<p>I feel your pain 2manykids! Our orientation costs were about a thousand dollars too! And sadly we added in no extra time to have fun in LA!</p>
<p>Yea we fly in at 10:00 pm the night before and fly out on a redeye on the last day of orientation. We do plan on spending a few days there when we drive across country to move him in, but that will be another time where we will end up spending a few thousand and I’m self employed so I won’t be paid for that week. Don’t get me wrong I am not crapping on USC for any of this, but mearly pointing out how appreciative I would be to find a suprise grant.</p>
<p>I often here how USC gives good aid the first year to draw in students; however, they may cut aid after and make you pay more money. My family cannot afford this unstable situation. Can anyone confirm rumors?</p>
<p>I have known several kids who got generous merit + FAid from USC. NONE of them complained about getting lessened packages after their 1st year, as long as they kept their grades up to continue to qualify for renewed merit awards. One of them had the 1st graduate & go on to get his medical degree from our flagship U & they sent his younger sister. Another family also sent two of their kids & tried to get their 3rd in as well; their kids were also on merit + FAid. The 3rd kid I know who was receiving such a combo package even stayed a 5th year to get a masters in psychology there. I would have heard from these families if USC had reduced their packages.</p>
<p>I have also read of some folks who have complained about this, but our only experiences do not support reduced aid. Our S only received merit aid, which INCREASED while he was there.</p>
<p>Merit-based aid - at any college - is rarely reduced or taken away as long as the student meets certain academic criteria. </p>
<p>Need-based aid is a completely different story. As family circumstances change the amount of need-based aid awarded will reflect those changes. If a family goes from having two in college to one, the EFC will rise accordingly. Changes in income and assets will also have a significant impact on financial aid. </p>
<p>Our D will have received need-based aid during her entire four years in college, but she always had one other sibling in college during that time. Consequently her aid has changed very little during her four years. Our S will have a sibling in college during his first year, but after that he will be our only one enrolled as an undergraduate. The USC FAO has told us that our EFC will likely double after his freshman year resulting in his grant going to zero his remaining three years.</p>
<p>nelschang,</p>
<p>Good info in the two posts above, and also go back and read the first two pages of this thread. </p>
<p>More details:</p>
<p>Merit aid is often tied to GPA. At USC, the Trustee, Presidential, Dean’s and Director’s all require a minimum 3.0 GPA in a minimum 32 units per year. Departmental scholarships may have different requirements, and any outside scholarships will have their own rules.</p>
<p>Need-based aid. USC awards aid based on the same calculation for all students regardless of year in school. That calculation is done each year, so your aid amount may change year-to-year if your financial and/or family circumstances change. If your family’s income increases this year, your aid will go down. If your family’s income decreases this year, your aid will go up. </p>
<p>If you have siblings, it is very important to be aware of what sarsfield mentions - if your family currently has two in college and one graduates, the expected contribution for the one remaining in school will be increased significantly. It also works the other way, if you are the only sibling in school and a younger sibling begins college the following year, your contribution will go down significantly.</p>
<p>Other changes: The Stafford loan limits go up sophomore and junior year and USC packages the maximum Stafford, so your loan amount will go up $1,000 each of those years and your grant will go down a corresponding amount. See page one of this thread for Stafford loan amounts each year.</p>
<p>alamemom…regarding uploading the tax returns, since it’s new this year, I assume they want pdfs? Just starting to scan them. Also, just in case, do you know where one can find the cover/end sheets (with the bar code thing) in case I need/want to fax instead? I’ve got a lot to scan.
Thanks</p>
<p>^ Never mind my question above. I can’t believe how quick and easy that was online. For some reason I thought we had to scan the tax return pages and upload those.</p>
<p>Just reread your above post #797…the tax return do have to be uploaded? I did not see a prompt for that, just filled out numbers on a form and submitted. That was it. I guess I’ll see what USConnect document status says in 24 hours.</p>
<p>Sequoia, they asked for our tax returns within 24 hours of completing the online form. Definitely look tomorrow.</p>
<p>NC Mom…thank you. I see. Did you scan and upload them or fax them? If scanning, did they require pdfs? I have about 15 pages I would need to send.</p>
<p>You can scan or FAX. We FAXed (I tend to go with what I know 
) - cover sheets are on USConnect - so I am not sure of the format for the upload.</p>
<p>My D rejected UCSB, UCSC, UCI. She chose to attend UCD in Fall since she is Spring admit. By next Spring, she may stay at UC Davis, or she could go to USC. I still do know yet. By going to UCD, I could save $7K. What do you think? Need your advise? Alamemom or anyone. She did like to study in USC. I drove her to USC last weekend. It was a six-hour trip from SF Bay area. What I worry about now is that I may get less university grant at USC next Fall (2012).
