A new California law requires colleges and universities participating in the Cal Grant program to be more transparent about how they calculate attendance costs and how students can request adjustments.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2251 in September, requiring schools to publicly disclose the data sources and assumptions used to estimate students’ expenses, according to CalMatters.
Before the bill, universities only had to publish basic estimated costs for tuition, food and housing but didn’t have to disclose how they calculated those numbers. While some schools listed out the details, others had students obtain the information on their own. Schools were also not required to describe what to do when their costs exceeded the provided estimates.
Albert Karapetian, a sophomore majoring in business administration, spoke about the importance of students having access to financial aid information. “I think it’s good for the students to know where their money is going,” he said.
Schools must also now take into consideration situations such as rent above the allowance, a computer, uninsured medical or dental bills, car costs, child care and disability expenses.
According to the USC Financial Aid website, the cost of attendance includes tuition and other educational expenses such as housing, food, books, and transportation. Colleges use these budgets to determine financial aid eligibility, but students’ actual expenses may exceed these estimates.
Paris Gill, a senior majoring in communications, spoke about her financial aid experience
“When I applied for financial aid, I got about $5,000, and because my father is absent, we are living on basically just my mom’s income, so $5,000 is not gonna do it. So I re-applied for financial aid, and then I got about like 40,000.”
Gill also spoke about her experience with wait times, calling the financial aid office “The wait time was about seven hours.”
Frederick Ngo, an associate professor at USC’s Rossier School of Education, said the bill addresses barriers within the financial aid process rather than increasing available funding.
“So this policy is trying to increase transparency about the resources that students can and should have access to,” Ngo said. “So students now can know the full cost of attendance and can take steps to request additional support if the cost of attendance and the aid that they’re receiving isn’t enough for their situation.”
Ngo said the standard attendance budget doesn’t fully reflect the financial responsibilities of students with unique circumstances who stray from the traditional college student profile.
“Foster youth or students who are unhoused, or students who have been in the system, face significant challenges, and the cost of attendance might underestimate the needs of these populations,” he said. “Those aren’t necessarily factored into the university’s cost of attendance, which is typically based on the traditional college student.”
Students can submit an appeal and supporting documents through the required info and forms section of their financial aid summary and tasks portal, known as FAST. The university also considers appeals involving changes in students’ financial circumstances.
But the existing appeal process may offer little help to students who are unaware of what’s available, Ngo said. He described unequal access to information as an equity issue.
“But the real equity question is like, who has access to that information? Who knows that they can go and ask for more? Who knows that these needs like car maintenance and transportation and child care subsidies, things like that are available,” Ngo said
“Some people might just not have college knowledge and understanding of the systems around financial aid, and so just by making it transparent should help more people be able to access the resources that are there,” Ngo said.
Going into effect for the Fall 2027 semester, the bill will increase transparency between students and their university. Many students at USC say communication with the financial aid office is lacking, and that it is difficult to speak with someone in a timely manner. When Annenberg Media called the office for an interview, the estimated wait time was 196 minutes.
Edited by Ally Nakamura and Andriana Yatsyshyn