FAQ for USC Financial Aid

Colleges & Universities University of Southern California
1101

<p>I’ve looked over the first few pages of this thread, and haven’t been able to find an answer (but apologies if it’s already been asked and I just missed it).</p>

<p>I submitted my FAFSA for the first time several weeks before the deadline, but it came back with an issue. I tried resolving it and called the FAFSA operators, USC, and the social security office (where my issue stemmed from) several times, and each of their proposed solutions to my problem did nothing for it (in the end I discovered that there was a discrepancy between the spelling of my name on my SSN card and the SS office due to the office’s “no hyphen” policy). By the time the problem actually got fixed and my FAFSA went through without any errors, I was a few days past the Feb 2nd deadline.</p>

<p>Is this going to affect the aid I receive/the day I receive the award if the FAFSA was initially sent on time, but was fixed after the deadline?</p>

1102

<p>As it was only a few days late, I think you will be okay with this issue and your aid package will be presented with the others, especially since you promptly communicated with USC about the issue.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

1103

<p>Congratulations to applicants who received good news today and sympathies to those who did not.</p>

<p>I see that some people are posting that they received financial aid packages already, and it seems some may be complete. Please be aware that in some cases the packages are put together in batches (for example, Staffords, Pell, Perkins and other Federal aid added, USC scholarships added, Departmental awards added and USC grants added) and some packages may not be complete. Email notices that your package is ready to view are generally an indication it is complete, but emails saying, “a change has been made to your financial aid” indicate something has been changed, not necessarily that it is complete. In any case, a paper copy will arrive a few days after the package is complete. In the past, packages have not been fully posted until mid-April, so I urge patience.</p>

<p>National Merit Scholars will not yet see their scholarship in most cases. As I mentioned on another thread, double check with NMC that you have USC as your #1 and fax USC a copy of your NMS confirmation. Call if it doesn’t show by mid-April - until then, be patient. To see how the scholarship coordinates w/USC aid, please read the first two pages of this thread.</p>

<p>If you have questions about aid, please be aware that this year I will not respond to any poster who uses words such as, “screwed” or other inflammatory nonsense. I am happy to pass on any insight or information in response to calm and considered questions. If you prefer to rant and get your feelings out, that is perfectly fine, but I will not be a contributor to those threads nor will I respond to such posts on this thread.</p>

<p>As always, please remember that USC uses the CSS/Profile to distribute USC grants and they consider assets the FAFSA does not, including home equity. So your FAFSA EFC does not apply at USC. If you have questions about how USC arrived at their need determination, they will tell you - I suggest a calm and considered email until you know all the facts - save your rants until after you have all the information.</p>

<p>I hope each of you has a wonderful, affordable option on May 1st. Good luck.</p>

1104

<p>A good friend says “It’s easy to not qualify for FA.” Find ourselves in that position. CSS/Profile and FAFSA indicate we aren’t qualified. I take that as a starting point. Notwithstanding, $60,000/year is a heavy load for anyone except those with remarkable incomes. Although the good folks in the FA office can show me how they got to $0, how would I impress them that with another kid in private school, we just don’t really have the ability to write a $60,000 check. Are there strategies that trigger an assessment that is more realistic for normal households?</p>

1105

<p>Is the other kid in private school in a K-12 or in a private university?</p>

<p>If the other kid is in a university, your FAFSA and CSS/Profile should have reflected that when you put as a response to, “Number of family members in college” as “2.” The expected contribution would be lower for each child (though generally a bit more overall as each child will have a self-help component).</p>

<p>If the other child is in a K-12 private school, did you include that information on the CSS/Profile? I believe there is a spot to enter that. I understand that USC may make a small allowance for that, though often families at income levels that allow for private school attendance will still not qualify for aid even with such an allowance.</p>

<p>If you did not mention that the other child is in a private school, submit an appeal detailing that, and any other unusual expenses you may have that you were unable to include on the financial aid forms.</p>

<p>For financial aid across the board, not just at USC: The cost of attendance is, in theory, meant to be paid with three sources: past income (savings), current income, and future income (loans), so families with higher incomes are expected to have saved a higher amount, be currently earning a higher amount, and have the financial strength to qualify for a higher amount in loans. (I am just the messenger :slight_smile: )</p>

<p>I understand that private universities are very expensive, but I try to gently remind posters that the “normal,” or average income in the US is currently about $45,000/year. I also feel it is important to remember that the vast majority of lower-income college-bound students head directly to their local community college - those able to gain admission to schools like USC are a tiny minority. Families with income resulting in EFCs greater than the cost of attendance are often able to fully fund their child to their flagship state university, so they do have options in addition to costly private universities - did your child receive admittance to your state university?</p>

<p>As far as a financial aid appeal, my motto is, “The worst they can do is say NO, and they just might give you a bit more.” Grab a copy of Paying for College Without Going Broke by Kalman Chaney for tips and put together an appeal.</p>

<p>Good luck</p>

1106

<p>Hello alamemom, I’m a high school “international student”, who’s been living in US for 6-7 years, because of my citizenship and Visa status. It is my senior year and I have been accepted to USC and am suffering from financial woes. I am illegible for FAFSA and CSS profile because of my lack of US citizenship. So far, my plan is to continue looking for private scholarships from locals and consider community college and transferring. I realize that you’re not qualified for financial counseling, and I’m not expecting to find a direct answer, but I posted this in hopes of finding any more options that I’m not currently seeing. Plus, I plan on speaking to my counselor about this, although I’m unsure about any outcome, so this is a good practice. </p>

