<p>@ alamemom</p>
<p>Thank you for the advice and I just got my financial package and so I thought I might report it here for future reference.</p>
<p>Your Financial Aid Awards for the 2010-2011 Academic Year:
Grants/Work-Study FALL SPRING TOTAL
Federal Work-Study $1375 $1375 $2750<br>
Estimated Federal Pell Grant $2750 $2750 $5500<br>
University Grant $17439 $17289 $34728<br>
Federal SEOG $375 $375 $750 </p>
<p>Loans FALL SPRING TOTAL
Federal Perkins Loan $1000 $1000 $2000<br>
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan $1000 $1000 $2000<br>
Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford Loan $2250 $2250 $4500 FALL SPRING TOTAL
$26189 $26039 $52228</p>
<p>I was very fortunate to get such an excellent package in spite of turning in my application sometime in June. Though I got very lucky, I would definitely NOT suggest turning it in so late (though I did turn in an appeal for a late application).</p>
<p>WOW! Great news! I am sure it was stressful wait, but other than that it turned out very well for you.</p>
<p>(And don’t bother with that company that charges to file your FAFSA for you next year - they almost cost you $52,228!!! All the info you need in in the book I always recommend.)</p>
<p>again, thank you for the advice, alamemom =D</p>
<p>Just to be clear with the loans, it says that some loans don’t have to be paid back until after you’re out of school…</p>
<p>My question is, will they still be deferred even if I want to go to law school? Or do I have to pay off undergrad loans after I’m done with undergrad?</p>
<p>Can I still get these federal loans for grad school later on?</p>
<p>Yes, you can generally request a deferment of your loans if you go straight to graduate school, but be sure to keep this in mind as you approach gradiuation so you get those requests in.</p>
<p>And yes, Stafford loans are available for grad school. Financial aid changes significantly for graduate school, by the way. In fields such as law, the aid available is almost 100% loans - those wonderful grants disappear. Your Stafford limit will go to $20,500 per yar ($8,500 of which is subsidized), and the rest ($30,000+) is generally made up of Grad PLUS loans. There are some graduate school fields where tuition remission, assistanships and other funding is available, but those are generally research fields or fields that tend to be lower-paying after graduation.</p>
<p>Hello again alamemom, I just have a concern that was recently raised and brought to my attention regarding cal grants. I read your previous post saying how cal grants will essentially be subtract from the determined need based aid, however, I was wondering if USC is going to directly subtract my $9708 cal grant award with my $20,826 university grant or will they allocate it based on my loans as well. I qualify for around $9,500 in loans and was hoping they’d just subtract my cal grant from that so I would essentially still have the original cal grant amount since I do not plan on taking any of the loans. </p>
<p>Thank you for your time and efforts, this new discovery about cal grants at USC has made me quite concerned about paying for tuition.</p>
<p>Hi, so I’ve already received my financial aid package from USC, and I’ve already signed my MPN and such for my federal loan. However, it looks as if my father, the sole supporter of my family, will be laid off or taking a deep pay cut soon. I know I should appeal as soon as this happens, but is there anything specific I should include in my appeal, like proof of unemployment? And what are the chances that my aid package will increase? If my dad really does lose his job, I will have to take out a 40K$ student loan for this year. </p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>xdzzzrawr, Though outside scholarships can often be used to replace need-based subsidized loans, the Cal Grant generally cannot. Both the Cal Grant and USC grants are need-based grants, so if your USC-determined need was met with the package they presented, the USC Grant will most likely be reduced by the amount of the Cal Grant. (Sorry I don’t have better news!)</p>
<p>totallystuck, In general, your aid for a given school year is based on your financial information from the previous year - for example, your 2010-2011 aid package is determined using your 2009 information. So a layoff or pay reduction in 2010 would result a larger aid package for the 2011-2012 school year rather than the current school year.</p>
<p>That said, the Federal government has recently asked college and university financial aid offices to consider aid adjustments for same-year job losses. There is no requirement that adjustments be made, and it is on a case-by case basis. If your father does lose his job, send a letter to the USC financial aid office giving the date of the layoff and include the layoff notice and a copy of an unemployment check as documentation. Ask if they will consider an aid adjustment. You can do the same for a pay reduction, but the answer is likely to be that your aid will be adjusted in the following year in that case. It won’t hurt to make the request - if the pay reduction is significant, they may consider a current year adjustment.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Hey everyone… can you please take a look at my situation and offer some advice ( i posted this in the wrong thread earlier–maybe you came across it)?</p>
<p>After submitting my SGR… I received a letter late June saying I was admitted for Spring 2011 as a sophmore (maybe junior?) transfer, BUT… I didn’t meet all the deadlines for financial aid. For example…:</p>
<p>FAFSA (due March 2nd): submitted January-ish
CSS Profile (due Feb 2nd): Submitted Feb 18th</p>
<p>Just submitted parents 1040, my non-filling statement, and custodial parent form a few days ago (electronically-love that feature). **** I waited to get my parents 2009 federal tax returns in April–then thinking I didn’t have a shot to get in and let this slip until now (Lets say submitted July 16th)…</p>
