<p>Does that mean USC expect my parents to sell off the house in order to pay for my college education?</p>
<p>Please read the first two pages of this thread. There is a lot of information there - including the answer to that question.</p>
<p>I’m just wondering…how do most people afford USC?
I know there are the scholarships, but really, only a small percentage receive them. Theres also financial aid/loans, but after talking to many people, I feel like USC’s aid is not as generous as I thought it to be. I really, really want to go to USC, but right now, it looks like I’d have to pay almost the full price to go, around 50,000 a year for me. Is there anything else that I can do right now? :/</p>
<p>Reading these posts is making me feeling less enthusiastic about our FA package which hasn’t arrived yet. 
Yes, we live in CA, too. And, even though our house is worth less than it was a few years ago, it’s still coastal California. We hope to have it paid off right at the same time our daughter graduates from college. </p>
<p>Well, I’ll try to stay positive and wish for the best. But, I’m not getting my hopes up. My husband is a h.s. teacher and I stay home. Our total income is around $80,000. (He has a summer job, as well). He drives a 1997 small truck. I drive a 4 year old Honda. We have no other assets except our house which is now worth about $550,000 (was more at one time). College savings of about $70,000. There is NO way we’ll be able to afford USC with what we bring home every month. Our FAFSA EFC is around $15,000.</p>
<p>We shall see! I know one thing—we don’t plan on taking out a bunch of loans this close to retirement. And, I’m not so sure our daughter wants to, either. Thankfully, she’s realistic and isn’t holding out for anything generous. And, she’s fine with going to Cal Poly if the FA awards prove to be meager for USC. Since she wants to be an occupational therapist, she can always apply to USC for grad school. They have a highly ranked program:)</p>
<p>The good news is that you have a nearly-paid-off-home with lots of equity! The bad news is that yes, an asset of approximately a half-million dollars will impact your EFC at USC. The college savings have already been computed in your FAFSA EFC. USC uses their own formula, but in general universities consider about 5.6% of parental assets (after an asset-protection allowance that varies based on parental age and family size) to be available for college expenses. That is unfortunately likely to at least double your EFC.</p>
<p>The only suggestion I can think of is to ask a local realtor for a list of “comps” -similar homes that have recently sold in your area. If the prices are lower than your estimate of value on the CSS/Profile, you could appeal on that basis. You mention the value has gone down so you probably have already investigated this thoroughly.</p>
<p>It is wonderful that she has such great options! Cal Poly is a terrific school - my husband is an alum!</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Sigh. As always, being in the working middle class seems to be a huge negative…UNLESS our kids attended someplace like Stanford or the Ivies who have such generous NO-LOAN aid. Oh, well. No use in fretting over it. It’s just sad when a good school, albeit expensive, has made the decision to admit a kid, but he or she has to turn them down because they’re penalized for living with parents who happen to be buying their home. Grrrrrrr. Ya just can’t win. :(</p>
<p>**alamemom said:</p>
<p>The good news is that you have a nearly-paid-off-home with lots of equity! The bad news is that yes, an asset of approximately a half-million dollars will impact your EFC at USC. The college savings have already been computed in your FAFSA EFC. USC uses their own formula, but in general universities consider about 5.6% of parental assets (after an asset-protection allowance that varies based on parental age and family size) to be available for college expenses. That is unfortunately likely to at least double your EFC.</p>
<p>The only suggestion I can think of is to ask a local realtor for a list of “comps” -similar homes that have recently sold in your area. If the prices are lower than your estimate of value on the CSS/Profile, you could appeal on that basis. You mention the value has gone down so you probably have already investigated this thoroughly.</p>
<p>It is wonderful that she has such great options! Cal Poly is a terrific school - my husband is an alum!</p>
<p>Good luck! **</p>
<p>
You have misunderstood the “no loan” policy. Please remember that Stanford and the ivies also use the CSS/Profile and consider home equity to be available for college expenses. The income figures they give as cut-offs always have “with typical assets” as a disclaimer. Typical assets for an $80,000 income would be considered to be about $50,000. You would have a similarly high EFC at those schools. The loans that are eliminated in a “no loan” policy are the $5,500 Stafford loans, not the PLUS loans or home equity loans taken to pay the EFC. You would still have to pay your EFC. If you need loans to pay your EFC, you would have to take loans.</p>
<p>I am certainly not saying that the costs of college are equitable - not at all - but I will say that a family with several hundred thousand dollars in home equity is certainly in a better financial position than a family who has been unable to purchase a home. For a family with no home equity and a similar income, a $15,000 EFC might be an impossibilty - they may not be able to qualify for the PLUS loans, so even Cal Poly could be out of the question.</p>
<p>Again, no one is expected to spend all their home equity on college expenses - only 5.6% of home equity is considered available for college expenses. That means 94.4% of your hard-earned home equity is protected from financial aid calculations.</p>
<p>We are able to pay cash for Cal Poly, meaning we can afford around $21,000 without any loans. If my daughter chose to attend UC Davis (which she won’t consider), it would be likely she would have some loans/work study in order to make up the difference in cost. Unfortunately, unless we had significant grants for USC, there is no way any of us would be willing to borrow the hefty difference. Like I said, we can come with $20-25,000 a year out of our pocket, but another 30 grand a year would be impossible without going into debt. </p>
<p>Thank you for explaining Stanford’s policy, although I knew about having assets typical for income. I figured they meant someone who made $80,000 but also owned a lot of income property or had other assets that didn’t fit with our income level. I certainly understand there are many who can’t even afford to buy ANY home. We certainly couldn’t buy our house now or even 10+ years ago. It was a stretch in '94.
