Student Experience
Finding an affordable path to a UC Santa Cruz degree
Students like Jadin Archambeault and Jacob Chaudhry are actively navigating the cost of college while planning for life after graduation. Their experiences highlight the ways students use financial aid, scholarships, and campus resources to manage costs.
Jacob Chaudhry (left), a neuroscience major, and Jadin Archambeault, an ecology and evolution major, at UC Santa Cruz. (Photo by Nick Gonzales/UC Santa Cruz)
When Jadin Archambeault enrolled at a university in Hawaii, she did some calculations in her first semester, and the math did not add up.
“I realized I was going to have probably $200,000 worth of debt when I graduated,” she said. “The amount of money I would get paid with a degree would be around $80,000 a year. At the time, it was not a good financial decision for me to stay in college.” She withdrew before completing her first class.
Now an ecology and evolution major at UC Santa Cruz, Archambeault is back on track toward a degree. This time, she has a plan designed to keep her total borrowing as low as possible.
“I had to think about the kind of life I want. The work that excites me and gives me room to grow just isn’t accessible without a degree,” she said. “Once I figured out what UC Santa Cruz would actually cost me, the benefits far outweighed everything else. If everything continues on track, I can graduate with little to no debt. That will change everything about what I can do after college.”
Archambeault’s path reflects a growing national reality. Students are actively navigating complex financial systems and drawing on campus resources to move forward. That reality shapes how UC Santa Cruz approaches affordability.
“Once I figured out what UC Santa Cruz would actually cost me, the benefits far outweighed everything else.”
Jadin Archambeault
How UC Santa Cruz works to keep borrowing low
Across the country, college costs continue to rise. Nationally, the average student loan debt for the class of 2024 was nearly $30,000, and more than half of graduates borrowed to complete their degree.
UC Santa Cruz students look very different. Among 2024-25 graduates, 53 percent borrowed nothing. Students who did borrow graduated with an average of $18,772, well below national and public university averages.
“Statewide and nationally, our students borrow significantly less than their peers,” said Lorena Rodriguez, director of the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office. “The campus truly has a commitment to affordability.”
That commitment is reflected in how UC Santa Cruz builds financial aid. Rodriguez and her team rely on an institutional methodology that aligns with California’s high cost of living and what families can realistically contribute.
“The federal formula that determines a family’s ability to pay for college was created in 1953,” Rodriguez said. “It is no longer representative of the current financial status of families.”
“Statewide and nationally, our students borrow significantly less than their peers. The campus truly has a commitment to affordability.”
Lorena Rodriguez
UC Santa Cruz focuses on maximizing grants and scholarships for lower-income students, supporting middle- and higher-income families through state and federal programs, and using financial aid as a tool for long-term student success. The team also plans support across all four years to keep funding predictable, which helps students keep borrowing low.
This work is supported by a cross-campus Financial Aid Funds Management Team, which includes staff from budget, planning, advancement, and other units. Their collaboration strengthens financial aid modeling and helps ensure resources reach the students who need them most.
Scholarships that make a difference
Scholarships are a major part of keeping borrowing low. In just three years, the campus portfolio has grown from $5 million to nearly $26 million, supported in large part by donor-funded awards, including Campus Merit Scholarships, the Sabatte Family Scholarship, and the Karl S. Pister Leadership Opportunity Award.
The expansion of California’s Middle Class Scholarship has also had a significant impact. More than 7,000 UC Santa Cruz students now receive almost $28 million in support each year, up from fewer than 800 just a few years ago.
Pister Scholar Jacob Chaudhry, a fourth-year neuroscience major who transferred from Mission College, remembers the moment he learned he had been selected to receive a scholarship.
“Santa Cruz had always been my number one choice,” he said. “When I found out I’d been selected, it wasn’t just the money. It was the recognition that I was capable of receiving an award like this. The scholarship fits neatly into the financial aid system, so I just need to stay on top of deadlines and make sure the funds are used as intended.”
The Pister Scholarship provides $20,000 over two years to community college transfer students. For Chaudhry, that consistency allows him to plan ahead. “The real difference is headspace,” he said. “Knowing I can pay for next quarter without panic makes it possible to plan ahead and focus on my education.”
Finding a path that works
Even with strong aid programs, navigating financial systems can be complex. Many students, like Archambeault, take an active role in finding resources, asking questions, and building a path that works for their situation.
For Archambeault, affording UC Santa Cruz has meant piecing together a plan that reflects her real circumstances and the resources she has found across campus.
Because she is financially independent, her aid package is based on her own income rather than her parents’. Establishing California residency significantly reduces tuition and ensures her aid aligns with what she can realistically contribute.
“It is not simple, but it is possible,” she said. “You have to stay on top of the paperwork, but when all the pieces come together, it makes UC Santa Cruz possible.”
She also connected with programs that support students experiencing housing instability or limited family support. And like many students, she found clarity through SlugCents.
“I went into SlugCents out of frustration, just trying to figure out how much I actually owed,” she said. “We made a spreadsheet together, and that suddenly made everything feel possible.”
Archambeault is now on track to graduate with little to no debt. With that stability, she plans to pursue a career in science with the goal of earning a Ph.D. in animal behavior to study intelligence and neural networks in other species. “Contributing to science and our understanding of other species would be so cool,” she said.
SlugCents: Helping students navigate real-life finances
During a busy week at the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office, SlugCents coordinator Tiffany Zachmeier stepped outside with slices of pie to introduce the SlugCents Financial Wellness Program to students waiting in line. It was a lighthearted way to ease long waits and show that conversations about money don’t need to feel intimidating.
SlugCents helps students navigate financial decisions beyond traditional aid, including budgeting, managing bills, understanding confusing charges, anticipating unexpected costs, and making sense of student loans and repayment options. Students can attend workshops, make one-on-one appointments, or stop by during drop-in hours to get practical guidance tailored to their situation.
“Sometimes the hardest part about college is figuring out how to pay for it,” Zachmeier said. “We look at everything from the student’s perspective and try to guide them according to their individual goals and needs.”
The SlugCents program also connects students with free and low-cost resources across campus, including Cowell Coffee Shop, the Redwood Free Market, CalFresh grocery benefits, Slug Support emergency funds, and additional emergency financial aid.
Affordability across campus
“We want every student to understand that an affordable UC Santa Cruz education is possible,” said Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management Timetra Hampton. “Our teams work together to align resources, financial aid, and student support services so more students can see a clear, realistic path to graduation with as little debt as possible.”
For Rodriguez, affordability is ultimately about what students can do after they leave UC Santa Cruz.
“We pride ourselves on being a campus with worldwide impact,” she said. “Our focus is on providing resources and guidance so that debt does not prevent students from creating impact in their communities. If you choose us, we choose you, and we partner with you to find an affordable path to a UC Santa Cruz degree.”