<p>^ Yes, they will still have sufficient resources to award all students. Your package will not differ based on the date it is presented.</p>
<p>Hey alamemom, got everything turned in over the weekend (we were one that hadn’t done forms on current sophomore). Completed fafsa, css and filed appeal letter, all in by Sunday night. Should we follow up with them next week? We have to assume we won’t get help cause we have to make a decision sooner than later. If he’d got Deans it would be an easy decision and done deal, but alas, zippo.</p>
<p>We really feel USC is right fit cause of private school attributes they offer and for engineering we feel it would be collaborative effort verus UCLA where a student would be more independent (easier to get lost). Son is an academic rock star, nothing more fun than multivariable calculus for this one (did not get that from me). As you know cost difference is $25k per year, if it takes 5 at UCLA, USC still $88K more over the 4 years. Oddly enough, I find myself justifying having S take out a 20K loan per year, cause I think the 1) investment it worth it - connections, placement, environment, etc., 2) he has 40+ years to work it off and 3) if we can pay it off we will but want him to shoulder some of it since he wants this school, and by him taking out loans, the re-payment doesn’t start till after he graduates. With all that med students invest and deny themselves of to get their desired field over so many years, this doesn’t seem that crazy for another high paying field. Or is it? Don’t some students do whatever they can to get to the school they want, be it an Ivy or a USC or whatever is their dream school? Housing market has no guarantee and in CA we pour a ton into that, and while education can’t guarantee riches in $, the educational experience can be priceless. Am I just justifying an insane decision or does it make sense? I’m sure you have seen/heard it all.</p>
<p>First off, UCLA is a fantastic school 
and I am betting a rock star will have no trouble graduating in four years from UCLA - my daughter’s friends who went there all were able to with no problem (UCLA grants significantly more AP credit than USC AND they grant general education credit for several APs).</p>
<p>I don’t think USC will have financial aid information for you next week, but it wouldn’t hurt to call to be sure they have everything they need. Your package won’t be available until the end of the week of the 22nd or even the start (29th-30th) of the following week. The sophomore’s package won’t be available until at least June, but hopefully they can give you a preview (or at least say, “He will get something OR He will get only loans…”).</p>
<p>As you know, I love love love USC, but if it were my kid and both (excellent) schools offered her major, I would help her see that choosing UCLA at $25,000 savings per year made very good sense. In our family’s case, USC, UCLA and UC Berkeley all ended up about the same due to USC scholarships. But each family and situation is different, so you and your family get to make your own decision.</p>
<p>Good luck with the decision, and remember there is no need to hurry - you have until May 1st!</p>
<p>Good info, ya was just thinking to check in to see if anything needed, not counting on getting anything or even knowing by May 1st, but will see. At least we have done all we can now. Ya, UCB would have been a clear and easy choice, it is on an entirely different level engineering wise than UCLA. I guess that’s it, don’t want to spend our 32k and his 4-5 years on what we consider (and from some very high level industry friends) an average engineering education at UCLA. Like so many colleges, while a great schoo overall, UCLA is not great in everything. If it was a Lib Art type major, UC all the way. Kids personalities play a role in the right school too obviously…Got a couple weeks to ponder, not stressing, hoping S falls in love at one of the open houses in the next couple weeks and go from there. Thanks for all your help. Will let you know the end result!</p>
<p>is it possible to call the office to have them tell you the award over the phone</p>
<p>You can call the office, but if your award does not appear on your financial aid tab, you have not received an email stating that your award is ready, and you have not received a hard copy in the mail then your award is not ready and they will not be able to tell you over the phone. Check your USConnect financial aid tab to be sure USC is not waiting for documents or information from you.</p>
<p>This is the typical timeline for financial aid packages for freshmen at USC. Try to be patient. The national commitment deadline is May 1st. There is still plenty of time.</p>
<p>First, to alamemom: Thank you, thank you for this resource. I just finished reading it all through and your patience and willingness to help others on this thread is just boundless. Georgia Girl and HImom, you guys are also great. USC should be paying you, or at least giving you all free T-shirts.</p>
<p>I’d like to further explore a question that was asked way back in post #606. Someone asked if not taking the offered Stafford loans in your fin aid pkg would reduce aid for next year. Alamemom, you said you contacted the fin aid office and they said no. Now just to further clarify: The reason that wouldn’t hurt you is because they just start from scratch every year calculating your need, right? They never refer to what you did with the previous pkgs?</p>
<p>Because I’m still worried about not taking the loans. If you don’t need the loans, it would stand to reason that you’re not as needy as they think, right? But I’m getting the loans from a family member at a much lower rate.</p>
