<p>What are the chances USC will ask for my non custodial parent’s information? The whole reason I backed out of applying to schools like Amherst and Stanford were because they required the CSS Non-Custodial Parent forms… Now USC wants my parents’ info as well? Not good figuring my father has never helped me with anything my entire life.</p>
<p>USC will require you to submit this form:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/private/docs/1112/NCP201112.pdf[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/private/docs/1112/NCP201112.pdf</a></p>
<p>If I want to take a class in the summer, will my financial aid in the next fall be $5k less?</p>
<p>Also, is work study counted against financial aid?</p>
<p>taylorj, as dt123 says, you will submit your custodial parent form. USC will occasionally ask for non-custodial parent information, generally when the child’s high school location and noncusodial parent address make it clear that the student does not actually live with the parent listed as “custodial,” or if the income vs. expenses of the custodial parent make it clear that there is another source of funding/income - for example, a custodial parent income of $25,000 and the student is attending a private school costing $20,000/year would be an indication that the custodial parent is receiving help with those expenses.</p>
<p>archieg, summer financial aid is somewhat limited. If you are eligible for Pell Grant, there may be a bit extra available there (contact the financial aid office if you have Pell Grant to ask about the summer Pell). If you have Cal Grant, you can use part of that for the summer term, but as you guessed, it would directly reduce the amount you would receive the following regular term. If you haven’t used your full Stafford Loan ($5,500 year 1, $6,500 yr 2, $7,500 each yr 3 and 4), you can take whatever you didn’t use for summer. Work/study may be available in summer as additional financial aid. Trustee and Presidential Scholars may apply for “exceptional funding” for the summer term and receive full or half-tuition for up to 8 units of summer classes. Many students find the most economical way to take classes during the summer is to apply for pre-approval for classes at the community college nearest their home. You can find the pre-approval application on your OASIS account.</p>
<p>Work-study is exempt from financial aid calculations.</p>
<p>Returning student FAFSA and CSS/Profile deadline is approaching! Remember to submit BOTH by March 2nd. [USC</a> Financial Aid - Applying & Receiving Financial Aid - Undergraduate - Continuing Students](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/applying_receiving/undergraduates2/continuing.html]USC”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/applying_receiving/undergraduates2/continuing.html)</p>
<p>New Financial Aid Applicants:</p>
<p>Be sure to read the first two pages of this thread to see if your questions are answered there! For those familiar with thje search function, just about every possible financial aid question has been answered somewhere on this thread. If you can’t find your answers, post 'em and I’ll see if I can dig up some info :)</p>
<p>I did not apply by the December scholarship deadline (long story). Will this drastically lower the amount of total financial aid I will receive or will I just receive more from FAFSA than I would if I had earned a merit scholarship? Am I still eligible for grants?</p>
<p>@taylorj my predicament exactly. they have even asked for my parents’ divorce decree, the figures in it aren’t even valid anymore! i understand they have reasons for wanting the info but it is kind of sad that my decision of where i’ll attend may come down to this. i wouldn’t have even applied if i knew it was an issue! ugh.</p>
<p>and alamemom, i don’t fit any criteria for selection like you mentioned… maybe they require it from all students with divorced parents? :/</p>
<p>rosyhours, need-based financial aid calculations are independant of the merit-based decisions. USC will calculate your USC-determined need and put together a package. For those who have been awarded merit scholarships (USC scholarships and/or outside scholarships), the scholarship is a resource and the need-based aid is reduced.</p>
<p>Yes, *depending on calculated need *students who apply for need-based financial aid are eligible for USC grants.</p>
<ul>
