<p>my father took money out of his retirement fund in 2009, and this money was subsequently reported as income. should i notify USC of this and do you think that informing them of this will improve my aid package?</p>
<p>Oh Wow! That’s a lot better than i expected!</p>
<p>So In general, this is a very solid, generous package, yes? THANK YOU TROJAN FAMILY!</p>
<p>And one more question, i don’t see the FAFSA grant in the award summary, does that mean it was not applied into the FA package and can use THAT money toward the remaining balance? I know I was awarded it (around 4000) i think but i dont see it credited on the page…</p>
<p>Edit: I just re-read your answer, alamemom and saw that you mentioned something about room and board. I figured the 1000 EFC meant that room and board were NOT included, just tuition…but you’re saying they are? So I WILL be able to live on campus then…?</p>
<p>Sorry if my questions seem stupid!</p>
<p>room and board will cost around 10-11k, so while the package might help with it, it wouldn’t cover it all.</p>
<p>Who should I contact to discuss how I can get more financial aid? My EFC was around 3,500, but USC is expecting me to pay 9,000 per year plus around 5,000 in loans and it may be because my mother owns a home. However, for me to attend USC, I need a little more money because in addition to this tuition, which only my mother will be paying I have to worry about airfare.</p>
<p>pumpfake, did you see post #312 in response to your question yesterday?</p>
<p>sunflower28;</p>
<p>The Cost of Attendance figure includes tuition, room, board, books, transportation and personal expenses.<br>
And your aid package is figured on the total amount. USC will bill you for tuition, madatory fees, room and board which will add up to approximately $52,600. So yes, room and board on-campus is part of that total. </p>
<p>
I am not sure what FAFSA grant you are talking about. In your aid package, the following Federal grants (awarded because you filled out the FAFSA and show need) have already been credited:</p>
<p>Federal Pell $3,000
ACG $750 (academic compet. grant)
SEOG $800</p>
<p>Total Federal (FAFSA) grants: $4,550</p>
<p>Is there another grant or scholarship you have been awarded? (I am not aware of any other FAFSA grants other than those you have been awarded.) Additional grants would be considered resources and would most likely reduce your USC grant. Outside scholarships can generally be used to replace Federal work/study or subs Stafford.</p>
<p>And also to pumpfake: Financial aid office contact info is listed on page one of this thread. You can contact them by email, fax, or phone with questions and concerns about your financial aid.</p>
<p>nourmom, while money in retirement accounts is protected from financial aid calculations, unfortunately withdrawals from retirement accounts are considered income. You can contact the financial aid office to tell them (it can’t hurt to try), but it is doubtful that an adjustment will be made.</p>
<p>This is one of the reasons I encourage everyone to get the book “Paying for College Without Going Broke” and read it cover-to-cover. The topic of retirement account withdrawals and their impact on your financial aid award is covered there.</p>
<p>The small amount of good news I have is that next year when your income is more reflective of your real circumstance, your aid will be figured on the lower income amount.</p>
<p>Your Financial Aid Awards for the 2010-2011 Academic Year:
Grants/Work-Study<br>
Federal Work-Study: $2500
University Grant: $7136<br>
Scholarships/Fellowships/Other Awards<br>
University Scholarship: $4000<br>
Loans<br>
Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford Loan: $3500
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan: $2000
TOTAL: $19136 </p>
<p>I am eligible for the Pell Grant and Academic Competitiveness Grant (FAFSA EFC < 1000), however, USC says they are refusing to give it to me due to the amount of assets I own. Can a college refuse to give me the government grants by using their own estimated family contribution calculations? (Note: Every other college had offered me the Pell/ACG.)</p>
<p>The person I spoke to on the phone from USC said my parents probably own a significant amount of either real estate, investment assets, business we own, or home equity; while we do own our own house, we do not own any investment or real estate (although the person persisted in this being a reason), and my parent’s business income barely broke zero. The business is a S-Corporation; how much & what part of this business can be attributed to my estimated family contribution?</p>
<p>I’ve looked at my parent’s Federal & S-Corp tax returns and I understand that a lot is taken from the CSS Profile, but I still do not understand what might be the primary reasons for the drastic difference in my EFC for USC (the lady on the phone wouldn’t explain). Any possible explanation would be appreciated, thanks!</p>
<p>when do students usually find out if they qualified for the Parent Plus Loan? My request has been reviewed since the 12th. When should I expect to hear a response to see if my parents qualified? Any previous anecdotes about this?</p>
<p>NYEngineer,</p>
