<p>I have read conflicting posts on CC regarding USC Thornton's financial aid/scholarships. Some posts say Thornton meets need. Some say it is next to impossible to get any aid or scholarships. From their own site: "The USC Thornton School of Music awards scholarships to students with outstanding demonstrated talent in the student's chosen field of study. Presently undergraduate students pursuing degrees in Music Industry, Popular Music Performance, and Choral Music are not eligible for Thornton scholarship."</p>
<p>So my question is which is it? Do they meet need? Do they meet need only for everyone except the MI, PM, and CM degrees (above)? Do they help Popular Music majors at all or is it still way out of the ballpark?</p>
<p>Shellybean - There are academic merit scholarships, and there are music merit scholarships, and then there is financial aid based on need. The music merit scholarships for most students tend to be on the small side compared to other schools. Academic scholarships, however, can be as much as full tuition, or more (with an NMF scholarship) - even for music students. And then there is financial aid which will cover the rest of need, as determined by the university. However, not all financial aid is in the form of grants. USC does use loans.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, but many USC parents would disagree with woodwinds assessment and are thrilled with USC’s FA.</p>
<p>USC meets financial need as determined by USC (FAFSA and CS Profile), no matter what the major. A cc poster named “alamemom” has a very valuable stickie to help you figure out what USC might cover. </p>
<p>USC Thornton does not give much in the way of MUSIC MERIT money. </p>
<p>But USC also gives great academic merit money to the top students (grades/test score wise), regardless of major, so yes, some music students do get those Presidential/Trustee scholarships Does that help?</p>
<p>Feel free to PM if you have more questions. And check out “Alamemom”'s stickie on the USC cc forum!</p>
<p>And btw, a music merit scholarship for popular music majors has just recently been endowed, so while it’s true that in the past, popular music students did not get Thornton scholarships (although they may well have gotten USC FA or merit money), they will going forward.</p>
<p>jazzshreadermom, I didn’t give an assessment, it’s what happened to my daughter.</p>
<p>USC has a different threshhold than a number of other schools. The year my daughter applied (not the musician) we compared what the various private schools where she was admitted thought “meeting need” was. USC thought need was met by giving my daughter a $5,000 scholarship vs. places like Boston University which found we could afford far less,. it was an interesting comparison. My point is, universities evaluate the FAFSA and CS profiles very differently.</p>
<p>woodwinds, I’m sorry your experience was a disappointment. But USC is clear that they meet need as they determine it, not, unfortunately as the family determines it (which clearly may turn out to be two different things), and we do know scores of families that are THRILLED with their FA need-based awards (based on the FAFSA and CS profile) and their student’s ability to attend based on those awards. </p>
<p>I realize your daughter was not a music student, but as far as music scholarships, 5K does seem to be the max music scholarship that Thornton gives (it is what my son got as well), but again, we do know many families, music and otherwise, that received VERY generous financial aid, sometimes in addition to a music merit award. That was the point I was making.</p>
<p>To be fair, I have also seem students/parents disappointed by USC’s FA packages, just like I’ve seen them disappointment by those from other schools. You don’t know until you try. But Alamemom’s FA sticky can help a prospective parent get a pretty good idea where they’ll end up, FA-wise, at USC.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. We were just trying to figure out if it would be worth a trip out there. One of the reasons we applied to only 3 schools this year was because of travel expenses to audition.
I’m not sure about S’s academics for USC… of course, I was beyond amazed that he got such a generous academic at Denver. He has taken 2 Honors classes so his GPA is over 4.0, but he was personally not happy with his SAT (though it was respectable). And some schools are very homeschool friendly while others not so much. Not sure about USC.
I guess all we can do is try. So thank you all very much!</p>
<p>So we’re clear, I believe in applying to those expensive schools anyway and seeing what they offer.</p>
<p>My daughter had to leave USC after two years because we couldn’t afford it. She’d received a number of outside scholarships her first year, but they dried up beginning with the 2nd year. USC was not interested in making it affordable for my daughter to continue, which was a disappointment.</p>
<p>^ Just a valuable tip to be taken from woodwinds’ experience: only count on the first year aid estimate at most schools at it will rarely ever rise (but will often decrease if circumstances change) and never ever count on outside scholarships because a) they dry up and b) are usually calculated into the need factor and ergo set the baseline of “need” low in year 1…from which at most schools, it’s hard to budge.</p>
<p>That said, institutions that even attempt to meet need, as USC does, certainly calculate the CSS in their own terms and treat various assets differently that other schools might.</p>
<p>I can not speak for others, but when I did the net price calculators based on family income for the top 40 universities with music program, UofM and USC gave the least amount of need based aid (family contribution was the highest). S will still apply next year and see what the actual need based aid will be from UofM and USC.</p>
After asset protection allowances, USC considers 5.6% of home equity available for college expenses each year. For example, a family with a home valued at $400,000 with a $200,000 mortgage and a $50,000 asset protection allowance might be expected to contribute $8,400 of the $200,000 in equity. If, however, a family has a home valued at 1,000,000 with a $200,000 mortgage and the same asset protection allowance, that family might be expected to contribute $42,000 from the home equity of $750,000 (leaving them with $708,000 in home equity…).
USC calculates need each year using the information from the CSS/Profile, FAFSA and parent/student tax returns. They do not establish a baseline (though there are other schools that do). If a family’s circumstances change year-to-year, the USC aid will change as well - up OR down. In addition to many anecdotal examples, I can state unequivocally that our child’s aid increased significantly in year 2 in response to a negative change in our family’s finances.</p>
<p>Outside scholarships may be applied to self-help including SUBS Stafford loans and Federal work/study after which they will reduce USC grants. Students may also request a one-time increase in cost of attendance to purchase a computer for school use and apply outside scholarship funds to the gap created by the COA increase without reducing grants or Federal aid.</p>
<p>Thank you alamemom!
So, as we live in a broken down, leaky roof doublewide which is valued at less than we owe on it (which is about 7000 - and yes, that’s only 3 zeros), maybe USC would feel sorry for us enough to give him a full ride?
Yeah, didn’t think so, but it was worth a shot.
I do like the idea of a 400, 000 house though.
So, I guess what everyone is saying is I should bite the bullet, get the boy an airplane ticket, and let him try 'cause ya never know?</p>
<p>In general, private schools that meet need eg, USC, Oberlin and Northwestern, can be good fiscal bets for families with low assets and income. Those schools become perceptually problematic for middle/upper middle class earners who have accumulated equity or assets because they will use the CSS profile information to calculate their own definition of need that doesn’t always correspond with an applicant’s definition of need. Meet-need schools tend to benefit the neediest more reliably than, for example, some out-of-state flagships.</p>
<p>So, Shelly, if for example your assets and income for fafsa purposes would define your family as having federal need, then there’s a good chance those schools would as well, but they’ll dig a little deeper on the asset front.</p>
<p>IF ADMITTED, USC will give National Merit Scholars a half tuition four year scholarship. A student with this scholarship must make satisfactory academic progress while at the university. In addition, the NMFoundation adds a $1000 per year scholarship if the student puts SC first on their list.</p>
<p>It is possible to receive, if USC determines, financial aid in addition to the scholarship.</p>