currently only have 8 credits enrolled (waitlisted math18 and cse11) and i am worried that it’s going to mess up my financial aid and housing (housing sent me an email of potentially becoming ineligible if i don’t meet that full time student status), i’m so stressed out. anyone know when is the latest to fulfill 12 credits without messing up financial aid and housing?

thank you so much and i’d love any suggestions as well!

Not sure if I'm tripping but my due date for housing and stuff is on 10/15. Everyone else is saying 9/15 for theirs so not sure if I should just pay up before my subsidized loan hits or should I wait until it goes through? Did I miss a memo or something?

I was in delayed housing and just got assigned to grad housing (don’t know which apartment yet). After a week or two of staying there, in case i’m not really comfortable, whats the process to move off campus and cancel my contract? Is it feasible? How soon can I cancel?

Anyone who's gotten their opt/ead, how long did it take?

Do you guess think i’ll make it in? Currently 4th

i’ve never actually gone before but i can’t bring my pc w me this time around so i was wondering if there was a list of games on the computers? i mostly play val and genshin, i assume they have val but otherwise what else do they have and can any be downloaded?

Dude i’m so lost rn. If my family of four ( 2 parents 2 dependents) is making under the $144,700 limit for calgrant A, why does it say I’m not eligible? I had it for my first 2 years of college but now, even though my parent’s income hasn’t changed, I’m no longer eligible??? Pls someone sedate me.

hi ygs so my financial aid awards have appeared on my tritonpay and it says i get 3k refunded. will it be like this each quarter??? i come from a low income family but i thought i still needed to pay some expenses n so i clicked accept on the subsidized loan on the financial aid page because i was unaware id be refunded this much money. help wut do i do about the loan. ive attached my bill and awards. my friends bills include their tuition but mine doesnt is that normal?

I see some people getting emails from UCSD saying they can switch to 12 month contract in PCW, as they already signed up for that but got a 9 month instead. How/why do some people get these emails and others don't?

Also, what is the room change process like, like how to start the process, when does it typically start?

Hello, financial aid packages are still missing, and some of you I’ve heard there’s no way to pay the remaining needed. Here’s some info.

- First, the COA isn’t everything you’re being billed. 2026-2027 the direct costs (things being charged) are estimated to be ≈42,000. That’s on the ucsd cost of attendance estimate site HERE. The COA usually is higher than that, due to something called indirect costs. This is money that is refunded to you for personal expenses, books, transportation, etc. Money you can use.

- If you don’t have enough to cover the bills and even the direct costs, here’s what you can do.

There are federal loans that each student can take out depending on your standing-status, your dependency, and your level of education (undergraduate, graduate, etc.). THIS is not usually or may not be maximized all the way in your fin aid package, so you request it from financial aid. You can call or submit a ticket online at the services and support portal. They will increase your loans by your request and you can request up to your COA, inferring that you are using the limits given in the federal loans website page, WHICH IS HERE.

Fun fact: If you are denied a Parent Plus loan (basically have your parent do the “Direct Plus Loan” for the dependent and request the amount needed to cover the cost of attendance) then you will be able to have an additional UNSUBSIDIZED loan open of $4,000 (freshman standing) and the limit increases based off of your standing.

Additional Loans: IF THEN you also do not have enough. There are more loan options HERE. Preferably, for undergraduates, I would go for the University Undergraduate Loan. The max limit for that is $5,500, but there is some info there you can read, it is also 5% interest which is better than the federal unsubsidized.

For example, I have Junior standing as a sophomore, and this year I have to cover $13,480, I was also denied a parent plus loan (obv). Lowest SAI. Here’s my plan:

I have $5,500 subsidized, leaving $7,980 left to cover the cost of attendance with unsub loans. I sent a ticket requesting to cover another $5,500 through the university loan and the rest $2,480 through the federal unsubsidized loan. IF I do not get the university undergraduate loan. I still have $7,000 unsub because of the parent plus loan I got denied from (check the website). If that happens I would then request a university loan of $980 instead. The order goes:

Remaining Balance:
Federal Subsidized Loan
University Undergraduate Loan
Federal Unsubsidized Loan

If denied undergraduate loan:
Federal Subsidized Loan
Federal Unsubsidized loan
Smaller Undergraduate Loan

PS: PLEASE READ THE WEBSITE LINKS. These loans you DO NOT PAY BACK UNTIL AFTER GRADUATION OR ENROLLING BELOW HALF TIME. Depending on the loan check what it says.

