Berkeley Class of 2012 Forum

[bgc]

I also think that those who see grants right now are probably not getting schollies and those who don't see grants right now are probably in the running for shollies. Just a conjecture, though .

I called yesterday, and the woman said that the scholarship committee is meeting right now and making decisions as they go and that I still might get merit aid, even though only need-based aid shows up right now. Just FYI for all you grant-receivers.

Great! Thanks for checking.

[lsatbobby]

I also talked to financial aid, and they told me the same thing that they told southernlady. If you don't have any awards listed, that means you didn't qualify for need based aid but that doesn't mean you wont get any merit aid (I don't believe any merit awards have been given yet).

Hopefully there'll be some good news coming our way soon.

[Rotor]

My FINAID offer letter showed today.

...at least they're going to let me take out student loans.

(Still darned glad to be getting on a plane tomorrow to come visit!!! I may not be so glad when I have to be on the way to the airport by 4:15 AM tomorrow...)

[Rotor]

Mine also still says "No financial aid awards found for student." under award summary. Are people actually seeing a letter when they log in? What about under award summary? Thanks guys, this website it really hard to navigate.

I was expecting a PDF of an actual letter when I clicked Financial Aid and entered my SSN, but only got a webpage that they were CALLING the Financial Aid Letter showing me my loan amounts available. On the summary page, it still says no financial aid letter sent, even though the data is there.

[roguebear]

I'm pretty sure that page is the only thing they have. They just call it a financial aid letter, but maybe there are some boalties who can comment.

[roguebear]

Also the financial aid office page(http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/gra ... dguide.htm) seems to make it pretty clear that the only aid show in this letter will be need based. It never mentions anything about scholarships or merit based grants.

EDIT
just going to do an edit now instead of 3 straight posts, but did anyone else not fill out a separate independent student form? I don't remember ever needing to turn one in and I'm listed as an independent student on the financial aid page. The only form missing for me is a citizenship form.

[worldtraveler]

I got a small grant. It pretty much covers the tuition raise this year. Not a huge amount but since Berkeley is already the cheapest option for me, it does make me happy. No word on merit money yet, but considering my stats I doubt I'm getting any.

[mallen210]

Does anyone know if Stafford Loans are the same as Fed.Dir.Loan?

[legends159]

I just got an email from Boalt confirming the grants for 1L

[TopCat]

I just got an email from Boalt confirming the grants for 1L

Same here.

[heyyitskatie]

Wow. Now I'm totally freaking out.

I checked my financial aid on Bearfacts (though the Admitted Students website), and absolutely nothing was there...as though I hadn't applied, even though I got a confirmation on my application from the financial aid office.

Maybe it's because I'm in UG here and the system thinks my letter would theoretically be for more UG education? That's probably stupid, but it's pretty much all I've got here.

[Kohinoor]

Wow. Now I'm totally freaking out.

I checked my financial aid on Bearfacts (though the Admitted Students website), and absolutely nothing was there...as though I hadn't applied, even though I got a confirmation on my application from the financial aid office.

Maybe it's because I'm in UG here and the system thinks my letter would theoretically be for more UG education? That's probably stupid, but it's pretty much all I've got here.

Site says continuing students get their updates in May. Maybe it counts you as one of them? Regardless, disregard any updates tomorrow since Berkeley is notorious for its epic April Fools pranks.

[heyyitskatie]

Site says continuing students get their updates in May. Maybe it counts you as one of them? Regardless, disregard any updates tomorrow since Berkeley is notorious for its epic April Fools pranks.

Why would we have to wait an extra month just because we go here when other people already have their letters? Thanks for the warning about tomorrow! I haven't noticed any April Fool's Day pranks as an undergrad, but maybe the law school is cooler.

[Kohinoor]

Site says continuing students get their updates in May. Maybe it counts you as one of them? Regardless, disregard any updates tomorrow since Berkeley is notorious for its epic April Fools pranks.

Why would we have to wait an extra month just because we go here when other people already have their letters? Thanks for the warning about tomorrow! I haven't noticed any April Fool's Day pranks as an undergrad, but maybe the law school is cooler.

I have a feeling we're going to become best friends.

[worldtraveler]

I just officially committed to Berkeley. It's a weird feeling to know that this long process is finally over. I secretly thought I would be languishing on waitlists somewhere.

I hope I see all of you in the fall! I wish I could make it to ASD, but have an awesome time without me!