Thanks</p>
<p>Congratulations on the USC and UCD admissions! Those are great choices.</p>
<p>Your financial aid package each year at USC will depend on the information in the CSS/Profile. You will re-apply for aid each year, and your aid will be calculated in the same way it was this year. If your income and assets go up this year, your aid will go down. If your income and assets go down, your aid will go up. In addition, Stafford loan limits go up sophomore and junior year (see page one of this thread for amounts), so if everything stayed exactly the same (and it never does) your grant would go down $1,000 sophomore year and again $1,000 junior year.</p>
<p>Only you and your family know if an extra $7,000 per year (or is that per semester?) is manageable for your family. Both are esxcellent schools that will provide excellent educations. Good luck with the difficult decision!</p>
<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>I haven’t received my financial aid package yet since I am transferring into USC, but I have a question about unsub stafford loans. In your experience, does USC automatically include the full amount of unsub stafford as part of the finaid package? I am hoping that there is a little bit left that I can use to pay for part of my EFC (which is pretty small, but I am pretty broke!). I am an independent student, so the parent plus loan is not a factor.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Yes, for a junior package they include a full $7,500 Stafford - $5,500 subs and $2,000 unsubs.</p>
<p>Hmmm… I know that if a dependent student’s parent’s apply for a Parent Plus and are denied, they automatically are eligible for an additional $4,000 Stafford unsubs. I don’t know how it works with independent students - maybe you should post a question on the Finacial Aid forum asking if there is a way to access the extra $4,000 Stafford for an independent student. Let me know what you find out!</p>
<p>Update on larryp4sc’s question:</p>
<p>INdependent students have a higher Stafford loan limit: A junior is eligible for $5,500 subs and an additional $7,000 unsubs. I do not know if USC will package the full amount ($12,500) as part of your need-based package. If they do not, then yes, you will be able to access the additional Stafford. Please come back and let me know the result so I will be better informed if this question comes up again. [Student</a> Aid on the Web](<a href=“http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/studentloans.jsp]Student”>http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/studentloans.jsp)</p>
<p>anyone else have trouble with the school changing the info on the fafsa? i sent in our taxes, including a schedule c and they said we made 50,000 more than we did because of the schedule c… they did not read the schedule fully to actually see there was a loss for the year. now the accountant does ouyr taxes and some student changes the info at the college, and incorrectly i might add. So now it looks like we lost aid because of their mess up??? does NOT seem right!</p>
<p>Yes, colleges and universities can make changes to the FAFSA based on the information on the signed copies of the tax returns. You can call the FAFSA info line to verify which school made the changes (if you haven’t already) and then contact that school to ask why the change was made (it sounds like you may have already done these steps).</p>
<p>A student does not and cannot make changes to your FAFSA. A financial aid officer does, and they must be authorized by FAFSA to do so.</p>
<p>You might try posting your question on the Financial Aid Forum. There is a poster over there, kelsmom, who is a financial aid officer (not at USC) and who may be able to tell you how the colleges look at the Schedule C. I am not at all familiar with the details, but I know that business losses are looked at very differently for financial aid purposes than for tax purposes. If you feel they mis-read your information, by all means write up a clear explanation and ask them to take another look.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>In this thread, <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1093464-fafsa-income-tax-paid-line-55-vs-line-60-a-2.html#post12063572[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1093464-fafsa-income-tax-paid-line-55-vs-line-60-a-2.html#post12063572</a> (post #20), kelsmom notes that the FAFSA instructions are that business income from Schedule C is added to the amount on line 7 and business losses from Schedule C are treated as 0 - they are not subtracted from line 7. So if in filling out your FAFSA you subtracted your business losses from line 7, that was an error on your part that was corrected by a financial aid officer upon receipt of your signed tax returns.</p>
<p>These are the FAFSA rules that financial aid officers from all colleges and universities that distribute federal aid must follow, so if you and your accountant would like to discuss the issue, it will have to be through the FAFSA service/info line. USC must make the changes dictated by the FAFSA rules.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>How come I still haven’t gotten my MPN? I applied last week and I still haven’t gotten it.</p>