<li>a note: you will not “get” anything “from FAFSA.” FAFSA is a need-analysis form, not a source of funding. Your FAFSA EFC determines if you are eligible for federal aid such as Stafford loans, Federal work/study, and for those with EFCs below $5,273, Pell Grant (Pell starts at $555 for EFCs of $5,273), and the college you choose to attend distributes those funds. USC will calculate your USC-determined need using the CSS/Proflie and distribute USC Grants based on that information - not the FAFSA.</li>
</ul>
<p>ciaobella713: They haven’t asked for the non-custodial form from all students with divorced parents in the past, and I haven’t noticed mention of a change this year - but there certainly could be a change in policy.</p>
<p>USC does not give any criteria for requesting additional information other than if they feel they need more info to determine need, they will do so. One reason divorce decrees are sometimes requested is that they generally accurately list assets that might have been forgotten in filling out the CSS/Profile. Another is that they often spell out what percentage of the time the child will live with each parent to help determine with whom the student lived more than 50% of the time (which is how USC decides who the custodial parent is for financial aid purposes). Divorce decrees that specify which parent will and will not pay for college have no effect on a college’s need determinations - only ability to pay is considered, not willingness to pay.</p>
<p>If you are wondering why USC has requested additional information in your particular case, you can call and ask. I have found the financial aid department to be helpful and straightforward (though often a bit harried and hurried this time of year 
).</p>
<p>If I’m a continuing student that’s never applied for Cal Grant am I still eligible? What do I need to fill out besides the FASFA and CSS?</p>
<p>Continuing students who have not previously applied for financial aid at USC are eligible for financial aid in subsequent years - so get your FAFSA and CSS/Profile in as soon as possible. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, you will not be eligible for Cal Grant - that is not a USC policy, it is a policy of the California Student Aid Commission:
[Grants</a> for School, College Grant, School Grants](<a href=“http://www.calgrants.org/index.cfm?navId=12]Grants”>http://www.calgrants.org/index.cfm?navId=12)</p>
<p>There may be other sources of funding for which you are eligible at USC, so be sure to apply for financial aid.</p>
<p>Best of luck</p>
<p>@taylorj, although USC makes a point on their website that they will not require the Non-Custodial Parent Form, they will always require the Custodial Parent Form, which asks for your non-custodial parent’s information. (We thought it was funny that, according to their website, the Custodial Parent form is only required if your custodial parent is
Hilarious. What else IS there? Dead?)</p>
<p>Anyway, my son was also asked to submit our divorce decree and lots of other documentation. I do think that’s pretty standard for private schools who require the CSS Profile. You’ll be submitting that stuff one way or another, whether it’s via the Custodial Parent Form or the Non-Custodial Parent Form. The big difference is, for those of you whose parents simply will NOT cooperate enough to fill out the form, or who can’t be located to fill out the form … well, at schools like USC, you won’t have to hunt them down to do so. You can just fill out the Custodial Parent Form instead, along with all other documentation (like the decree).</p>
<p>@ taylorj and ciaobella:
There’s a difference between the Non Custodial CSS Profile which other schools require, and USC’s own non custodial form.
The Profile requires that the non custodial parent fills it and that he/she furnishes all the financials and eventually the tax returns as well.
USC’s form can be filled out by the custodial parent and is a one page form asking such questions as the amount of child support paid, whether it is up to date, how much the parent is ready to pay, and so on. In freshman year, yes, USC required a copy of the divorce decree in order that they had proof of a divorce and the terms outlined.
In our case, the dad was not going to contribute to the funds, and this was stated.
This did not cause any problems. In sophomore year I filled out the same form again but any documentation was not required anymore.
In Junior year, I was not even required to send in the form. </p>
<p>I don’t know whether requirements have changed now, but that was the situation in our case.