<p>So I’ve been in contact with the FA Office again this week. They said they considered the letter documenting my mom’s situation when determining my award, and said we could submit another appeal if there is a significant change in income.</p>
<p>So it looks like I can’t afford USCbut I have a question. How much does the amount in a 529 plan affect your financial aid award? Because basically I can afford one year of USC by spending everything in my 529 plan, and with a contribution from my parents. With the account then empty, would I then get significantly more financial aid my sophomore, junior, and senior years at USC, assuming that all other factors stay the same? Or is this a completely ill-advised plan of action?</p>
<p>Take a look at this on 529 accounts:</p>
<p>[Does</a> a 529 Plan Affect Financial Aid?](<a href=“How do 529 plans Affect Financial Aid? - Savingforcollege.com”>How do 529 plans Affect Financial Aid? - Savingforcollege.com)</p>
<p>Looks like they don’t play much into calculation, so draining it may help a little, but not a ton.</p>
<p>Parent46, you are correct, the reason taking the loans or not taking them does not affect your aid is that they calculate your aid each year from scratch. I can add anecdotal information that my daughter did not take any loans her first year and received an almost identical package the following year. </p>
<p>I recommend only taking the loans if your are certain they will be needed. remember, if it turns out you DO need them, you can still get them later in the school year.</p>
<p>American Abroad, as Mmmmom says (GREAT link!), emptying the 529 will have an impact, but it will not be a huge impact. If, for example, your 529 currently had one year of USC costs: $62,000. As a parent asset, 5.6% of that would be considered available for college expenses and it would add $3,472 to your expected contribution (this feature is what makes a 529 a good place for college money).</p>
<p>So by emptying a $62,000 529 account you might expect $3,472 more in aid the following year. That will not be enough for USC.</p>
<p>Do you have other, more affordable options?</p>
<p>Oh, and THANKS Parent46!!! I appreciate your words :)</p>
<p>The package posted last night for my D. Although travel and personal expenses for COA seem low, we are very happy. USC is generous.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, Mmmmom and alamemom. Loyola University Chicago has given me a substantial scholarship, but USC is my top choice. I’m just struggling to understand why USC says my family can contribute around $50K a year, when my family says we can contribute $25K a year. I don’t want to give up until I’ve exhausted every possible option.</p>
<p>It is good to know you have another option, AnericanAbroad.</p>
<p>Your parents are being very sensible, even if it all seems incomprehensible to you. When “need” is determined, it is the colleges and universities who make that determination, not the families, but sensible families have already determined how much they will/can actually spend and they must communicate that (sometimes painful) news to their kids when all the information comes in.</p>
<p>It sounds like that is what your family has done - knowing that the colleges would determine that they must contribute more than they are comfortable with, they counted on your wonderful academic record resulting in merit aid at some of the schools. Your hard work has resulted in a great scholarship - congratulations! I know your parents must be very proud of you. I can assure you that communicating to you that USC is unworkable is probably a very hard task for them - but they know that you will flourish at any school.</p>
<p>I am sure your family has worked very hard to put themselves in a position where they are able to contribute $25,000/year to your college education - that is an accomplishment for THEM to be proud of at any income level.</p>
<p>I would wish you luck, but I can see that your hard work and your parents’ careful planning has assured you of a good outcome - no luck required :)</p>
<p>best,</p>
<p>alamemom</p>
<p>Alamemom,</p>
<p>You have been such a wealth of information. Ditto the previous comments. And thank you - it really helped us, before the FA statement arrived, to know that the amount of aid was likely going to be much lower than what the online COA showed using the CSS numbers.</p>
<p>I understand why parents have sticker shock. Most parents assume it has to be all in cash. The worksheet on my D’s account gave us the option of paying the full amount of EFC or taking it out as a Plus loan, or doing a combination of both. </p>
<p>Still, I think the “theory” on how college fund assets are viewed might not meet the reality. Certainly not the 5.6%. Based on our outcome that percentage seems really, really low. It appeared in our case that they calculated the full availability of funds (one year’s tuition) in calculating our EFC (two-thirds tuition) - even though their own COA showed an EFC of half tuition using the same numbers. Still - I put figures into the calculator on the Financial Aid award letter worksheet and the loan payments were manageable. On the other hand, the idea of $100K+ loans for most families is astronomical if more aid is available at a different school. If our daughter weren’t going to SCA I might be asking her to opt for a lower cost college as well.</p>
<p>I fully suspect that there is more to the calculation than meets the eye. I spoke with FA at my D’s other top choice because their package arrived first. She commented on our retirement contributions at work reflected on FAFSA - actually not substantial - and “hinted” that we could make it available for tuition (sigh) so i braced for the USC numbers and was pleasantly surprised that they offered a bit more in aid then their competitor. If we’re going to go in debt, I think I’d rather do it for USC. They’ve treated us much better in this process, the online worksheet in her packet made it easier for us to crunch the numbers and I do like that there are scholarships she can apply for once on campus. </p>
