<p>Question: Which has more weight at USC, Fafsa or CSS? Reason being, Fafsa is only skin deep. I was able to explain a special circumstance in the CSS that i couldn’t in Fafsa. This plays a HUGE part in how much I can afford. If I manage to get in, I think I will contact the finaid office directly and talk to them. Good idea? </p>
<p>Also, can students cover housing/meal plans with finaid if they get a scholarship, ie trustee?</p>
<p>snowboard, I tend to think your FA counselor is right - but I am not absolutely certain. A good way to cover your bases is to use the “other information” section of the CSS/Profile to briefly mention the fee waiver.</p>
<p>Janonvdm, the two forms aren’t really “weighted,” they are used for different things. The FAFSA is used only to distribute Federal aid such as Pell Grants, Stafford Loans, and Federal Work/Study. The CSS/Profile is used to distribute USC Grants - USC’s own money.</p>
<p>When USC figures your need, they will use an estimate of all of your expenses - tuition, room, board, books, transportation and some personal expenses - and your financial aid will be based on the total amount. USC’s cost of attendance is currently about $56,000, and that includes all of those items.</p>
<p>The Trustee scholarship is a tuition-only scholarship that covers the ~$40,000 of tuition. That would leave about $16,000 to be covered. If USC calculates your need to be MORE than $40,000, financial aid funds will be added to the Trustee Scholarship to meet that need. So yes, depending on need, housing/meal plans may be paid with financial aid funds.</p>
<p>For applicants who have earned outside scholarships - congratulations - outside scholarships reduce need, but USC generally allows students who receive them to first replace subsidized Federal Stafford loans and work/study before reducing USC grants.</p>
<p>If you feel you have a special circumstance it is a very good idea to write the financial aid office a letter, and you don’t have to wait until you are accepted. Keep the letter brief and clear, and include any documentation that might support your special circumstance (layoff notice, unemployment check stub copy, forclosure documents, medical expense statements, etc.). </p>
<p>There is LOTS of info in the first few pages on this thread that may clear up some queastions - good luck!!!</p>
<p>Awesome!! Thanks a bunch! Fafsa says my EFC is 42k… lets hope CSS and USC is more forgiving. My dad works as clergy!</p>
<p>Just a note: if you get a trustee scholarship then you are not eligible for any additional USC funds, as noted here: [USC</a> Trustee & Presidential Scholars](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/arp//faqscholars.htm]USC”>http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/arp//faqscholars.htm)</p>
<p>I think this means that you cannot get a USC grant, but you still may be able to get money from your particular department. I have a Presidential (half) scholarship and they say I can’t get more than $2500 from other USC sources, but I’m getting more than that from several engineering scholarships.</p>
<p>How hard are the departmental scholarships to get?</p>
<p>A note on the note 
The restriction on other USC scholarships only applies to merit scholarships, not need-based grants. So **a student with very high USC-determined need can indeed get USC grants in addition to their Trustee or Presidential Scholarship **in excess of the published limits. Here is an example from the “Amazing FA” thread from last year:
</p>
<p>Even Trustee scholarship awardees may receive USC grants, though since the Federal aid for a high-need student can add up to $5,500 Pell, $5,500 Stafford, SEOC + ACG ~$1,500, Federal work/Study ~$2,500 = $15,000 total in Federal aid, there is not usually much need left when you add up Trustee + Federal aid = $55,000. The USC Grant may be $0 to $2,000 at most.</p>
<p>So Trustee and Presidential scholars DO get USC grants - sometimes very significant grants, as in the example above.</p>
<p>I am not eligible for a Pell grant :(</p>
<p>No, Pell eligibility tops out at a FAFSA EFC of $5,273, and at that EFC a student would be awarded a $555 Pell. With a $42,000 EFC, you will only be eligible for Stafford subs loan of $3,500, unsubs of $2,000, parent PLUS loans up to COA, possibly work/study, and a USC grant of $2,000 - $5,000 at most. Depending on your special circumstances, there is always the possibility of an appeal.</p>
<p>I think the CSS is more forgiving, as it’s more detailed. I think it almost hurts me that I’ve saved for college…</p>
