<p>Anyone received the 1098T?</p>
<p>Yes, ours has appeared and we have printed it. Were you able to access yours?</p>
<h2>I will check…thanks!</h2>
<p>I have not received the document or email: </p>
<p>“Thank you for electing to have your tax documents delivered electronically. If you are entitled to a tax document, it will be prepared in January. At the time your documents are prepared, you will receive an email with access instructions.”</p>
<p>- Our EFC is $99,999, so we don’t qualify for need-based aid, but we would like to get loans for some of the cost. Do we have to get private loans?</p>
<p>Any student who files a FAFSA is eligible for unsubsidized Stafford loans, regardless of “need.” The student does not have to qualify for the loans, so no credit history, bad credit, and no cosigner is not a problem. Interest is charged from the date of disbursement, but no payments are due until 6 months after graduation (or six months after you stop attending full-time). The available amounts are $5,500 freshman year, $6,500 sophomore, and $7,500 each junior and senior years. The current rate is 5.6%, and there may be fees of up to 1.5%, depending on the lender.</p>
<p>By filing the FAFSA your parents become *eligible to apply for *the Parent PLUS loan for up to the cost of attendance minus any scholarships or financial aid. Parents must qualify for these loans, but it is sometimes “easier” to qualify for PLUS loans than private loans. The interest rate is variable (for 2009-2010 it was 3.28%) and there may be fees of up to 4%, depending on the lender. Interest begins accruing at the time of disbursement. Parents can choose whether to begin repayment immerdiately or defer payments until after the student graduates. </p>
<p>[Student</a> Aid on the Web](<a href=“http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/studentloans.jsp]Student”>http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/studentloans.jsp) Stafford Loans
[Student</a> Aid on the Web](<a href=“http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/parentloans.jsp]Student”>http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/parentloans.jsp) Parent PLUS Loans</p>
<p>Parents with high EFCs often have access to private funding with favorable terms, so be sure to discuss with your financial advisors to see if Stafford and/or PLUS loans are your best options.</p>
<p>If you are certain you will not qualify for need-based aid and are only filing the FAFSA to get access to the unsubsidized loans described above, the February 2nd deadline does not apply, and you do not need to fill out the CSS/Profile. You can fill out the 2010-2011 FAFSA even after school has begun if you decide you would like those loans.</p>
<p>- Do I have to submit my FAFSA and CSS/Profile before USC will send my letter of admission?</p>
<p>No. The CSS/Profile and FAFSA are need-analysis forms that determine eligibility for need-based financial aid and have nothing to do with admission. </p>
<p>- Do I have to submit the FAFSA and CSS/Profile to be considered for the Trustee, Presidential and/or NMF Presidential scholarships?</p>
<p>No. The Trustee, Presidential and NMF Presidential scholarships are merit awards. No need-analysis forms are required to be eligible for them.</p>
<p>- Can I wait to be accepted to submit my CSS/Profile and FAFSA?</p>
<p>No. The due date for those forms is February 2nd., whether you have been accepted by then or not. Do not miss deadlines.</p>
<p>Several of my colleges say their deadline is Feb 1. So where does the Feb 2nd date in the threads here come from? Thanks.</p>
<p>
The February 2nd date in this thread comes from the official USC Financial Aid website:
[USC</a> Financial Aid - Applying & Receiving Financial Aid - Undergraduate - New Students](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/applying_receiving/undergraduates1/newstudents.html]USC”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/applying_receiving/undergraduates1/newstudents.html)</p>
<p>There would be no problem submitting it by February 1st (or even now), so feel free to do so.</p>
<p>Hey, I was wondering do we only need to fax in the W-2 forms and tax returns to USC? I wasn’t real sure what forms needed to be faxed in afterwards.</p>
<p>
Yes, FAX in student and parent W-2s and all pages of student and parent signed Federal tax returns.</p>
<p>
[USC</a> Financial Aid - Applying & Receiving Financial Aid - Undergraduate - New Students](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/applying_receiving/undergraduates1/newstudents.html]USC”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/applying_receiving/undergraduates1/newstudents.html)</p>
<p>Ok, I have a few questions. </p>
<p>We filed our FAFSA and CSS Profile, and sent them in yesterday, so deadlines are taken care of.</p>
<p>I have no income and therefore have no need to file taxes, so I won’t have any W-2 or tax returns to send in for myself, correct?</p>
<p>My parents haven’t filed their taxes, so once they file them, preferably by March 2nd (right?), we should send in the W-2 and tax return forms? And do this how, via fax?</p>
<p>now amending the FAFSA and CSS profile with new numbers, how should I go about this? For the FAFSA can I just log-in, change the numbers, and submit it online again? Or do I need to print it out and fax or mail? For the CSS profile, I paid $41 (UMich and USC) to submit on estimates, though my dad said a lot of it asked for estimates based on 2008, so do I even need to amend the CSS Profile? and if so, do I have to pay to do it again? If not, what do I do? Print off the old report and by hand fix the numbers and fax it?</p>
