payments.
• Some UC campuses permit use of certain credit cards to
pay tuition and fees.
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Bring Down Expenses
Finish at UC as soon as possible
Apply for outside scholarships
Work part-time
Make cost-saving choices
• Roommates
• Rent required text books
• Travel cost
• Choose on-campus meal plan wisely
• Leave cars at home
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Typical UC Undergraduate
•
Enrolls full time and graduates in 4.2 years.
•
Works fewer than 20 hours per week.
•
Borrows while enrolled.
•
Earns an average of $37,000 with liberal arts BA and
$44,000 for science and math BS upon graduation.
•
Those who borrow have monthly student loan repayments
of around $230/month reflecting loans from UC (based on
current interest rates and a 10-year term—lower monthly
payments are available).
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Financial Assistance for
Specific Populations
Undocumented Students
•
May qualify for a nonresident tuition exemption under AB 540
and for state and UC financial aid under the California Dream
Act.
• The student must attend a CA high school for three or more
years and graduate and
• Certify that he or she is taking steps to legalize his or her
immigration status or will do so as soon as eligible to do so (“AB
540” application/affidavit).
•
These students must file a California Dream Act Application
and submit a Cal Grant GPA Verification Form by March 2.
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Undocumented Students
• UC will be implementing the DREAM Loan
program to allow undocumented AB 540-eligible
students to choose to borrow.
• Outside agency loans, grants or scholarships
are the only option if students are not eligible for
AB 540 status.
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DACA-eligible Students
•
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) entitles
students to be employed legally—which makes it much
easier to find jobs to help cover some of their educational
costs.
•
DACA is a separate program from AB 540, and has no effect
on eligibility for the AB 540 tuition exemption or financial aid.
•
Some UC campuses are setting up programs so that AB
540-eligible students with DACA certification may work in
institutional work-study programs. DACA students can qualify
for in-state fees.
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Former Foster Youth
•
Each UC campus has a liaison to work with
incoming former or current foster youth.
•
Current foster youth are “independent” for financial
aid eligibility.
•
Foster youth benefits are treated as scholarships,
so they do not reduce other grant eligibility.
•
Assistance is available during school breaks.
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U.S. Military Veterans
•
Most of UC’s student veterans transfer to UC from a community college.
•
Each UC campus has special services available to help veterans transition
to college.
•
Notify the campus as early as possible about the veteran status of an
incoming student.
•
Federal law no longer allows a veteran to simultaneously have the benefits
of both a Cal Grant and also Post 9-11/Chapter 33 education benefits for
tuition and fees.
Tip: Try to save Chapter 33 benefits to use when attending a higher cost
program!
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Student Parents
• UC welcomes student parents.
• Campuses have support services for students
with children.
• Family housing may be available on or near
campus.
• Documented child care costs may be added to
the student budget to increase eligibility for
financial aid.
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Changed Circumstances
• When family income or other significant
circumstances change after the filing of the
FAFSA or California Dream Act Application,
students may petition to have their financial aid
awards reconsidered.
• Each campus has a financial aid appeal
process—check with the financial aid office on
campus.
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Outcomes for UC
Students Receiving
Financial Aid
2-Year Freshman Persistence Rates by Entering Year, Parent
Income, and Academic Preparation
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Units completed After 2 Years by Entering Year, Parent Income,
and Academic Preparation
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Four- and Six-year Graduation Rates by Entering Year, Parent
Income, and Academic Preparation
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Average Elapsed Years to Degree by Entering Year, Parent Income, and
Academic Preparation
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Conclusion
Conclusion
• UC is affordable! Over half pay no systemwide
tuition; about two-thirds get grant or scholarship.
• Financing a UC Education requires a
partnership between students, parents, and UC.
• Help for specific populations is available.
• Outcomes show our financial aid policies make
it possible for all students to succeed.
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Campus Financial Aid
Resources
UC Berkeley
(510) 664-9181
UCLA
(310) 206-0400
UC San Diego
(858) 534-4480
financialaid.berkeley.edu
fao.ucla.edu
fao.ucsd.edu
UC Davis
(530) 752-2390
UC Merced
(209) 228-7178
UC Santa Barbara
(805) 893-2432
financialaid.ucdavis.edu
financialaid.ucmerced.edu finaid.ucsb.edu
UC Irvine
(949) 824-8262
UC Riverside
(951) 827-3878
UC Santa Cruz
(831) 459-2963
www.ofas.uci.edu
finaid.ucr.edu
financialaid.ucsc.edu
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For More Information
Paying for UC
admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/paying-for-uc
UC Online Admissions Application
universityofcalifornia.edu/apply
Electronic FAFSA
fafsa.gov
California Dream Act Application
dream.csac.ca.gov
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U.S. Dept. of Ed. &
FAFSA Processing
1-800-433-3243
ed.gov
Cal Grant Information
1-888-224-7268
csac.ca.gov
Questions?