Cal Poly Pomona Questions

selfconfidentgal
Mon, 10 Apr 2017 15:27:27 +0000

@slydez $500 is just decent. If you have a roommate that can also pitch in $500, I’m sure you’ll be faced with a few options, but it’ll still be hard. I would say in general, the CPP area is cheaper than LA but still very expensive. From what I know, almost all the areas near CPP starts off with $1,200-$1,500 for a 1 bedroom. I’ve lived in Chino Hills before and for a 2 bed, it was about $1,800. You might think that’s a lot but where I’m living now in LA, my parents pay more than $2500 for a 2 bedroom apartment. I’m not sure if I have found or heard of a place below $1,000. Possible in the Pomona area if you’re down to live there. I’ve been there once for the DMV, and I found that Pomona kind of reminds me of the Westlake/MacArthur Park area of LA (down Wilshire blvd) minus all the buses and people walking on the streets. So, if you can somehow increase your $500 to a bit more, I think it would be sufficient for housing.

Let me put it to you this way. I found out for myself how financial aid works yesterday. I was curious as to how my financial aid package would look like, so I did some research. Basically, financial aid does not cover housing. Whether that’s on campus or off campus. If living off campus, your financial aid decreases a bit from the COA (cost of attendance).
Tuition is paid for by grants if qualified by your income and FAFSA, and other fees are paid by any grants from the UC or Cal State you go to. UC and CSU housing costs will generally be in the same price range. I’m debating between SJSU and UCR at the moment, and both housing costs around ~$16,600 for a school year.
With monthly rent and living off campus however, that housing cost can decrease drastically. With $500 as your monthly budget, I’m not quite sure if you would be able to find a decent place to live. I may be wrong, so let me know if you disagree with anything I say.

I don’t have prior experience to housing costs and whatnot because I’m barely an incoming freshman, but I did learn from my older college friends. If you are willing to find a summer job or work a little bit while attending CPP, I’m sure you could cover all housing costs with a roommate without taking out loans if that’s what your main financial goal is.