As of January, the University of California Admissions has estimated the average cost of attending a University of California (UC) college for the 2026 to 2027 school year is between $46,488 to $47,388+ for California residents, while costing between $85,758 to $86,658 for non-resident students. The California State University also published a directory of estimated costs for each individual California State University (CSU) college, where it ranges from $23,813 to $40,902+ for California residents, depending on which college you commit to and your living preferences.
To the freshly graduated high school student, the cost of pursuing higher education is very expensive and viewed as impossibly payable in full, especially for students attending from different states or nations.
“I was thinking to myself that [these were] crazy high prices,” Nathan Thacker (12) said. “I don’t know if I can pay for all that. It’s crazy.”
Though very costly to attend these colleges, the teachers, counselors, and even students will reccomend the Free Application for the Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to help out with college applications to ease the costs. It is a federal program that scouts for potential scholarships and financial aid to help cover the costs of students who plan to further their education.
With almost 70% of college students in the UC college system being supported by financial aid, it is no wonder that many seniors are encouraged to apply for the FAFSA quite often, as it is one of the most relevant within college discussions.
“I’d say for every time you hear apply to college, FAFSA comes up,” Christian Garcia (12) said. “[However], unlike college, you have to reapply every year.”
According to many sources, such as savingforcollege and Collegeboard, the FAFSA has given upwards of over $15,000 of financial aid per student in the form of federal grants and scholarships. Many graduates, including many of the teachers here at Ayala High School, share their positive experience with the FAFSA’s provision of funds.
“I filled out the FAFSA each year I went to [Cal Poly Pomona] while working on my undergraduate degree as well as my teaching credential,” Mr. Eric Wilcox, 12th grade AVID coordinator and math teacher, said. “Every single year, it provided me with some financial relief. That has helped me get my own education, which has allowed me to pay off the student loans that I had within my first couple of years of getting my career.”
With that much money awarded to the average student, you might think the application has a bunch of hoops and intricate details and stipulations to fill out and acknowledge, but it is rather the complete opposite. Asking very few but important questions, it can be filled out in minutes for a chance to enter college more financially relieved.
“It wasn’t that difficult to fill it out,” Garcia said. “It was mostly [questions regarding] parent income. It was pretty easy.”
With the approaching deadline of the FAFSA applications on March 2, students have plenty of time to fill them out and submit them. For the seniors, it isn’t just free money provided by the government, but a big opportunity to kickstart their journey to the career they desire.
“I highly, highly recommend all seniors fill out the FAFSA, even if currently your plan isn’t to go into furthering education because you never know what might change,” Wilcox said. “[The FAFSA form] might take you 20 minutes, 30 minutes, depending on what you have, what information you have to provide. But then you could get free money, and you should never say no to free money.”
