Tuition covered.. What about others?

Colleges & Universities University of Southern California
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<p>So I got trustees award :slight_smile: Yay~
I’m convincing my mother in Korea that USC now is cheaper for me than UCs, but she won’t listen -0-…
She says, “you still have to cover room and books. Isn’t that like $13000? That’s more amount you pay for UCs you know”</p>

<p>Well, I’m also curious. How do I cover the rest? Can I still get a Cal Grant with trustees? And can I still get any financial aid from USC? I’m very confused… I want to check my financial aid status, but I don’t see it on USC website… (Just document)</p>

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<p>Check your math. Room, Board and Books at USC is NOT more than Tuition, Room, Board and Books at a UC! In fact, the room, board, books portions of both schools would be comparable. But you’d STILL have tuition at the UC. </p>

<p>As for other money you may be able to find, I’ll let Alamemom and the others answer that.</p>

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<p>That’s more amount you pay for UCs you know"
totally wrong. jazz/ mom spelled it out perfectly, unless you are going to live at “home”[?] and commute to a UC?</p>

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<p>Yes, absolutely wrong.
Room/board/books expenses at USC are a whole lot less than tuition/room/board/books at a UC.
COA at a UC if I remember correctly was over $20,000 in 2008 when I compared costs. Probably more now.
Tuition alone at a UC is actually be more than the room/board at USC.</p>

<p>Here:
[Fees</a>, Tuition, and Estimated Student Budget - UCLA Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/budget.htm]Fees”>http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/budget.htm)
^ show this breakdown to your mom.</p>

<p>And are you an OOS non resident for a UC? If so, COA is $ >$50000</p>

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<p>r & b at many UC’s is MORE expensive than USC (Cal is about 17,000)</p>

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<p>I believe you can, and that would be applied to your room/board. All California residents with applicable GPAs who decide to attend California colleges get the CalGrant if they apply for it and it isn’t affected by other scholarships. (At least that’s how it was for me; I got several thousand dollars in scholarships from USC and outside sources each year and still got a CalGrant all four years of school.)</p>

<p>I don’t know if USC gives extra free financial aid (I’m talking about the USC grants) to trustee/presidentials – but USC CAN offer you loans, which can also be applied to cover your other non-tuition costs.</p>

<p>Books, even though USC tells you to budget thousands of dollars for them, are never that expensive; there are websites you can buy used, or even rent, textbooks from and not pay full price!</p>

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<p>Being an out-of-stater myself, I don’t know anything about the UCs. Are there somewhat “automatic” scholarships at the UCs for certain grades or scores? Did you get scholarships at any of the UCs, tomathist? Is that possibly what your mother was talking about?</p>

<p>One of my sons was accepted to a private college, years ago, with a full-tuition offer. The in-state public he applied to offered him a much smaller merit scholarship, but a still large-enough scholarship to bring the public school’s total Cost of Attendance (tuition, room, and board) down to around $6000 a year. In contrast, the private school that offered him full-tuition, cost about $14,500 the first year for room and board alone, and that amount went up each year (due to university-wide percentage increases).</p>

<p>My son did attend the private school, with the full-tuition offer, but it did cost significantly more than the in-state public would have. Had the in-state public not offered ANY scholarships at all (that is, if my son had attended the public at full price), the public school would not have cost a whole lot more than the private school he attended with a full-tuition scholarship. We knew all of this going in.</p>

<p>I say this only because it is possible that your mom is correct. I don’t know what kind of financial aid package the UCs gave you (or what they typically give anybody). But your mom may have a point.</p>

<p>Regarding my son’s choice to attend the private school for the (still high) cost of room and board, over the in-state public at a lower cost: We have no regrets! He had a WONDERFUL experience, incredible opportunities, an excellent education. The private school was an amazing fit for him. For us, it was worth the higher COA.</p>

<p>I’m sorry, I can’t answer any of your other questions. USC’s financial aid packages are not out yet, right? At least my son didn’t get one. When you get your packet, tomathist, you might have answers to some of your questions. Good luck to you! :)</p>

