<p>You parents need to fill out a budget appeal form which is available on My Financial Aid
[USC</a> Financial Aid - My Financial Aid & Documents](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/my_fa/]USC”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/my_fa/)</p>
<p>You have to look at the USC cost of attendance (COA) ( [USC</a> Financial Aid - Applying & Receiving Financial Aid - Undergraduate - Costs](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/applying_receiving/undergraduates1/costs.html]USC”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/applying_receiving/undergraduates1/costs.html) ) and compare to your actual cost of attending. Any of your costs that exceed USC’s COA can be included in your appeal.</p>
<p>For my son, he now lives in Gateway and the annual cost to live there is $10,700. USC estimates housing to be about $7500. We appealed on this item as well as his $900 in lab fees. </p>
<p>Also make sure that on your ParentsPlus loan, they have selected the option for a loan with the maximum amount allowed by the university. We made the mistake of selecting the option of a naming the amount of the loan. We named the wrong amount and it slowed everything down.</p>