<p>Hi alamemom thanks for the reply. can I pm you?</p>
<p>Yes, there is currently room in my PM box, but hurry - it fills up fast :)</p>
<p>I am heading out the door right now, but I will respond as soon as I can.</p>
<p>Lol ok thank u!! Its bc u are so helpful :)</p>
<p>alamemom, i sent the message through the mobile site so i hope it went through!</p>
<p>Yes, it did - I just replied :)</p>
<p>Thank you for the info @alamemom. Crossing my fingers that I will be able to go and that my parents will agree to pay the 50 something :/</p>
<p>Hi @ alamemom I had a question for you but your inbox is full!</p>
<p>Sorry! I was in Los Angeles the last several days and the PM box filled up. I have it cleared out and there should be space for a bit!</p>
<p>Just FYI - it looks like 2013-2014 financial aid for continuing students has been posted.</p>
<p>My daughter will be a sophomore. I was very concerned about her aid for the coming school year, because I am self-employed and my income (but not my assets) increased in 2012. However, USC was very generous and our EFC increased by only $1200, which is manageable.</p>
<p>Great news!</p>
<p>Still waiting for my upcoming senior daughters aid to post still saying everything complete in review
Hope it posts soon and no problems</p>
<p>alamemom,
Just to follow up on our conversation 6/25. My appeal was turned down. I got a a small amount in loans and very small grant. I am grateful for that but with my mom so sick and my brother with a special needs me going to USC is going to be very hard on my family. However, my parents say they will figure out a way to do it. I was hoping I would get the transfer scholarship since I had a 3.9 and played a sport but they said they were all out of that scholarship money. So, my parents are sending me. I’m not sure how but they are. I am glad I only have 3 years and went to cc last year. I’m glad that others got good FA. I am really surprised 'SC did not come through for my family. Still, I am excited to go.</p>
<p>I am sorry to hear you did not get as much as you hoped for. The danger in stretching for early years is, of course, that the money will run out and after spending heavily (for example, for your sophomore year at USC) you find that you must transfer to a more affordable school and ultimately get a degree from the affordable school with the cost of a year at an expensive private.</p>
<p>I might suggest a money-saving option: Ask if you can defer your transfer admission one year (I do not know if this is possible, but it is worth asking) and take another year of community college courses you are certain will transfer. Get the book, “Paying for College Without Going Broke,” and both you and your parents read it cover-to-cover to discover strategies to best present your finances to (legally and ethically) maximize your eligibility for aid. Then come in as a Junior transfer rather than a sophomore and save 1/3 of your total USC cost.</p>
<p>Good luck with whatever you decide.</p>
<p>Just FYI alamemom. You CAN defer your admission to SPRING and still take classes at a community college. However, if you plan to defer your admission a whole academic year ( fall 2014) then you cannot take any classes anywhere else. You just have to do something else that year ( work, travel, intern).</p>
<p>I went in on friday and asked them :)</p>
<p>Thanks for the info Mik94! Katie617, deferring to Spring would offer substantial savings in your situation. You might consider it.</p>
<p>Award was posted unfortunatly reduced a lot from last year , I called and reason was my husband , daughters father is part of a family trust which is not distributed yet and wont be for about 18mths when all wound up etc . They told me they consider that amount an asset even though we cannot access or borrow against it etc.
Thy told me to appeal, I have letter from executor saying trust not distributed or available to us. In fact our fafsa efc this year is $3600 and they are saying its $27,000. We actually qualify for a cal grant this year but that hasnr been awarded yet and a pell grant.
Really dont know what to do struggling as it is so cant afford that and cant get the money from the trust</p>
<p>Do submit the appeal, especially since the fin aid officer recommended that you do so. If you are certain that the trust funds will be available in 18 months, a Parent Plus loan might be a possibility - it is an unsecured loan with somewhat less stringent qualification than typical unsecured loans that can be for your entire expected contribution. I generally recommend steering away from Parent Plus loans, but if you are certain funds to pay them off will be there in 18 months (and certain that you would immediately pay off the loans), that might be a possibility that could tide you over.</p>
<p>I am hoping to hear your appeal results in an increased award,</p>
<p>alamemom</p>
<p>New policy, apparently, per the financial aid office…regardless of date filed, no ongoing student EFC appeals will be reviewed until the week of July 15, with results of appeals posted as late as the first week of August. Oh joy.</p>
<p>Thank you for the update snow dog! How the heck are we supposed to know if we can go to USC… So frustrating.</p>