<p>finally, how different is the USC calculated EFC from the FAFSA? I know that USC has there own calculations based on info gathered from the CSS profile, but how different is that calculated EFC from the FAFSA EFC, generally speaking? And, is it ever less than the FAFSA EFC? My FAFSA EFC was ~$1600, so should I expect my USC EFC to be like $1000-$2000, or could it be anywhere from $0-$20000? I’m sure based on past examples there should be some way to give a rough range estimate, as if not then the FAFSA EFC really has no bearing on financial aid at all, and as we all know, it does.</p>
<p>Finally, can you explain the Financial Aid Office’s logic behind making a deadline for something and allowing incomplete and/or incorrect forms to count as meeting the deadline? My parents haven’t filed their taxes, but have submitted FAFSA and CSS, so I should expect to see changes on both forms, right? As almost no numbers will be exactly as predicted, and are definitely variable from year to year. That being said, I don’t see how they can gather ANYTHING from the forms that don’t have exact numbers to back them up, since some incomes and major assets can change very, very drastically from year to year, and even if they are close, there will have to be small amendments on all portions of financial aid I would assume, unless they just got lazy and decided not to go back and change it. So I don’t understand why they don’t just ask you to use exact numbers and have your taxes filed and make the deadline March 2nd so they can actually do something with the forms they receive.</p>
<p>If you’re able to address all of my questions, I will be eternally grateful. Thanks again for all of your help on behalf of all USC applicants, for more than just financial aid.</p>
<p>- I have no income and therefore have no need to file taxes, so I won’t have any W-2 or tax returns to send in for myself, correct?</p>
<p>Correct, but you DO have to submit the Student Non-Filing statement: <a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/private/docs/1011/NFSS201011.pdf[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/private/docs/1011/NFSS201011.pdf</a></p>
<p>- My parents haven’t filed their taxes, so once they file them, preferably by March 2nd (right?), we should send in the W-2 and tax return forms? And do this how, via fax?</p>
<p>Correct again, preferably by March 2nd (though if you cannot file until later, you will still receive financial aid, but your package may not be complete by the commitment deposit date of May 1st). You can FAX, mail, submit electronically or email the copies. Contact info for the Financial Aid Office: [USC</a> Financial Aid - Contact Us](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/contact.html]USC”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/contact.html)</p>
<p>- now amending the FAFSA and CSS profile with new numbers, how should I go about this?</p>
<p>To make FAFSA corrections, go to [FAFSA</a> - Free Application for Federal Student Aid](<a href=“http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/]FAFSA”>http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/) and under #3, “FAFSA Follow-Up” choose “Make corrections to a processed FAFSA.” You will only be updating the tax information. Your savings/checking/investment balances remain as they were on the date you first filed, unless there were errors in those numbers. For the CSS/Profile, you do not update. USC gets the information they need from your updated FAFSA and Tax return copies.</p>
<p>- finally, how different is the USC calculated EFC from the FAFSA?</p>
<p>The main difference is that USC considers assets, most often home equity, that the FAFSA does not. This often means your expected contribution at USC may be a bit higher than your FAFSA EFC. In some cases, USC will find your expected contribution to be a bit less. Your FAFSA EFC will be used to distribute your Federal and State aid - with a $1,600 EFC you will be Pell Grant eligible and if a California resident, Cal Grant, and you will be eligible for subsidized Federal loans. As for USC’s institutional aid, I cannot give specific predictions, but students with similar EFCs have reported impressive need-based grant amounts.</p>
<p>- Finally, can you explain the Financial Aid Office’s logic behind making a deadline for something and allowing incomplete and/or incorrect forms to count as meeting the deadline? My parents haven’t filed their taxes, but have submitted FAFSA and CSS, so I should expect to see changes on both forms, right?</p>
<p>Yes. The logic is that they will admit approximately 8,000 students, and 60% of them will request financial aid. USC will have to present approx. 4,800 financial aid packages in early April so that students have enough time to make important decisions about where they will attend. By using estimated numbers, those estimated packages can be put together in advance and then quickly adjusted as the final numbers come in. If the deadline matched the tax deadline of April 15th in order to use only firm numbers, no students would know how much aid to expect until AFTER they have to decide where they will attend.</p>
<p>You will only submit changes to your FAFSA.</p>
<p>***- If you’re able to address all of my questions, I will be eternally grateful. Thanks again for all of your help on behalf of all USC applicants, for more than just financial aid. ***</p>
<p>Awwwww, thanks! I hope these answers helped. Your questions show that you have a very good understanding of the financial aid process and are on top of your deadlines. I have found USC Financial Aid to be patient, helpful and flexible, so don’t hesitate to call or email them with questions and concerns. Good luck!</p>
<p>Deadline for “new students” is February 2, 2010.</p>
<p>Deadline for “continuing students” is March 2, 2010.
