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To help middle-class California students and families cover the rising cost of a college degree, the University of California, Davis, today announced it has launched a new financial aid program.

The Aggie Grant Plan will award about $3,000 annually to eligible students whose annual family incomes are between $80,000 and $120,000. The grants will cover about 25 percent of base undergraduate tuition and fees.

“This new program reflects our commitment to sustaining access to a �ٺ���Ƶ education for students across the socioeconomic spectrum,” said Adela de la Torre, interim vice chancellor for student affairs. “It recognizes that middle-class families need additional financial support.”

The Aggie Grant Plan builds on the University of California's Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan, which expands access for lower-income students. The Blue and Gold plan covers base tuition and fees for students with annual family incomes of up to $80,000.

"It’s very exciting to be able to help this middle-income group in ways that we haven’t been able to in the past," said Katy Maloney, director of the �ٺ���Ƶ Financial Aid Office.

The Aggie Grant Plan will be funded through federal, state and university funds, as well as private grants and scholarships.

To be eligible, a student needs to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, which is due on March 2 each year; be enrolled as a first- to fourth-year undergraduate at �ٺ���Ƶ; be a California resident; and have an annual family income of $80,000 to $120,000 and parental assets of less than $200,000 (excluding home value).

The Aggie Grant Plan will be tied to UC systemwide or base tuition and fees, which are set by the UC Board of Regents. They are $12,192 for California residents for the 2012-13 academic year.

At �ٺ���Ƶ, total tuition and fees for 2012-13, including campus-based fees, come to $13,877.

In 2011-12, more than half of all �ٺ���Ƶ undergraduates — 53 percent — received enough financial aid to fully cover their base tuition and fees, and 44 percent of those who earned bachelor’s degrees did so without taking out loans.

Collectively, �ٺ���Ƶ students received more than $250 million in scholarships and grants during the last academic year.