<p>My advice is to meet all the deadlines, be honest with them about your ability to pay (really), and get to know one of the counselors. The latter is really important.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, USC, like every other fancy top private school these days, uses the “high cost / high aid” model, meaning that they charge an inflated sticker price to those who can afford it (i.e. hedge fund managers, investment bankers, and surgeons) and that premium is used to finance the financial aid for the rest of us. It drives me insane but unfortunately that’s how things are these days, and you are FAR from alone in sweating the cost of college. The bottom line, like I said, is to meet all the deadlines and be honest about your family’s assets. After you’re admitted if you do all of that then you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>BTW Lame Mom is absolutely right across the board. It’s particularly funny from a social class perspective as the “middle class” itself is a nominally elite group that gets a lot of attention because they VOTE in mass numbers, and it’s certainly elite by global standards.</p>