Affordability
1. Your expenses may vary from the official estimate, but Berkeley estimates the total cost for California residents living in University housing at about $32,900 for the academic year. How are you paying for your current academic year expenses (e.g., registration fees, housing, meals, transportation, books)? Please check all that apply.
| My personal sources of funding (e.g. loans, wages, income, savings, grants & scholarships) | 599 | 58% |
| My parents’ sources of funding (e.g., loans, wages, income, savings) | 831 | 81% |
| Contributions from grandparents or other family | 209 | 20% |
| Other | 53 | 5% |
Please specify: (N=52)
My personal sources of funding (e.g. loans, income, savings, grants and scholarships)
| An amount that I don't know | $0 (Zero) | $1 to $1,999 | $2,000 to $4,999 | $5,000 to $9,999 | $10,000 to $14,999 | $15,000 to $19,999 | $20,000 to $24,999 | $25,000 or more | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loans to me that I must repay | 114 | 206 | 16 | 89 | 97 | 19 | 5 | 6 | 18 |
| 20% | 36% | 3% | 16% | 17% | 3% | 1% | 1% | 3% | |
| My savings and income | 125 | 124 | 160 | 99 | 30 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 11 |
| 22% | 22% | 28% | 17% | 5% | 2% | 2% | 1% | 2% | |
| Grants or scholarships that I do not repay | 69 | 64 | 72 | 85 | 65 | 49 | 53 | 63 | 67 |
| 12% | 11% | 12% | 15% | 11% | 8% | 9% | 11% | 11% |
Parents’ sources of funding (e.g. loans, income, savings, grants and scholarships)
| An amount that I don't know | $0 (Zero) | $1 to $1,999 | $2,000 to $4,999 | $5,000 to $9,999 | $10,000 to $14,999 | $15,000 to $19,999 | $20,000 to $24,999 | $25,000 or more | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loans from various sources | 309 | 326 | 18 | 29 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 11 | 25 |
| 40% | 43% | 2% | 4% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 1% | 3% | |
| Savings and income | 293 | 25 | 53 | 35 | 35 | 41 | 35 | 29 | 263 |
| 36% | 3% | 7% | 4% | 4% | 5% | 4% | 4% | 33% |
Grandparents’ or other family members' personal sources of funding (e.g. loans, income, savings, grants & scholarships)
| An amount that I don't know | $0 (Zero) | $1 to $1,999 | $2,000 to $4,999 | $5,000 to $9,999 | $10,000 to $14,999 | $15,000 to $19,999 | $20,000 to $24,999 | $25,000 or more | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loans from various sources | 75 | 96 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 41% | 52% | 4% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 1% | |
| Savings and income | 97 | 4 | 37 | 16 | 12 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 15 |
| 49% | 2% | 19% | 8% | 6% | 6% | 2% | 1% | 8% |
2. If you worked for pay this past summer, how many hours per week did you usually work?
| I did not work any hours this summer | 636 | 63% |
| 1-5 hrs | 64 | 6% |
| 6-10 hrs | 66 | 7% |
| 11-15 hrs | 55 | 6% |
| 16-25 | 55 | 6% |
| 26-35 | 62 | 6% |
| More than 35 | 69 | 7% |
3. About how many hours per week are you expecting to work (paid employment) this semester?
| I do not plan to work this semester | 639 | 63% |
| 1-5 hrs | 89 | 9% |
| 6-10 hrs | 158 | 16% |
| 11-15 hrs | 75 | 7% |
| 16-25 | 31 | 3% |
| 26-35 | 4 | 0% |
| More than 35 | 12 | 1% |
4. By the time you graduate from Cal, what is the estimated total amount of loans that you and your parents will have to repay?
| An amount that I don’t know | None | Less than $5,000 | $5,000 - 14,999 | $15,000 - 29,999 | $30,000 - 49,999 | $50,000 - $74,999 | $75,000 - $99,999 | $100,000 or more | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| You | 353 | 343 | 28 | 70 | 90 | 53 | 16 | 12 | 26 |
| 36% | 35% | 3% | 7% | 9% | 5% | 2% | 1% | 3% | |
| Your parents | 390 | 426 | 28 | 36 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 12 | 27 |
| 40% | 44% | 3% | 4% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 1% | 3% | |
| Your grandparents or other family | 238 | 676 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 26% | 72% | 1% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
5. How much do you plan to spend on books for this term?
| Don't know | 115 | 11% |
| $100 to $199 | 196 | 19% |
| $200 to $299 | 274 | 27% |
| $300 to $399 | 189 | 19% |
| $400 to $499 | 101 | 10% |
| $500 to $599 | 73 | 7% |
| $600 to $699 | 38 | 4% |
| $700 to $799 | 10 | 1% |
| $800 to $899 | 9 | 1% |
| $900 to $999 | 4 | 0% |
| $1,000 or more | 2 | 0% |
6. If you were offered subsidized loans through the Financial Aid office, did you accept them?
| Not Applicable; I was not offered subsidized loans | 441 | 44% |
| Yes, I accepted subsidized loans that I was offered | 299 | 30% |
| No, I did not accept subsidized loans that I was offered | 263 | 26% |
6a. Please share with us why you did not accept the subsidized loans.
(N=263) [Contact OPA for more information]
7. As you start this term, has there been an expense that greatly exceeded your anticipated budget amount.
(N=1,028) [Contact OPA for more information]
8. Thanks for taking the time to share information about yourself with us. Is there anything else that you would like to tell us about your experiences as a new Berkeley student?
(N=1,028) [Contact OPA for more information]
9. Finally, which form(s) of Social Media do you use the most to get updated information about the campus? (Please select up to five)
| UC Berkeley Home Page | 292 | 28% |
| Berkeley email – Calmail | 933 | 91% |
| myBerkeley App | 607 | 59% |
| Campus news portal - UC Berkeley NewsCenter | 13 | 1% |
| The Berkeley Blog | 11 | 1% |
| Independent student newspaper - Daily Californian | 112 | 11% |
| Monthly publication of the Cal Alumni Association - California magazine | 7 | 1% |
| Newsletter for parents of UC Berkeley undergraduates - Letter Home | 5 | 1% |
| Campus radio station (90.7 FM) - KALX | 2 | 0% |
| IT-related news for the campus community - iNews headlines | 4 | 0% |
| Student run magazine - Caliber Magazine | 20 | 2% |
| Departmental Websites | 142 | 14% |
| Residence Halls | 564 | 55% |
| 583 | 57% | |
| Other | 27 | 3% |
Please specify (N=3)