I am a current senior and UC Davis has been my dream school, but I don’t understand the financial aid letter. I would greatly appreciate it if someone could explain it for me! The estimated cost of attendance is $49,009.
Total Estimated Financial
Aid
$49,009.00
Cal Grant A-confirming elig.
$15,588.00
Federal Direct Parent
PLUS Loan
$714.00
Federal Direct
Subsidized Loan
$3,500.00
Federal Direct
Unsubsidized Loan
$2,000.00
Federal Pell Grant
Program
$4,680.00
Middle Class
Scholarship Estimate
$2,034.00
UC Davis Grant for Undergraduate
Students
$1,074.00
University Grant
$7,957.00
University Student Loan
$2,000.00
Health Insurance
Assistance
$3,996.00
Work-Study/Other
Outside Resources 0
$5,466.00
Need help understanding financial aid offer!
byu/No_Republic_3830 inStudentLoans
Posted by No_Republic_3830
3 Comments
wait your aid matches exactly the cost of attendance that’s actually incredible – basically they’re covering everything but you’ll need to take some loans and work
You’re getting a good amount of financial aid outside of student loans. It looks like they’re expecting you take $5,500 in federal loans, your parents to take out a $714 parent plus loan, and a $2,000 loan [directly from UC Davis](https://financialaid.ucdavis.edu/loans/university).
You are getting ~$35k in free aid and need the rest from loans, work study, or out of pocket.
This is a good lesson to reach out to the UC financial aid office and have them explain it to you in detail. It appears you are getting most costs covered, except for the small amount of loans and they expect you to work on campus, hence the work study. But call them, ask specifically what it means and what is your obligation. That’s what they are there for, to explain the costs.