For us too, the Non Custodial CSS Profile required by other schools (where D was also accepted in 2008) would have been an issue because the dad would not have cooperated, in the first year or any subsequent years. Those schools may or may not have accepted that, and any decisions on finaid based on only the one parent’s financials would have been made at the last minute…very stressful when one needs to make a decision on May 1st.</p>
<p>It’s just been very easy to deal with at USC. USC never required any info from the dad.</p>
<p>Hi alememom. I have a question. I’m an undergrad applying to USC and I already did my Fafsa and CSS. All i have to do is to upload/fax Income and Expense Declaration Form, Parent. However, since I live in mexico so my family doesn’t have to do any w-2 and other tax forms. The Mexican income tax return is like 42 pages long along with the translated version, so I really don’t want to fax all of them every 42 pages and just want to upload them. However, I also need to fill out the parent non-filing statement by hand cuz the online version doesn’t work. There’s also some printed tax documents that I have to do by hand. Should I just scan the printed tax documents and the parent non-filing statement and upload and submit or should I just fax the 42 long pages. Or can I fax AND upload them at the same time. Please, if you don’t understand what I’m talking, please send me a message. Thank you.</p>
<p>edit: Also do USC mind if I just send them multiple of files because I don’t know how to make the scan version all into one file.</p>
<p>PS. do you have to upload the opening and closing USC pages as well</p>
<p>WOW! 42 pages!</p>
<p>I am pretty sure they scan all the documents we send or FAX to them anyway, so scanning would be fine, but sending 42 separate files might not put them in the best of moods as they consider how much aid to award to you :)</p>
<p>Faxing would also be fine. Yes, you should try to include cover and end sheets if you are able to print them - if you have trouble with the cover sheets, it is fine to make your own: Include your name and USC ID#, the document(s) you are sending, and the number of pages.</p>
<p>I don’t think there would be any reason to both scan and FAX - chose one or the other.</p>
<p>If it would be easier, you can just send photocopies by snail mail.</p>
<p>Whichever way you choose to submit, be sure to write your full name and USC ID on everything.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Hello!</p>
<p>There has been some confusion this year about whether parent tax returns still need to be uploaded or FAXed with the new online information submission on USConnect. mommylaw called USC financial aid to ask and was told the signed tax return copies and W-2s still must be uploaded or FAXed in.</p>
<p>If anyone gets additonal info straight from the source, be sure to post.</p>
<p>Thanks, mommylaw!!!</p>
<p>I had submitted by non-filing income form online yesterday, and today it updated my financial aid documents. It said that i still needed to submit my css and profile, which i already did. Is this suppose to happen because they haven’t checked it yet? or did something go wrong?</p>
<p>^^I don’t know if this is helpful or not … but my son was directed to submit all of my tax forms, W-2’s, Custodial Parent Form and supporting documents, and divorce decree all through the USC Connect system, via upload. We didn’t call anybody or ask any questions to verify anything. We just attempted to do what they asked us to do, using USC Connect.</p>
<p>It took, literally, just over 2 hours. Divorce decrees can be long. My tax return is kind of long too. But what took the longest was the limitation on how many MB’s could be sent at one time. On my scanner, there is no way to tell how many megabytes I’m scanning, present-time. I can’t tell whether I’m within the MB limit until I’m all done with the scan and have saved the document to a file! And so, I had to keep scanning and saving and then gauging whether the newly scanned amount would fit into the allowed amount of Megabytes. If it didn’t fit, I had to start all over, trying to guess how many pages would fit into one uploadable document iaw the MB limit.</p>
<p>I kid you not … it ended up requiring 18 different uploads!! The whole process was so much more complicated than just sticking everything in the mail, as I did for son’s other schools.</p>
<p>Anyway, if I had to do it all over again, I would take the whole thing to an office store, like FedEx, and ask them to do the work. Surely their machines could tell them more than my simple little all-in-one. Would have been worth a few bucks, probably.</p>
<p>All of our materials did make it, though, without any problems on their end. Within a very short period of time everything was posted to his account. (Overnight, I think.)</p>
<p>WorriedJrGirl, how long ago did you submit the CSS/Profile? Does your FAFSA show up? If not, did you receive a confirmation for the FAFSA saying your SAR was ready to view?</p>
<p>If it has been more than 5 business days since you submitted the CSS/Profile (and more than 7 business days since you received the FAFSA SAR confirmation if FAFSA isn’t showing up) it is time to follow up.</p>
<p>Even when the office gets busy, these should be updating because they are received electronically - they should show up in the section that says “Pending.
Documents and information you have submitted, but which we have not yet reviewed.”</p>
<p>Double check that both were successfully submitted by logging back in to College Board (and FAFSA, if it hasn’t been received) and checking. There should have been a charge of at least $25 for the Profile - did you pay that? Be sure your name and social security number are correct and the same on your USC application and on the FAFSA and CSS/Profile. After you double-check all of that, check your USConnect one more time to see if they showed up and then call USC financial aid Monday.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I mailed my parent’s tax return (it was about 20 pages). On usconnect it says that they received it! So don’t bother with the hassle of faxing them in!</p>