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<p>OMG. They’re laughable, especially considering the budget crisis. Some people – a very small, small number – get merit scholarships from UCs, but because the UCs have a small endowment fund, this number could be even lower now. </p>

<p>The UC that accepted me gave me $500 in financial aid. Yes, $500. Contrast that to every other school that accepted me that was able to cover all or 80-90% of my COA through varying combinations of scholarships, grants and/or loans.</p>

<p>Financially, the UCs are a joke. I can’t see why anyone would want to attend one (unless they can pay the full cost in cash) now with all the money madness they’re going through right now.</p>

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<p>One must also consider that at USC, you will graduate in 4 years whereas there’s the possibility you can’t at a UC, due to the difficulty of getting the classes you need.
A Trustee scholarship at USC is a godsend financially.</p>

<p>Your mom may be thinking back years ago when a UC was so much cheaper…it just isn’t anymore.</p>

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<p>lol UC gave me 19,190 grant money and 3,000 work study money…so i was actually surprised…i thought i was getting 0 cuz they are broke lol</p>

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<p>tomathist, we just got my son’s scholarship letter and the brochure that was enclosed answers your question about the Cal Grant. It says:</p>

<p>If you receive state grants restricted to tuition payments (such as the Cal Grant), your USC Merit Scholarship will be reduced so that the total of scholarships and grants does not exceed your cost of tuition and mandatory fees.</p>

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<p>Hi tomathist!</p>

<p>As NC Mom says, Cal Grant A is a tuition-only award, as are the Dean’s, Presidential and Trustee scholarships, so all together they cannot exceed tuition. If you qualify for Cal Grant B, however, there will be $1,551 available beyond tuition every year.</p>

<p>As for USC financial aid, YES, Dean’s, Presidential and Trustee scholarships CAN be combined with other aid including Pell Grant (which is not restricted to tuition), Stafford loans, Federal work/study, and - most importantly - USC grants. This will depend on the information contained in the CSS/Profile and the FAFSA. Remember, USC uses the CSS/Profile (which considers assets the FAFSA does not - such as home equity) to disrtibute USC Grants, and you may find you are expected to contribute more than your FAFSA EFC at USC.</p>

<p>We found the room/board piece at UCLA to be comparable to USC, while Berkeley was somewhat higher (~$3,000/year more than USC).</p>

<p>Whether USC or the UC is more affordable for you will depend greatly on any difference in the calulated need using the CSS/Profile vs the FAFSA - both USC and UC will meet need (the UCs for in-state only), but USC uses the CSS/Profile and the UC uses the FAFSA.</p>

<p>*Note #1 - It has been my experience that the UCs meet FAFSA need with a combination of Cal Grant, Blue and Gold plan, UC need-based scholarships and grants, Stafford and Perkins loans, work/study and a student contribution similar to USC’s. Students with EFC’s near the UC cost of attendance (currently about $30,000 at all 9 undergraduate UCs) will of course receive very little in aid, while they may receive much more at USC because of USC’s much higher cost of attendance of ~$56,000. That does not mean that USC is more affordable, regardless of the size of the package, you must look at what is actually coming out of your pocket: your expected contribution + loans + work/study. </p>

<p>The complaints about UC financial aid often come from students who received little from UC and LOTS from a private college, but in reality their out-of-pocket cost was the same.</p>

<p>**Note #2 - Cal Grant A is NOT a GPA-only award. Recipients must aslo be below strict income and asset ceilings.</p>

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<p>Another note! I just noticed you mentioned your mother in Korea - you must be a citizen or permanent resident to qualify for need-based aid at USC, so hopefully you have already noted that and know that you qualify :)</p>

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<p>thank you for great information alamemom ! :slight_smile: Does anyone know when the USC financial aid status come out?</p>

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<p>Sometime in early April, it’s on the Financial Aid website. (I wish people would look before asking sometimes…)</p>

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<p>an interesting article on how private schools can be cheaper than UCs:</p>

<p>[Private</a> schools can beat UC cost - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee](<a href=“http://www.sacbee.com/2010/11/15/3184966/private-schools-can-beat-uc-cost.html]Private”>http://www.sacbee.com/2010/11/15/3184966/private-schools-can-beat-uc-cost.html)</p>