Friend's Great Financial Aid

trojanman10101 · 07-03-2009, 10:10 PM

Ok my friend just got his financial award letter, and he is receiving many grants, work study, and few loans. He got accepted to Humboldt State, first off, with a 2.6 GPA, 1200 SAT scores, and no ECs. Ultimately, he got extremely lucky he got into college. His family income is 20K, and he lives in an apartment. The schools estimated costs were 18K, and w/ work study and grants he only has to take out 4K in loans. If my friend got that much loans w/ his horrible grades, should I be worried if I have the same financial situation, however, much better grades, such as a 3.7 unweighted, and I want to apply to the top UCs.

dntw8up · 07-03-2009, 10:30 PM

What Humboldt State offers one applicant has nothing to do with what, if anything, a UC will offer you.

Pea · 07-03-2009, 10:51 PM

All financial aid packages are individual. You would be silly to think that because you know one person who got an attractive package that you are home free.

trojanman10101 · 07-03-2009, 10:53 PM

However, if we have the same financial situation, or even mine is worst, then it is not safe to assume that I will get a similar package.

scottaa · 07-03-2009, 11:09 PM

Typically I would expect if your financials are similar, and your academics are better; then you should see a similar if not better offer AT THE SAME SCHOOL and you finished the application in a timely fashion.

YMMV

trojanman10101 · 07-03-2009, 11:41 PM

What if I apply to a different school in California, such as UCI or UCSD. Cal States and UCs financial departments aren't similar in anyway possible?

scottaa · 07-04-2009, 12:29 AM

No guarantees. Keep in mind as well that Cali is going through a horrible budget crisis. There is not likely to be the same resources in the coming years. Make sure you've got a good mix of schools you apply to.

trojanman10101 · 07-04-2009, 02:51 AM

Alright that's what I have figured. Thnx for the help.

LasMa · 07-04-2009, 02:59 AM

Yes, I wouldn't count on much of anything from the UCs for the next few years, and I'd be surprised if the CSUs aren't affected at some point as well. There simply isn't any money in California right now.

sk8rmom · 07-04-2009, 07:28 AM

It sounds like your friend got alot of need based aid. If your EFC is 0 too, you will likely receive a substantial amount via Pell, ACG, work study, FSEOG, and subsidized loans. I' m not sure how the CA grants work, or what their future is, but I would speculate the last cut to be made would be to eliminate aid to those with the lowest EFC. You have the advantage of also having good grades, so merit aid is a strong possibility. You might also garner some outside scholarships which could reduce your work study or loan commitments. Research your potential schools carefully and you should be able to come up with some decent offers.

Student Aid on the Web

I like this site for comparing financial aid averages, as it lists numbers without loans.

thumper1 · 07-04-2009, 01:08 PM

It's probably not wise to compare your friend's financial aid offer to what you MIGHT get. First of all...you don't really know what was on your friend's financial aid application or what other information went into awarding that aid. Your situation may "seem" the same...but it actually may be very different.

You need to look at what the probabilities are for YOU at each of the schools to which YOU are applying and forget about your friend's situation.

Just a humble opinion.

trojanman10101 · 07-04-2009, 03:47 PM

Alright thnx guys and the link was helpful, I guess I am just going to apply to mostly privates in California, and hope for the best.

csleslie51 · 07-05-2009, 12:10 AM

The FA scene on many colleges is changing because of their changes in investment returns. What a student is offered one year may have little to do with what another is offered the following year. I have seen kids with lower stats offered more aid in the previous 2-3 years that higher stat kids were offered this year. Now days there are no guarantees. Some schools are dropping their need-blind acceptances and are becoming more need aware. You can't count on someone else's stats to compare to yours any longer.

cptofthehouse · 07-05-2009, 12:36 AM

What Humboldt State offers to one ug could have nothing to do with what another is offered even in the same year. The well could run dry. If a kid happens to be accepted earlier than another, he could get more of the financial aid goodies. I have seen a lot of disparity even in situations that were like such as with siblings.

trojanman10101 · 07-05-2009, 02:01 AM

Okay so if a UC deadline to apply is Nov. 30, however, they start accepting applications Nov. 1, would it hurt my chances to apply later, or what is the deal with applying without destroying my chances of getting FA.