Thank you alamemom. You’ve brought me into reality. :(</p>
<p>My D farsa EFC is $24000 . When i called USC they say that her CCS profile cal is $33 500.Even though she is a presidential scholar of $20000… they want us to pay $35 000 / year . They are not giving her any grant at all. My house asset is only $150 000. This is the worst package among all the package we got …very dissappointing !!!</p>
<p>Yes, hougang, you have mentioned that you are unhappy with your USC package, and you have mentioned that you are unhappy with Federal regulations that require merit aid to reduce need, and you have mentioned that you feel the students selected for the Trustee scholarship are not as deserving as your daughter.</p>
<p>As I am sure USC financial aid explained to you, $150,000 in home equity multiplied by 5.6% = $8,400 to be added to your FAFSA EFC of $26,000* = $34,400 USC EFC. You have received a consistant package which could have been accurately predicted using the information on the first page of this thread. I am sorry that because you did not investigate how financial aid works before your daughter chose her colleges you have been so disappointed. I am glad to see from your other posts that she has some other wonderful otions from which to choose. I am sure you are very proud of her fine accomplishments. </p>
<p>*You have posted in several other places that your FAFSA EFC is actually $26,000, so I will use that number</p>
<hr>
<p>2Leashes, I remember going to our first “college info sessions” when my daughter was a sophomore in high school and they would say “We will figure out what your family can afford and you wil get financial aid to cover the rest.” That sounded WONDERFUL! </p>
<p>It was SO shocking to discover that there was a tens-of-thousands-of dollars-difference between what we could afford and what they SAID we could afford! I really think the book I have mentioned so many times in this thread should be required reading for all middle-school parents. Going into the process with your eyes wide open and with other options - as you are - can save so much heartbreak.</p>
<p>P.S. My husband would have given anything for our daughter to follow him to Cal Poly!</p>
<p>**alamemom said: P.S. My husband would have given anything for our daughter to follow him to Cal Poly! **</p>
<p>And my husband would have loved for our daughter to go to his alma mater, Stanford 
Unfortunately, it was a lot easier to get accepted in 1971 and that was *without *the GPA our daughter has. </p>
<p>But, we are most definitely happy she got into Cal Poly. It apparently can’t be considered a safety, so we’re proud of her for getting accepted. We know she’ll do fine there. My husband just liked that you can change majors more readily at USC. And they do have the 5 year OT program she was interested in. But, he said she might change her mind and not even want to do that, anyway.</p>
<p>It’s going to work out fine and our daughter will get a great college education, as long as she’s willing to put in the effort just as she did in h.s. Except I think it will be a lot more fun in college! It’s all about balance. :)</p>
<p>When we get our FA package from USC I’ll let you know if it’s a thumbs UP or a thumbs DOWN.</p>
<p>I take it you’re saying the 5.6% is for a YEAR vs over FOUR years? My husband just asked me to find out. Close to 25% seems unreasonable.</p>
<p>Any information for graduate school FA? My Fafsa EFC is 4517?</p>
<p>2Leashes - yes, the financial aid calculation would be done each year, so over four years it could be as much as 22.4%.</p>
<p>Your question made me think of something: some universities “cap” the amount of home equity they asses for financial aid at 1.5 times the yearly income or at 2 times the yearly income. One of the (many) things I do not know about USC financial aid is if they “cap” home equity.</p>
<p>It seemed to me in our first year package the home equity was capped, because it did not add as much to our EFC as I had expected. But the amounts were close enough that I could not be sure - it could have just been an asset protection allowance. Your package would be much more clear - if they do not cap home equity it would add about $28,000 to your EFC (ouch!), if they do cap home equity, it would add < $9,000 to your EFC (still ouch, but not with an exclamation mark).</p>
<p>It would be great to get that information - and if you happen to be calling them to inquire about your aid, that would be a great question to ask.</p>
<p>Hi mclaxton!</p>
<p>I do not know much about graduate financial aid at USC at all. I do know that in general, grants are scarce and loans are bigger at the graduate level. There are many opportunities for fellowships, teaching assistantships and research grants, but they are not quite the same as need-based aid. </p>
<p>Sorry I can’t be of more help!</p>