[kguilf99]

Can we keep talking about this need-based grant business? On Bearfacts I don't see anything about a need-based grant, so I called the financial aid office to ask if it could still be forthcoming, but she was pretty confident that the decision has already been made that I don't qualify for need-based aid. Which doesn't make any sense to me because I'm not coming from a wealthy background at all. I've been out of undergrad and working full time for 2 years, but I owe more money in UG loans than I have in savings. The financial aid woman said I don't qualify as an independent because I haven't been financially independent from my parents for five years. So my parents' income and assests are figured into the need assessment as well, but my parents' don't have money either! My mom makes 50K a year and my dad makes around 30K in VA disability and social security.

Does it sound right that I wouldn't qualify for a need-based grant? Are other people that have been denied need-based grants in similar finanical situations?

[legends159]

I just officially committed to Berkeley. It's a weird feeling to know that this long process is finally over. I secretly thought I would be languishing on waitlists somewhere.

I hope I see all of you in the fall! I wish I could make it to ASD, but have an awesome time without me!

Yay wt!! HOPEFULLY I will join you next year!

how are you working out the bf situation?

[prelaw]

I can't believe I didn't check this before, but I just summed the loan amounts and it is DRASTICALLY less than the COA. Where would I come up with more than half of the bill?

[prelaw]

Is there a cap on Grad Plus?

[IzziesGal]

Is there a cap on Grad Plus?

You can loan up to the cost of attendence (COA), aka the thing they call your budget. This is assuming you are a reasonable credit history, as grad plus is credit based.

I was told by financial aid that Grad Plus isn't based on your credit score, but just your history (just in case anyone needed clarification). Assuming one has no negative marks or defaults on their record, they should be fine. Private loans, however, are based on credit score - so if your credit isn't stellar, it will affect you with private loans.

[Kohinoor]

Can we keep talking about this need-based grant business? On Bearfacts I don't see anything about a need-based grant, so I called the financial aid office to ask if it could still be forthcoming, but she was pretty confident that the decision has already been made that I don't qualify for need-based aid. Which doesn't make any sense to me because I'm not coming from a wealthy background at all. I've been out of undergrad and working full time for 2 years, but I owe more money in UG loans than I have in savings. The financial aid woman said I don't qualify as an independent because I haven't been financially independent from my parents for five years. So my parents' income and assests are figured into the need assessment as well, but my parents' don't have money either! My mom makes 50K a year and my dad makes around 30K in VA disability and social security.

Does it sound right that I wouldn't qualify for a need-based grant? Are other people that have been denied need-based grants in similar finanical situations?

There's a difference between not qualifying for the grant and not qualifying for need based aid. Everybody qualifies for need-based aid. It's literally how much money you need to attend the school. It's possible they feel you're wealthy enough that fulfilling your aid entirely through loans is a viable option.

Saying you have less in savings than in loans isn't a very helpful indicator of economic straits. If you owe 90,000 but have 80,000 in savings, you're kind of balling believe it or not. There are lots of people out there with say 50,000 in UG loans and 276 dollars in savings. I believe that I was considered as an independent based on my passionate assertion that I don't live at home and my parents really truly aren't going to help me pay for college and couldn't if they wanted to. ::edit:: Do you still live at home? That tends to be an independent status deal breaker.

It can't hurt to ask them to revisit your app but nothing you've said makes it clear that you definitely should have received the grant.

[mallen210]

I have an email address! It's so official now!

...and can I just say... I love that my email address is just my name@berkeley.edu! So much easier than ma84673636474837748abcde@undergraduateinstution.edu!

[mallen210]

I have an email address! It's so official now!

...and can I just say... I love that my email address is just my name@berkeley.edu! So much easier than ma84673636474837748abcde@undergraduateinstution.edu!

HAHA... and I love that TLS put links on those! Feel free to email me haha

[IzziesGal]

Anyone else having trouble viewing their offer letters for finaid??

[Drake014]

Can we keep talking about this need-based grant business? On Bearfacts I don't see anything about a need-based grant, so I called the financial aid office to ask if it could still be forthcoming, but she was pretty confident that the decision has already been made that I don't qualify for need-based aid. Which doesn't make any sense to me because I'm not coming from a wealthy background at all. I've been out of undergrad and working full time for 2 years, but I owe more money in UG loans than I have in savings. The financial aid woman said I don't qualify as an independent because I haven't been financially independent from my parents for five years. So my parents' income and assests are figured into the need assessment as well, but my parents' don't have money either! My mom makes 50K a year and my dad makes around 30K in VA disability and social security.

Does it sound right that I wouldn't qualify for a need-based grant? Are other people that have been denied need-based grants in similar finanical situations?

Unfortunately, it does sound right. My fiance will be 30 by December of 2012, so she qualifies as independent of her parents. She made $8k in 2008, no assets or savings. They're still only giving her $23k in grants and 20k in loans... leaving a balance of around $15k.