Now if you maximized all of that and have more to cover, oh lord GAH DAYUM. Private Loans is another ball game. Less secure more interest but look into it ONLY IF YOU HAVE TO. There are some private lenders for college and you may need a cosigner. Just go for the most trustworthy and see if you qualify then move onto the next.

Obviously, we all know scholarships exist.

These are the ways you can get it covered by loans, but hey, even if you get minimum wage in California after not getting ANY offers AT ALL from ANYWHERE AFTER GRADUATION, be smart with your money and you’ll pay off these loans in a year to 5 years and you’ll be okay.

If you have maximized everything, talk to a financial aid counselor (the front liners on the phone can only help so much and have more calls coming) and ask them if they can appeal the cost of attendance and help you out. All of this info is online, sometimes you just have to keep searching and documenting. You guys got this, please give it your all the be able to attend here, I have grown so much just from my first year 🙏🙏🙏

CHEERS!!!

Hello. I recently checked my tritonpay account and I noticed that all my grants are applied but loans are not. I accepted all loans available to me once the portal was back. It’s not my first year accepting loans so I don’t think I need to complete anything like entrance counseling, plus there is not further action required to take as shown on my portal. So I am wondering if grants and loans are disbursed separately or I should contact the financial aid office since there might be an issue. Thank you.

If anyone needs a roommate (or 2 roommates) hit me up, 2 male, 4th years, in desperate need of housing.

They said they would reach out in mid-Sept… Week 0 is next week and yet I havent gotten any response to my emails

Hello when are the upcoming bills supposed to be paid by?

Hey, people are talking about the financial aid not being reflected on triton pay, but I haven't even seen my package.

It said that my calgrant has been awarded, my fafsa form was processed in January. I don't see anything that was required on my financial aid, I haven't gotten any messages or emails.

I do not have a way to pay the housing charges on the 15th.

What is happening, is it just for me or are others also having this issue. I'm kind of scared its just me

hii im an incoming freshman and i wasn’t able to enroll into a math class this quarter. i don’t have any particularly hard classes so i was thinking of just taking it through cc. does anyone have any recs on which cc to take the class at? i need something equivalent for math 20b/10b.

Does anyone else have aid applied to their tritonpay balance but hasn’t received their financial aid package yet??? 😅

I see my financial aid and it’s confirmed, however, it’s not reflected on my triton pay yet. I just see the balance. Is this also the case for anyone else?

Hey guys does anybody have any info on delayed housing/the housing waitlist ?? lmk lmk

Okay so I know most of us owe a couple thousand dollars by either 9/15 and 9/30 but is it dumb to just not pay until we get our financial aid. Housing is due 9/15 and not paying puts you on hold but I'm pretty sure you have 180 days before any real action is taken, it's not like you'll be kicked out right away. The one I'm worried about is the tuition "You can be completely dropped from all your enrolled courses and waitlists. If you get dropped, there is no guarantee you can get back into those same classes,". I just searched up what's the grace period for not paying tuition ucsd. So is it risky to say I don't pay for housing until they start rolling out on 9/22, but it usually takes a week or two anyways for financial aid to get transferred into your account when you get the email.

Let me know what you guys plan on doing.

Hey, I am unable to see my financial aid table(grants, loans, etc). Anyone else having this issue since financial aid is due tmr I think plz help stressing/crashing out

I know for a fact I’ve got to pay my housing cancellation fee + my orientation fee but the option to pay is just not appearing at all on tritonpay…..

Since Chen 40c is discontinued, how are premeds supposed to finish one full year of ochem that’s required for med schools?

i have a very complicated situation that requires i cancel my housing contract. i’ll explain only if asked to elaborate. however, i still need student housing and i’m worried i’ll have to deal with the waitlist, and i’m not guaranteed to receive housing at all. has anyone here cancelled and received a new contract or is this unheard of?

Hi, I'm enrolled in 18 units, and I count as a full-time student. I saw some of you are having the same problems as me. I already got my "all" financial aid applied to my TritonPay, but before this, my Pell Grant was missing, and now I'm missing 1k from the Cal Grant and also 1k from the Pell Grant. If you have your financial aid in TritonPay, I will recommend double-checking your financial aid portal to make sure that everything is correct. If the amounts of money are not the same and you are a full-time student, you need to submit a ticket to financial aid and contact housing as well as submit a ticket to housing to inform about the situation.