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Financial aid basics

California state aid guide

A starter guide to the biggest state aid questions California families should verify early.

June 9, 20261 min read

California has its own mix of state grant rules, deadlines, and residency details that can materially change your final college cost. This guide is the starting point for the questions to verify first.

Before you assume a school is affordable, confirm the state-program deadlines, whether you need separate applications, and how residency is defined. Then bring those assumptions back into your CollegeLens plan.

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See the real gap across your schools

CollegeLens walks through your award letters the same way this guide does, then compares what you would actually pay at each school.

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First-gen family guide

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