<p>This is quite late for the css profile and the tax forms… I REALLY need financial aid as my efc was around 2000$… do you think USC will still offer me the 100% financial need they tend to give on-time students? Or at least something close?</p>
<p>Thank you for reading this far, and YES i agree with you; this was a series of poor decisions and stupidity on my part and I pray it doesn’t cost me a chance at this institution. I’m just looking for someone who has been through something similar that could share the their experience or advice. Thank you in advance for your help, and i will be checking this thread a lot and will keep it updated.</p>
<p>-kevin</p>
<p>P.S. Ubergook if you’re still following this thread… can you elaborate on how you submitted an appeal for a late application?</p>
<p>Hi baker12,</p>
<p>While USC only guarantees to meet 100% of need for on-time applicants, we have a few students who have posted that they received aid packages that made it possible to attend even with late financial aid applications. ubergook is a recent example - you can catch up with the details in posts #483 - 486 and #501 of this thread. </p>
<p>Start by calling financial aid to ask if there is anything else they need and if everything you have submitted was received. (Your CSS/Profile was not as late as several others, by the way!) As far as an appeal, I would wait to get your package before making an appeal - hopefully there won’t be a need for an appeal.</p>
<p>A note about your EFC: Please read the first page of this thread for details on how USC determines your need. The quick version - they use the CSS/Profile and consider asstets, such as home equity, that the FAFSA does not so **the amount you are expected to contribute may differ from your FAFSA EFC. <a href=“And%20by%20%22differ,%22%20I%20mean%20it%20will%20probably%20be%20more%20:”>/B</a> )</p>
<p>Congratulations on your acceptance, and I hope the aid works out for you!</p>
<p>Thank you Alamemom!</p>
<p>Although I do check usconnect by the hour nowadays, I will call the financial aid office tomorrow morning to do just what you advised. It looks like there was ~9 days between first post and final update from ubergook… hopefully I will find out how this will all pan out soon.</p>
<p>I will indeed educate myself on how USC asses their EFC thanks to this topic.</p>
<p>Again, thanks for the advice!</p>
<p>the difference in my financial aid package (i’m a 5th year though, doing study abroad) is surprising… there is a 12K gap from how much it’ll cost for me to study abroad and the award… I have talked to many advisors before and they told me my fin aid should stay consistent. I figured perhaps 7K but 12K gap is… almost impossible for me to fill unless I get a 10K loan on top of my 7K loan USC is giving me this year… If I had known beforehands I wouldn’t have applied to study abraod program… I wish they will change this for me because nothing in my family’s financial situation has really changed (except my brother got a job now but everybody’s indebt.)</p>
<p>Also my parents just recently purchased a house. (this is their first house and they are in their 50’s…) would this be a good thing to mention or a bad thing to mention to finaid? (they bought it after css and fafsa form due dates) they figured since they’ll spend the same money on buying a house or renting a house, they just went ahead and purchased a new home. So my parents have no savings whatsoever… sigh</p>
<p>uyulove, probably the major factor in the lower aid is that you are a 5th year student. I did not know that USC extended financial aid to 5th year students - I thought it would be similar to aid provided to graduate students: all loans. So I am impressed that you have received aid that puts you within $12,000 (I know that you, faced with that gap, probably are not as impressed…)</p>
<p>For study abroad programs *that cost more *than a semester or year at USC, your grant aid is not increased. The only adjustment is that they will make a Cost of Attendance increase to give you additional loan eligibility to cover the difference. Your parents can apply for PLUS loans for the gap. If that is more debt than they are comfortable with, you might consider changing your study abroad plans and staying at USC to be certain you complete all of your graduation requirements this year (some can only be completed at USC, such as diversity) or even this semester - your aid will probably be far less if you find you need a sixth year to graduate.</p>
<p>You could let USC know about the home purchase, but it probably wouldn’t make a difference in the aid calculation because USC considers home equity in the aid calculations. So if your parents used their savings for the purchase, that just shifts the asset from a savings or investment account into home equity, and it would still be considered.</p>
<p>I hope it all works out - good luck and let us know what you decide to do.</p>
<p>Not to take attention away from uyulove’s post but…
alamemom,</p>
<p>can you clarify on what a “5th year” student is? I might transfer to USC 2011 spring (post #510) but I spent 3 years in a ccc. Im currently at 64 transferred units (I think). Should I go to USC and complete one year (lets say units 65 through 96), would the year following that be considered my 5th year?</p>
<p>For example, it MAY look something like this:
2007-2008 ccc
2008-2009 ccc
2009-2010 ccc
2011-2011 USC
2012-2012 <------------------would I be considered a 4th year or 5th year here under review of financial aid you think?</p>
<p>You probably should read this section of the catalog thoroughly: [USC</a> Catalogue: Undergraduate Education: Financial Aid : Satisfactory Academic Progress](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/cat2009/undergraduate/fin_aid_sap.html]USC”>http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/cat2009/undergraduate/fin_aid_sap.html) and then call Financial Aid to discuss it.</p>