<p>Interesting. I’ll let my husband know about this and what you mentioned regarding whether USC caps home equity. That definitely could mean a difference between several thousands of dollars. So, let’s say it’s around $9,000 plus our FAFSA EFC of $15,000. Okay, that’s $24,000. Would we also pay the difference between the $52,000 cost?? Close to $30,000 in addition to the above amount? Basically all of it? I am still confused about how all this works. I don’t even really know what EFC means. I used to think it meant that’s ALL we were expected to pay and the college picked up the rest. LOL Obviously, *that’s *not the case…at least not for us or many others here. What, exactly is FAFSA telling us then when they say this is our Expected Family Contribution? It seems to me like we’re expected to pay for it all, whether through loans, work, etc. etc. So why do they throw out a number and what significance does it mean? For instance, Cal Poly is around $21,000. They offered us some Stafford loans. We don’t need to borrow, so we’re just going to pay for it on our own. Where does the $15,000 come into the picture??? I just don’t get it.</p>
<p>Never mind, I’m starting to “get it” now. The EFC is just for my husband and me. The rest (loans, work study, etc.) is the student’s responsibility.</p>
<p>The EFC is actually the “expected family contribution.” It is the amount, theoretically, that you would pay at a school that meets 100% of need. At a FAFSA-only school that meets 100% of need, that would be your FAFSA EFC.</p>
<p>Schools that also use the CSS/Profile add to that EFC by asking about assets the FAFSA does not (most often that turns out to be home equity, but some “0” EFC families who passed the “simplified needs test” have to report all excluded assets on the Profile).</p>
<p>So with a theoretical $9,000 added to your $15,000 FAFSA EFC, that would give you a $24,000 expected contribution at USC. The aid (in our theoretical example) might be caluculated:</p>
<p>$55,500 cost of attendance
-$24,000 EFC to be paid in cash or PLUS loans</p>
<p>=$31,000 USC-determined need. They figure your aid on this amount, starting with Stafford loans and work/study. A sample package MIGHT look like:</p>
<p>COA $55,500
EFC $24,000 to be paid in cash, PLUS loans or other financing
Stafford subs $3,500
Stafford unsubs $2,000
Federal work/study $2,000
Summer earnings expectation $1,500 (from a random job over the summer)
USC Grant $22,500</p>
<p>If the home equity contribution is not capped, the USC grant would be pretty much wiped out. That package might look like:</p>
<p>COA $55,500
EFC $43,000 to be paid in cash or PLUS loans
Stafford subs $3,500
Stafford unsubs $2,000
Federal work/study $1,500
Summer earnings $1,500
USC Grant $4,000</p>
<p>Does that help clarify?</p>
<p>NOTE: Everything here is theoretical and does not reflect any actual packages. Results may vary…</p>
<p>Hi. I’ve read through the pages, but I guess I just need a confidence boost haha. I just realized yesterday that I had never submitted the student non-filing statement… I don’t know how I missed that. I know being a little late is okay, but this was basically last minute. =/ I submitted the FAFSA, CSS Profile, and parents’ tax return in the beginning of February. Basically, will this just make my financial aid package later than everybody else’s? I’m hoping this doesn’t mean I’ll get less money I really want to go to USC…</p>
<p>Well, I don’t want anyone to start spreading the rumor that “a little late is okay” when it comes to filing for financial aid. If you depend on financial aid getting those forms in on time should be your top priority.</p>
<p>There are two answers, depending on what was late:</p>
<p>-if your FAFSA and CSS/Profile were filed by March 2nd, you are an on-time applicant. Corrections after that date are fine as long as you originally submitted by the due date. Other pieces of paperwork coming in after that date will not cause you to get less aid, it will just delay the date when you can expect to get your package. This can be a problem for students who need to know their aid to decide where they will attend, and sometimes means you have to deposit to another school while you wait. Ask for an extension from your other schools if this happens to you, and get it in writing if it is granted.</p>
<p>-If your FAFSA and/or CSS/Profile were submitted *after *March 2nd, USC states that they no longer guarantee to meet 100% of USC-determined need and will consider you for reduced aid. HOWEVER, there have been posts on this forum from students who submitted their FAFSA and/or CSS/Profile late and were still awarded full aid, so it is possible.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>alamemom, I have a question for you if you have a moment.</p>
<p>I just went onto Oasis to check the finaid document status. (D is a continuing student).
The 2010/2011 year does not appear (only the last 2 years do, where you put in the dot to view the year).
Do you know when it’s supposed to appear?
I completed the FAFSA/CSS ages ago and would have expected that I could see if those have been received.
I want to send all the rest of the stuff next week, is it supposed to appear after all that is sent?</p>
<p>Also, I noticed that USC prefers “uploading” of docs. How can one be expected to upload all the tax returns/custodial parent info/+ other docs?
Last year I faxed everything. I see you can still do that with the cover sheets. There’s not a potential problem with that if they “prefer” the uploading is there?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>