While California community college (CCC) system fees are much lower than tuition at community colleges in other states or other colleges in California, the total cost of attending a CCC--which includes books, housing, transportation, and food--is higher than most people realize. The illusion of low cost may lead CCC students to forgo valuable grants and loans that could help them work less, study more, and complete a degree, certificate, or transfer. CCC students are much less likely to apply for federal financial aid than community college students in the rest of the nation. These untapped resources--including "hundreds of millions of dollars" in free, federal Pell Grants per year--could go a long way towards helping students succeed, while supporting California's economy. However even when CCC students applied for federal aid in 2007-08, they still had more "unmet need" than students at the state's four-year colleges. This paper presents several financial aid facts at CCC. (Contains 6 footnotes.)