<p>I guess we’re about to go “all in” as a Trojan family. But in our case, we decided it was worth it since this has been her dream school for years and she’s been beaming ever since the acceptance packet arrived.</p>
<p>Thank you for the kind words, alamemom. It means a lotand the information you have provided on this thread to me and others has been extremely helpful. I’m still processing, and I probably will be for a few days, but I think I’ll be ok. :)</p>
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<p>It’s all relative. I don’t consider Parent Plus loans to be financial aid, although USC does. I can get a lower interest rate from my credit union - no one would call that aid. USC is very generous with low-income families - as it should be. However there are also many dismayed posts from upper middle class families (above the US median income of $50k but not far enough above to pay what the university expects without heavy debt). Congrats on your great package but I feel these statements made without context create unrealistic expectations for the amount of aid many students can expect. The joy of being admitted to USC is tempered by shock once the financial aid package is offered.</p>
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<p>I agree @snowdog. I noted that the person who posted this comment used their first post to do it but included no details. It felt unkind on a thread where students are coping with higher than expected tuition costs or parents are having to break bad news to their children. It also set up unrealistic expectations for families just starting the process.</p>
<p>My child has already bonded with other admitted students on the FB page whose parents make a low middle class salary who are now posting that their FA packages make it impossible for them to go because the EFC is almost 100% of the salary. So she and I bristle when parents “brag” about their generous packages. I don’t begrudge anyone for their circumstances. I was once in the same position of needing close to full aid when I was growing up and feel fortunate that I’m in a position to take out loans to cover the bill for our children. As it is, we received enough to pay for housing, books and meals. We are responsible for paying the full tuition with a combination of cash and Plus loans.</p>
<p>It is what it is - just hope that future parents go in to this with blinders off regardless of their student’s grades or stats. USC is a school that turns down the vast majority of its applicants. So there is no lack of families who would be willing to pay the tuition and I fully suspect there are enough “full pays” in the applicant pool who would do just that. We knew that was our competition.</p>
<p>Which is why we went into this assuming the FA would be zero even though FAFSA showed our EFC at a low amount for two college students. That way any amount of grant would be seen as a plus rather than hoping for a large grant only to be let down. </p>
<p>The scholarships are a gift from a Private school not an entitlement. No more, no less. Although it will require a big sacrifice to send her, we’ve decided it was worth it to make that leap for her. But I do understand for many - it just isn’t possible - and I grieve for those students because, without the help we received, we’d be in the same position. Certainly my parents would not have been able to do this.</p>
<p>I also wonder if those with significantly more aid were California students eligible for Cal Grants.</p>
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<p>@Snowdog - I think the Plus Loan interest rates could/should be lower, but are doable with the exception of the 4% origination fee - given that the feds give money to banks at more favorable terms than that. But the Plus loans have perks that private loans don’t including loan forgiveness if the parent dies, or adjustments based on ability to pay in future years. Private loans aren’t discharged - ever. Not even by bankruptcy.</p>
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Parent Plus loans are not included as part of the need-based component of financial aid packages at USC. They are offered to assist parents in paying their expected contribution.</p>
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It is not at all unkind to post news that is different than your own. </p>
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If that is so, then those individuals have significant assets and posting THAT out of context here is terribly misleading.</p>
<p>Financial aid applicants to USC may expect package from ZERO to over $60,000, depending on their financial circumstances. I hope that clarifies this enough, and that you no longer find my thread misleading.</p>
<p>Snowdog and ArtsandLetters, I am sure that the your conversation would attract far more attention if you started your own thread to discuss what you feel is wrong with the college financial aid process. I continue to strive to provide a THIS thread as a source for information and for answering specific questions rather than for debate and broad generalizations.</p>
<p>No need to get defensive, alamemom, even though you yourself just made a broad generalization (yes, on ‘your thread’) about ArtsandLetters’ assets. </p>
<p>I and others have stated often that the information you provide is most helpful so thank you for that.</p>