<p>P.S. you’re definitely not lame, since you are awesome enough to start this thread, defeating financial woes one at a time.</p>

1107

<p>One suggestion is to consider dual posting in the financial aid forum. There is very limited financial aid generally for international students from US sources. The folks in the financial aid forum have experience on FAid generally and not necessarily specific to USC.</p>

1108

<p>My FA status just changed to Action Required, and it tells me to go to Required Documents to submit forms, but there’s nothing left for me to submit there. Does anyone else have this? I haven’t gotten any info on my FA package yet, so I’d like to hope this is a sign I might see something soon, and not another hurdle, haha. I’m currently trying to reach their office by phone, but there’s an extremely long hold.</p>

1109

<p>Never mind!</p>

1110

<p>Hi JPr64yt,
Are you in the process of becoming a permanent resident? If so, permanent residents w/a green card qualify for the FAFSA and for aid. If you will achieve that status this year, a gap year might work.</p>

<p>Other ideas: Are the universities in your home country where you could attend at lower cost? Are you considered a resident of the state you are currently living in for in-state tuition purposes (for example, California now has the Dream Act -what state are you in?)?</p>

<p>Your plan to attend community college sounds like a good start while you are investigating opportunities, but if you DO qualify for in-state tuition in your state of residence and your state flagship would be affordable without financial aid, again a gap year might be advisable. I second HImom’s suggestion to put this on the financial aid forum to ask for ideas.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

1111

<p>So, if I get an outside scholarship, it’ll reduce my subsidized stafford loan first? Shouldn’t it reduce my UNsubsidized stafford loan first?</p>

1112

<p>Also, why does my University grant differ between fall semester and spring semester?</p>

1113

<p>The grants differ between semesters because freshmen have some additional expenses Fall semester - some sort of welcome week orientation charge or insurance thing - compare your Fall and Spring bills and you will see somedifferences.</p>

<p>They usually reduce the subs first because that is part of the need-based package. I suggest requesting that they reduce the unsubs and see if it works. Anecdotally, I can tell you that sometimes when you request to have the outside scholarship replace the loan they just leave your package alone :slight_smile: and you can indeed still get the subs.</p>

<p>remember that if you think you can make it without the full loan, it is fine to request a smaller amount. If later in the semester you find that you DO need the additional loan funds you can still request your Fall disbursement as late as November and your Spring disbursement in March. Don’t worry that if you don’t take it at the outset that it will not be available.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

1114

<p>I just have a quick question. So I was one of those people chosen to send in my parent’s entire tax returns. So I’ve put my name and USC ID on every page (27) and scanned them all. This comes out to be like 11MB but the USC upload only takes 4MB. I feel like uploading would be the fastest and easiest option. Is there a way for me to upload this document or would I have to mail/fax them?</p>

1115

<p>I also have a question: if we sent in our tax returns late (I sent mine last week as the tax returns were not ready), how long can we anticipate in receiving the fa package?</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

1116

<p>AndChen, you could scan and send them in an email or you could FAX them.</p>

<p>Email: <a href=“mailto:fao@usc.edu”>fao@usc.edu</a></p>

<p>FAX: (213) 821-3717</p>

<p>wantsaneducation, in the past packages were generally presented about 2 weeks after all required and requested documents were received.</p>

1117

<p>I don’t know if this has been mentioned already, but I’m an international student who missed the December 1st merit scholarship deadline (SORRY!). Am I hopeless in getting a scholarship? USC is my top choice, but the financial burden is staggering.</p>

1118

<p>I have never heard of anyone getting merit if they missed the deadline. Could you tAke a gap year and reapply? Not sure how much is awarded to international students in any case. Price is steep.</p>

1119

<p>pursuitof, to be eligible for merit scholarships applicants must apply by the December 1st scholarship deadline. In order to receive notice of admission, international applicants are required to submit verification that they have full funding available for the entire first year at USC - what has happened to the funds you listed?</p>

<p>HImom’s good suggestion of taking a gap year and applying by the December 1st deadline next year would make you eligible for scholarship consideration, but it would not guarantee a scholarship. Do you have any affordable options this year?</p>

1120

<p>Reposted from another thread:

This isn’t very helpful, but I don’t know! I only ever had one student at a time at USC, so I do not know how they display it.</p>

<p>My question would be, did you apply for aid (FAFSA, CSS/Profle, Tax info) for BOTH students and did you mark that there were 2 students in college on both FAFSAs and CSS/Profiles?</p>

<p>Continuing students don’t get their packages until June or so (an impossibly long wait - even though I know the process, each year I was not comfortable until I saw the numbers and knew things would work out), so you probably can’t see the older student’s package yet. After you get freshman student’s paper copy in the mail, I would contact financial aid and make an appointment to talk with an FAO (don’t ask the student aids - they are very helpful but cannot answer questions like yours) about what the older sibling’s package will look like. Tell them you can’t make your USC decision until you know the total.</p>

<p>Keep me posted</p>