Cost to Attend

Standard budgets are used to determine how much financial aid students receive. UC establishes standard budgets for students using statistical data from a variety of sources including periodic surveys of UC Santa Cruz students.  Students are assigned one of the following 3 budget types based on the housing plan they selected when completing the FAFSA or Dream Application. 

1. On-Campus budgets - for students living in campus housing

2. Off-Campus budgets - for students living in non-campus owned housing

3. Commuter budgets - for students living with family

Standard budgets take into account basic expenses a student will have each year including the following:

• Tuition and fees 
• Food and housing (includes room, board, groceries, and utilities)
• Books and supplies (includes books, supplies, course fees, data services, software, etc.)
• Personal expenses (includes toiletries, laundry, clothing, and entertainment)
• Transportation (includes an allowance for traveling to and from home and a pro-rated allowance for vehicle insurance and registration)
• Health Insurance (an allowance for health insurance)

Standard budgets do not include living expenses for winter and spring breaks.