<p>Llke you, it is my understanding that the Pell is awarded regardless of the information on the CSS/Profile. What may have happened is that financial aid officers at one or more of the schools to which you submitted the FAFSA saw something in your tax return that excluded your family from the simplified needs test. If that is the case, financial aid officers are required to make a correction to the FAFSA. Did you receive any email from FAFSA processing saying there had been a change to your FAFSA?</p>
<p>As far an S-Corporation, I am afraid you have gone beyond my knowledge with that question. I did find a mention of it on finaid.org (an excellent financial aid website) so I will post what they say about S-Corporations:
</p>
<p>The people answering the phones in the financial aid office during this busy time of year are likely to be clerks or studant assistants, so they may not have a thorough understanding of why you did not get the aid you hoped. It might be a better idea to email the financial aid office (see page one of this thread for contact info) to ask your questions of a qualified financial aid officer. Then you can correct any errors or clarify any of their concerns.</p>
<p>I hope it works out for you.</p>
<p>franz, I am not sure when you will hear, but if your parents have already applied for their PLUS loans you are in GREAT shape! Many students and parents, stressed out from the college application/decision season just sit back for a bit before diving into the loan applications, so you are way ahead - good job!</p>
<p>In my experience, USC does an excellent job of guiding families through the loan process - far better than many other institutions I have delt with. The fin aid office will be dealing with continuing student packages through the month of May (approx 7,000 - 8,000 continuing student financial aid packages), so loan processing may not start for a bit. It might be a good idea to email the fin aid office to ask when you might expect loan approval. They ususally get back to emails within about 3 business days.</p>
<p>I never submitted a CSS/Profile… is that something I was suppose to do??</p>
<p>If you wanted to be considered for USC need-based grants, yes, that was something you were supposed to do. If you only submitted the FAFSA, you will only be eligible for Federal aid such as Stafford loans, Federal work/study, Pell, etc.</p>
<p>The requirement to submit the CSS/Profile is clearly stated on the USC Financial Aid website, as well as on page one of this thread. The due date was February 2nd. You can submit it now, but I have no idea what aid you can expect when you have missed the deadlines by three months.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>So I contacted them through email and will be waiting. Has anyone sucessfully negotiated with a school over financial aid? I want to go to USC and I thought I would go to it since Emory did not give me a lot of money, however just recently NYU gave me around 44,000 in grants/scholarship, while USC gave me around 4,000 less. NYU would obviously be cheaper because it gave me more money and I would not have to spend money on airfare or travel. Is there anyway to let USC know that I it is my number one choice however another school outbid them?</p>
<p>I am a spring admit and basically got the same thing as JocularMango, but my efc on the fafsa was 30,000. Would my parents have to pay 54,000 if I was moved to the fall? I was wondering how that works because 54,000 dollars is a lot of money</p>
<p>I am a spring admit and my USC EFC is $16,250. My FAFSA EFC is $140. This is bs… my family makes $25,000 a year for seven people and we have two people going to college next year. We also have no real estate we are renting a home. So I have to pay $40,000 a year for USC… while I have friends that only have to pay $8,000 a year, and their financial situations are better than mine. I asked a financial aid guy why my aid was so low, and he said it was because I mistakenly put $10,000 in the amount my family expects to pay for college. There is no way my family can pay that much. I am going to appeal…</p>
<p>keevwu, looking at your post above and your past posts, it seems you made several errors on your financial aid applications. Certainly you should send in corrections for your mistakes. I do not, however, understand how your mistakes add up to “bs” from USC financial aid. They use the information you submit.</p>
<p>**pumpfake, **
USC typically does not “bid” for students. They figure your aid based on the information in your financial aid application (CSS/Profile) and tax returns. As I told you in post #312, you certainly can present any special circumstances you have and ask them to reconsider your aid. They do not “match” offers from other schools. If another school fits your family’s finances better, thay may be a better choice for you.</p>
<p>If you have not yet read post #312, please go back and read it.</p>
<p>keevwu: Before appealing, you should go back and look at your FAFSA and CSS/Profile forms you submitted to make sure there are no errors. Make ALL corrections then appeal. Results are based on the data you submit. If you make errors and do not correct them, FAFSA and the school do not know they are errors so they will make financial aid decisions based on what you submit. Did you indicate there are 7 family members? Did you indicate there will be two students in college? Did you indicate you rent and not own? Check, check, and check again.</p>