UC Notes - February 2002 - Cal Grant Entitlements Expanding

	February 2002 UC Notes Home

Cal Grant Entitlements Expanding

The entitlement portion of the Cal Grant program has made it easier than ever for qualified California students to manage the costs of higher education. The number of graduating high school seniors awarded a Cal Grant increased by 54 percent during the 2001-02 academic year. Although the number of new awards to transfers declined, an increase is expected in coming years as more community college students become eligible for the entitlement award.

Apply by March 2

The message to students and parents has not changed: File a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and a GPA Verification Form before March 2. This is true even for students who do not have definite enrollment plans or who plan to attend a community college and don't believe that they will need financial aid until they transfer to a four-year institution.

The sizes of the awards have not changed significantly since last academic year. The Cal Grant A provides up to $3,429 for a University of California campus. The Cal Grant B provides for a living expense stipend, $1,551 in 2001-02 for all colleges, plus an amount equal to a Cal Grant A after the freshman year.

Phase-In of Entitlement Awards

Last spring, entitlement awards were limited to graduating high school seniors. All other applicants had to compete for a limited number of "competitive" awards. Beginning this spring, high school entitlement awards will be available to not only graduating high school seniors but also to students who graduated from high school in the prior year. From this year forward, high school seniors who miss the application deadline will have one additional opportunity to receive a Cal Grant high school entitlement award.

The basic eligibility requirements for a Cal Grant A and a Cal Grant B high school entitlement award are financial need, family income and assets below the program maximums, and a GPA of 3.0 and 2.0 respectively.

The community college transfer entitlement, the final entitlement provision to be phased in, is limited to students who graduated from high school in 2000-01 or later and are under the age of 24. This means that the transfer entitlement won't be fully operational until 2003-2004 - the first year in which these students will be eligible to transfer in large numbers. The basic eligibility requirements for transfer entitlement awards are similar to those of the high school entitlement program, except that they require a community college GPA of 2.4.

Students ineligible for an entitlement award, such as students who graduated from high school before 2001 or students who applied more than one year after graduating, still have options. These students can apply for a limited number of competitive awards, along the lines of the old Cal Grant.

More Requests Likely

As awareness of the entitlement award expands, high schools will likely see an increase in requests to complete a GPA Verification Form, particularly from students who have already graduated. Community colleges should ultimately see an increase in students applying for the community college transfer entitlement award.

Both high schools and community colleges are encouraged to comply with these requests by the March 2 deadline. High schools already submitting GPA data electronically should consider submitting data for both seniors and students who graduated in the prior year since both will be eligible for a high school entitlement award.

Students who have been out of high school for a year or more may be confused about whether to submit the GPA Verification Form to their college or to their high school. Students with fewer than 24 completed college credits at the time of filing the form should submit the form to their high school; those with more than 24 credits, to their college or university.

For additional information on the restructured Cal Grants program, visit the California Student Aid Commission's Web site.

UC Notes Home