I have two questions I hope you guys can help me with. I recently applied for a subsidized loan through my college and going by the federal regulations they said I am a “second year student”/36 credits. They’ve already put up my disclosure statement and my award letter for 2014/2015 has just been adjusted to include the loan. Semester began in early February and I have never applied for a loan for school before. Q: Does the 30 day waiting period also apply in my case because the only information I’ve found on the net says the 30 day period is for first year students who are first time borrowers.
Concerning the CalGrant, my school submits JPA’s electronically and I asked them why the CalGrant never appears in the award letters I’ve gotten in the past. The FA office told me that I am eligible but that it’s like the lottery, not everyone is chosen. I am a full time student, 3.5 gpa and no sap history. Does the CalGrant get awarded randomly?
Did you get a name of a person in the FA office who told you that? Are you able to read the Cal Grant website because all the information you need to know if spelled out there very clearly?
The basic Cal Grant is an entitlement which means you get it if you meet the qualifications of income/assets and gpa. However,if you do not, there are also competitive awards. Start here: http://www.csac.ca.gov/doc.asp?id=105
For questions about when you get your loan contact your financial aid office.
I have read the website and I meet all the qualifications. I still did not get it. FA told me it was random, like a lottery and that they get sent a list of students each year who have been awarded. Then the students are informed of their grant.
As for the name of the person at the FA office, don’t see why that matters and your condescending and rude tone (yes I can read, thank you) is totally unnecessary. I just came here to ask a few questions.
As for the loan question, if anyone else can help me I’d appreciate it.
Again, if you read the website then it doesn’t matter what FA correctly or incorrectly told you. You would know how to proceed. If you don’t want help and you want to read into what I am saying please continue on your own, I don’t need to go over the next step with you.
edit…looking at your past post, it looks like you would not qualify for an entitlement award, only a competitive one so the FA officer seems correct. If you believe otherwise, then print the relevant part off the website, take it to a supervisor and give the name of the person you had previous contact with.Or just contact CSAC.
If you didn’t qualify for Cal A or B right out of high school (for any reason, legitimately or erroroneously), you then usually get thrown into the competitive pool for college years 2,3, and 4. There are only 22,000 awards in the ENTIRE state that students who didn’t originally qualify for Cal are competing for. At this point, CSAC uses a point system that takes into account other factors such as GPA, income, parents education level, etc. if you don’t meet the score cut off, you can’t compete for the award. The highest scores get one of the 22,000 awards. At this point, it doesn’t matter why you didn’t get Cal for your freshman year, there isn’t anything you can do to reconcile it.
I’m a non traditional student and I’ve been out of high school for almost three decades and I hadn’t realized how competitive it was (though I know someone at my school who is my age and gets CalGrantB). I know it’s too late for 2014/2015, so I was just curious about the chances for the next school year. Thanks for the answer.
Unfortunately, Cal Grant entitlement isn’t dependent solely on income and assets. Timing is also a critical factor, and one must generally apply within a year of graduating high school. And, as @kgos16 explained, if you miss the deadline for applying for an entitlement grant, you get switched to the pool of applicants for the competitive grant.
But don’t just take our word for it. What you should do at this point is go back to your school’s financial aid office, as @BrownParent suggested, and don’t leave until you find someone who’s willing to take the time to sit down with you, review your record, and figure out what’s going on in YOUR case. And if they can’t give you a satisfactory explanation, then call the California Student Aid Commission at (888) CA GRANT (888-224-7268) and ask them. Did someone make a mistake in concluding you’re not eligible for the entitlement grant? And, if not, is there anything you can do in order to improve your chances for the competitive award? (apply earlier? improve your GPA?) If so, you need to find out.