do you get financial aid before you pick your college?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I want to go to usc but definitely cant afford it. I cant commit there unless i know i am getting a certain amount of aid. Do they make you decided before or after you find out about aid?</p>

2

<p>For USC: </p>

<p>If you submit your financial aid applications (CSS/Profile and FAFSA) by the February 2nd deadline and all supporting documents (copies of tax returns) in a timely manner, your financial aid package will be presented before the commitment deadline of May 1st.</p>

<p>If there were delays with your documents or they requested additional information and your package is not ready, you can request and extension to make your commitment deposit until your aid package is ready for you to review.</p>

<p>USC Financial aid info: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/839970-faq-usc-financial-aid-2010-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/839970-faq-usc-financial-aid-2010-a.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>By “commit,” do you mean in terms of athletics or ED? For ED, you usually have to just take a chance and apply, and hope that the financial aid package is enough (you can talk to the office of financial aid for more information). If you’re talking about “commit” from an athletic standpoint, then talk to the coach and see if he/she can give you more information.</p>

4

<p>USC doesn’t have ED. If you are applying for scholarships make sure that you meet their deadlines, which are usually in December. Students usually do not have to tell a school they are coming until May 1. You should know how much aid you are going to get before that.</p>

5

<p>does anybody know how much financial aid people usually get?
and what , if any, is the cut off for getting aid?</p>

6

<p>Financial aid depends on your family’s income and assets; there is no “usually” nor fixed “cut-off.” You don’t need to commit until you know what aid you are offered.</p>

7

<p>Read the first two pages of the <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/839970-faq-usc-financial-aid-2010-a.html?highlight=faq+usc+financial+aid[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/839970-faq-usc-financial-aid-2010-a.html?highlight=faq+usc+financial+aid&lt;/a&gt; thread. You can also use the “search” function to find answers to other questions (just about every USC financial topic is covered somewhere in that thread).</p>

<p>An important note: At USC, your FAFSA EFC is only used to distribute Federal aid such as Pell grants and Stafford loans. USC grants are distributed using the CSS/Profile which considers assets, such as home equity and those protected by the Simplified Needs Test, the FAFSA does not.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>