Is this right?</p>
<p>Just a question, alamemom, about this in #31:
</p>
<p>What if you are correcting an asset number or personal information that is not on the Fafsa or the tax return? Like one of the questions about home equity, or something else unique to Profile? How would they get the information unless you send in the corrections?</p>
<p>When do transfer students get their financial aid package? in some cases, transfer won’t know if they get accepted or not until mid-june or so b/c USC requests that we submit our spring grades…</p>
<p>Honestly, I do have a question. I’ve been searching around, but I’ve had trouble finding real answers.</p>
<p>Over and over, I hear that buzzphrase-- “meets 100% need.” But “meeting” need doesn’t mean much to me. You can “meet” need with just loans, and you can use loans to “meet” your need at any college. The only difference is in them being college-sanctioned loans, versus a bank or other source of loaned money.</p>
<p>So, tell me, how much need does USC cover in the form of grants, specifically, for ~low-income students?
My family, if one can be specific, makes ~54,000 a year. Investments are zero, assets are basically nonexistent, we live paycheck-to-paycheck with about $500 in the bank at any given time. Lots of debt already, but doubt that’s taken into account. Next year will be two kids in college (my sister and I).</p>
<p>Even though I was recently accepted to USC, I’m so skeptical of their FA that I’m not even really considering it at the moment. If there’s evidence that my wariness is unfounded, I’d gladly bump USC to the top of the two places I’ve been accepted to (USC and UPitt). Academically and location-wise–well, everything except money, really–I prefer USC. But, to me, money is much more important, and the differences aren’t big enough to warrant choosing debt.</p>
<p>I’m especially wary after having read the many pages of this thread: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/732999-financial-aid-beware.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/732999-financial-aid-beware.html</a> as well as looking at the number of members in the facebook group about being “screwed over” by USC’s financial aid. Even if I’m offered an initially large package for freshman year, at this point, there’s no way I would take it and matriculate. It seems to me like they increasingly lower your FA every year you’re there so that you’re racked up with loans and debt by graduation, no matter what they entice you with for freshman year.</p>
<p>I post this because, honestly, I want to be convinced that what I’ve read isn’t true. I want to believe USC has good FA, I really do. I’ve love to go to USC! But I’m not going to risk debt for it.
Schools aren’t required to give grants to low-income students, I know. The fact is that the majority of schools have loans as a significant amount of their “financial aid.” I don’t give fault to USC if this is their reality; it’s a great school regardless of their FA policies. However, I am curious about the truth behind that “beware” thread, as well about their loan policies.
Thanks for any explanation.</p>
<p>Greenery - you have the dates exactly right.</p>
<p>dt123 - You are right - if you are correcting information about assets, you do need to let them know. I have never corrected my CSS/Profile, so I do not have solid information for you. I suggest you FAX or mail them complete information about the correction and ask how to proceed.</p>
<p>
Our family has not found this to be the case at USC.
As mentioned earlier in this thread, USC uses the FAFSA, the CSS/Profile, and their own formula to determine need, so the amount you are expected to contribute may differ from your FAFSA EFC. Once they determine your need, USC’s packages consist of
-your EFC, to be paid in cash or PLUS loans
-the student contribution from summer earnings (usually $2,000 - $3,000)
-Federal Stafford loans. $5,500 frosh (of which $3,500 is subsidized), $6,500 soph ($4,500 subs), and $7,500 jr and sr ($5,500 subs).
-Federal work/study of $2,000 - $3,000
-Grants/scholarships for the remaining need.
As I mention earlier in the thread, I am unable to give estimates of the financial aid you will receive. Also mentioned earlier, consumer debt is not considered. The only debt considered is debt against a reportable asset, such as a mortgage on a second home.
As mentioned earlier in this thread, when a family has two in college at the same time, it is a significant benefit. The EFC is spread between the siblings. Keep in mind that when one graduates, even if they continue in graduate school, the benefit disappears.
I am just giving information, it is not my role to “convince” you of anything. If you feel more comfortable attending another institution that you feel will provide “better” financial aid, then you should do so.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>@ Greenery - when I said Fax or email “them,” I mean contact USC, not College Board. College Board would certainly say to pay again! Hopefully USC can just process the changes themselves without you having to go through College Board.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>
Our family has also not found that FA decreases every year. Through seven cycles in a row now, the aid has been consistent and generous. USC is actually renowned for its generous financial aid, though if the person wants to reject his generous first year offer, just in case, he should feel free to do so, so someone more appreciative can receive the aid.</p>
<p>Just filed my FAFSA. I’m a little bit scared of our family’s expected contribution.
Our EFC is apparently $99,999. Does that mean USC will not give me any financial aid?</p>