<p>In general, applicants find that the CSS/Profile considers assets the FAFSA does not, such as home equity, and that they are expected to contribute more than their FAFSA EFC at USC. A small percentage (I have seen two instances on the forum here) find that using the CSS/Profile, USC determines they should contribute less than their FAFSA EFC. See page 1 of this thread for some info on assets considered by the CSS/Profile vs FAFSA.</p>
<p>Because your family has saved for college, you will have lots of options when May 1st comes around - many low-income applicants will not.</p>
<p>Not really, I have quite a bit, but my parents cannot afford to help me. There will be three kids at college starting next year…</p>
<p>Be sure all siblings are listed on each FAFSA and that you have specified “3” in college on the FAFSA - is each sibling’s EFC $42,000, for a total of $126,000?</p>
<p>@alamemom</p>
<p>I would assume FA operates totally separate from merit-based scholarships? so if I potentially received a presidential scholarship, that would have no effect whatsoever on the amount of FA I receive?</p>
<p>While FA is separate from merit scholarship decisions, merit scholarships DO impact financial aid. They are considered a resource. So, for example, if an applicant had a USC-determined need (using the CSS/Profile) of $35,000 and that student received a Presidential Scholarship of $20,000, the scholarship would be a resource and the applicant’s need would then become $35,000-$20,000= $15,000. The financial aid package would be for $15,000.</p>
<p>*Adjusting financial aid packages to reflect additional resources such as merit scholarships is a Federal requirement for schools that distribute Federal aid including Pell Grant, Stafford Loans, etc., not solely a USC requirement.</p>
<p>USC will in most cases allow you to apply outside scholarships to the self-help portion of your package - Federal Work/Study and Stafford subsidized loans - before reducing your USC grant.</p>
<p>So for USC we should be doing both csss profile and Fasfa? I know that in fasfa you can change your tax information and corrections later on. But for CSS can i correct it, when i get the taxes done for 2010?</p>
<p>Yes, you need both the FAFSA and CSS/Profile. You will do the FAFSA corrections online. If all changes you make are reflected on the FAFSA, there is no need to correct the CSS/Profile. If you decide that you need to correct the CSS/Profile, the only way to do it is to print it out, hand-write the corrections, and then FAX it to your school.</p>
<p>The most important thing is not to miss deadlines. get the FASFSA and CSS/Profile in by Feb 2nd!</p>
<p>Alamemom,
Thank you so much for all of your time with this thread…
My question is…
My daughter recently received a request from USC to submit a CSS/Profile and submit parent’s tax return. We’re assuming that she has a chance to get in because they’ve requested such information. Our assumption is that they are not asking for this information from ALL applicants… Would this be a fair assumption? We’re hoping that by USC asking, that our daughter somehow got into the “yes” or “maybe” pile?</p>
<p>USC does indeed ask ALL applicants to submit the FAFSA and CSS/Profile. It is not at all an indication or prediction of admission<a href=“sorry!”>/U</a>.</p>
<p>The FA office and admissions office work independantly of one another, and at this point, the FA office has no idea of who will/will not be admitted. In March, the FA office will be given a list of the approximately 8,900 admits, and they will go feverishly to work assembling financial aid packages for the 5,000+ of those who have requested financial aid - Those packages will be presented to the students a short two weeks later.</p>
<p>The FA office right NOW is gathering all of the information and going over the files of ALL applicants who have indicated they wish to be considered for financial aid. They will request missing information (and those requests do NOT indicate acceptance) and putting together initial numbers in a broad way. They have to have everything ready to go, or there is no way they could produce the 5,000+ customized FA packages in time for students to make an informed choice about where they can afford to attend.</p>
<p>So be SURE to meet all financial aid deadlines - USC guarantees to meet 100% of USC-determined need (using the CSS/Profile, not the FAFSA) ONLY for those who meet the FA deadlines - all others will be considered for reduced financial aid.</p>
<p>Good luck!!!</p>
<p>Alamemom,
Thank you so much for your quick reply… That makes a lot of sense… You’ve just taken so much of the guessing work away for us !!</p>
<p>You’re welcome! (And thanks 
)</p>