<p>I recently received a message that said “Your Financial Aid Awards Exceed Your Eligibility”</p>
<p>I’m not exactly sure what that means other than from what I could assume the obvious and would like to know details if anyone else had also relieved this message. Message also says:</p>
<p>“The total amount of your financial aid awards exceeds the amount you are eligible to receive according to your demonstrated financial need. This prevents any unpaid financial aid awards in your package from paying to your Campus Accounts Receivable System (CARS) account. Financial Aid and Scholarships Office staff are working to adjust your awards. In some cases, this may create an invoice on your CARS account. This message will go away when this matter has been resolved.”</p>
<p>Please help me out to understand, thanks!</p>
<p>Did you receive outside scholarships? If so, how much?</p>
<p>What was your EFC?</p>
<p>Sounds like you got some outside aid, and once it was applied, it filled up your need. </p>
<p>Had you been eligible for Cal Grants or the Blue and Gold Promise? I think the B&G states that along with the income threshold, you must have need. If you no longer have need because of outside merit, then add’l grants would not be forthcoming.</p>
<p>Check the total amount of grants and scholarships from both the school and outside sources. They cannot exceed the total cost of attendance.</p>
<p>Berkeley does apply outside scholarships to the student loan and work earnings expectation first, before reducing grants. <a href=“http://financialaid.berkeley.edu/outside-scholarships”>http://financialaid.berkeley.edu/outside-scholarships</a></p>
<p>Easiest thing to do would be to contact the school</p>
<p>Thank you for the quick replies! (:</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids I only received $250 from a small scholarship outside of what the government or the school gives me. And my EFC is about $2000 if I remember correctly. And I do get the Blue and Gold scholarship that covers 99% of my tuition but I’m not fully covered for all costs with other scholarships and grants. If it helps, I’ll be getting around $6000 from the school and $3000 from Pell Grant.</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus on the MyFinAid page it states I’m supposed to get about $22,000 in grants and scholarships but that still leaves about $14,000 left for cost of attendance.</p>
<p>@AmbiD77 thanks and I’m planning on doing that tomorrow (:</p>
<p><a href=“Cost - Office of Undergraduate Admissions”>http://admissions.berkeley.edu/costofattendance</a> says that Berkeley cost of attendance is $22,498 to $32,168 in-state, and $45,376 to $55,046 out-of-state (low end numbers are living with relatives, while high end numbers are living in campus dorms). Where does $36,000 total come from, since it is too high for in-state but too low for out-of-state?</p>
<p>Did you recently move to different housing which has a lower cost of attendance listed (e.g. on-campus to either off-campus or with family, or off-campus to with family)?</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus My housing offer at the dorms at UC Berkeley is a lot higher because I got placed in a double suite at Foothill, which happens to be the most expensive housing option they have. Compared to the cheapest housing offer which is around $14,000 (triple, nonsuite), which I’m guessing they base their estimates on, my housing offer costs close to $18,000 a year, hence the $4000 increase.</p>
<p>Federal regulations do not permit you to get any federal money over your EFC, and that includes subsidized loans. Pell is an exception. However official COA that the school files with the government also hold for PELL and other federal money as well. There may also be state and inhouse rules that do not allow a student to get more than EFC. Which rule by whom (feds, state, school) is being cited, you have to talk to a financial aid officer to get the scoop.</p>
<p>You havent included the loans that you have been offered. How much are those? what about work study?</p>
<p>Is your family contributing the $2k? </p>