Confuse about the payment plan

alamemom
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:08:53 +0000

1) USC is billing you for the Fall 2010 semester. You will have another bill for Spring 2011. So ALL the charges you are seeing are for ONE semester.

2) Has all of your financial aid - including Stafford loans - credited to your account? (I already know the answer to this, but you need to figure out what aid should have credited to your account, what aid has actually been credited to your account, and what you need to do to complete the process for aid that has not yet credited.)

3) Related to the above question - Did you submit a Stafford loan request, complete online loan counseling and your Master Promissory Note? If the answer is “No” to any of those, you have not yet completed the process to secure your loans. They will not credit until they do.

4) Work study will not credit to your student account - the wages will be credited directly to you. You can use that money toward your payments, though. Those funds are not guaranteed - you have to find a job to get them.

5) Are there any other items listed on your financial aid award that have not been credited to your account? What are they? Do you know why they haven’t credited?

6) The estimated family contribution is exactly what it says it is: an estimate. Your actual bill will vary depending on many things such as your dorm choice - some cost more than others, but your aid is the same whether you choose the least expensive - which is what is covered by your aid - or the most expensive. The extra cost for a more expensive dorm will come out of your pocket. Your bill will also depend on whether you have waived the health insurance, if you have lab fees, extra units, football tickets, parking pass… all of which were not included in the estimate.

7) Yes, to avoid late fees you will have to either enroll in the payment plan (and make your first payment) or pay the balance in full by August 20th.