<p>There is a maximum time allowance of nine semesters - 4 1/2 years - to complete a degree for financial aid purposes, and units from previous colleges count toward that (though AP units do NOT). You can sometimes petition to add a semester if you have changed majors, so you might have that information ready to present. Hint: Even if you didn’t have an official declared major that was changed at your cc, it might be a good idea to have an explanation ready that you were actually working toward a different major the first year or two.</p>
<p>Students in programs designated as 5-year programs get up to 11 semesters.</p>
<p>***These limits ONLY apply to financial aid eligibility - you can take much longer to get your degree if you want to pay for it yourself!</p>
<p>There are other exceptions for double majors, second bachelors, etc., so anyone with concerns in this area should read the section thoroughly so they are prepared to discuss it with the financial aid office.</p>
<p>Trustee and Presidential scholarships extend ONLY for 8 semesters (ten for 5-year programs), though there is an extra 8 units of scholarship money available through “Exceptional Funding” for Trustee and Presidential scholars. Other USC four-year scholarships are for four years ONLY - no extra funding is available. </p>
<p>Students with high GPAs (3.75+) who are short units for graduation may be eligible to take two extra units (up to 20/semester) to speed up their progress toward graduation [USC</a> Academic Achievement Award | Undergraduate Education](<a href=“http://undergrad.usc.edu/renaissance/achievement_award.html]USC”>http://undergrad.usc.edu/renaissance/achievement_award.html)</p>
<p>The link to the Catalogue again: [USC</a> Catalogue: Undergraduate Education: Financial Aid : Satisfactory Academic Progress](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/cat2009/undergraduate/fin_aid_sap.html]USC”>http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/cat2009/undergraduate/fin_aid_sap.html)</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>So I have a question for students/parents that have already gone through their first year at USC…</p>
<p>The thing is that for first-year or first-time students/loan borrowers, we have to fill out the online MPN and go to an in-person loan counseling session that is 1 or 2 days before the payment deadline of 8/20 (this year). Now I don’t know if my loan amount (full unsubsidized and subsidized) will reflect on my student account immediately. If it doesn’t, I’m looking at about 8-9k to pay for. So I’m just wondering if I should go ahead and set up a 5-payment plan on the billing price of 8-9k a couple days before the payment deadline and then readjust it a week later when my loans are credited to my account!?!?!?</p>
<p>Or is it possible for me to do a 5-payment plan and add the loan amounts in the calculator(even though not disbursed yet) , because they will show up a few days later.</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>Unless things have changed this year (and if they have, please POST the details!), the way the Stafford loans will work is:</p>
<ol>
<li>Do a Stafford loan request.</li>
<li>Do your online loan counseling, which leads to your MPN.</li>
<li>Do your MPN.</li>
<li>If all of the above are done in a timely manner (get going on it NOW), your loans will fund on about August 16th - four days before your payment deadline. </li>
<li>When you arrive on campus after move-in day, make an appointment for and go in for your in-person loan counseling. In the past, the in-person counseling did not have to be done before move-in day - has it changed???</li>
</ol>
<p>If your loans have not funded by the time your tuition is due (if all paperwork wasn’t in on time or???), or if you have an outside scholarship that won’t arrive until after classes start (many require proof that you are attending before the check is sent), your options are:</p>
<p>-Sign up for the payment plan (go to Oasis to sign up NOW)
-Request a deferment of the amount of the loans or scholarships expected (Contact the Financial aid office)
-If you are able, you can pay the entire amount due by the due date and USC will refund the overpayment when your loans or scholarships arrive.</p>
<p>I pretty much did everything when I received their email notification , I was just worried about the loan disbursement date, and if the in-person counseling was a requirement for it to be disbursed , but now I guess it isn’t.</p>
<p>The only other part that I’m concerned about is the 5payment plan , because I am required to enter a specific amount, and none of my loans/pellgrant have disbursed yet. (So the total amount due will definitely change)</p>
<p>alllriighty so I turned in the PLUS loan application to the USC financial aid thing on 7/6/2010 and I hadn’t heard back from them about it so today I was looking online and I went on the PLUS loan website and it said you could find out the status of your plus loan. But when i went on there it said I hadn’t even started an application yet. This struck me as odd so I just went and filled out most of the application on that web site until i got to the part where you choose your school and it wouldnt let me go past the page because it said “Your school does not accept plus loan for that year”… The year I chose being 2010-2011. </p>
<p>So my questions
- I turned in my plus loan application on teh USC financial aid services website early this month but is that the same thing as doing an application on the PLUS loan website?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I fear that the answer to question 1 may be related to this one but if the thing i turned in was not enough, is the date by which i can apply for a plus loan on their website passed?</p></li>
<li><p>I am definitely going to be denied because my mom went bankrupt in 2007 and so I’m going to receive extra sub stafford loans correct? How much will this increase my eligibility?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>thaaaanks everyone for your help</p>