<p>Alamemom: Thanks again!
Great idea - I faxed the certificate and letter.</p>
<p>If the total current market value of my parents’ investments is $400,000 and savings in cash is $100,000 but our adjusted gross income is $43,000 … is it likely that I’ll get a lot of financial aid? The reason why I am asking is to convince my dad to pay for the CSS profile fee so that at least I can see if I can qualify for financial aid because he is totally doubting that he’ll be able to help me pay for USC if I even get in. If I am not likely of getting a lot of financial aid, I’ll just quit with him on applying for financial aid. Thanks!</p>
<p>google ‘estimated efc calculator’ and fill in the blanks. it will take about 2 minutes.</p>
<p>ipfun, perhaps you could ask your father to start with the FAFSA. It is free to file the FAFSA (be sure you are on the official FAFSA website [FAFSA</a> - Free Application for Federal Student Aid](<a href=“http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/]FAFSA”>http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/) - there are some lookalike sites that will try to charge you!). At your income level, some of your assets may be excluded - if you get the message saying you are not required to list your assets and asking if you would like to list them anyway, choose NOT to list them. If you are able to exclude some assets, you may be eligible for some Federal aid.</p>
<p>For USC grants: The CSS/Profile WILL ask for those assets to be listed. In general, assets in retirement accounts will not be assesed for financial aid calculations, so if any of that is in an IRA, ROTH, etc… that may help. The CSS/Profile will also asses your home equity, and with the assets you have listed it is likely you also have significant home equity to consider. </p>
<p>In general, assets of about $500,000 will add approximately $28,000 to your EFC. So after you do the EFC calculator (assuming you are able to exclude the assets), add $28,000. Also add approx 5.6% of your home equity. If you were unable to exclude assets, only add 5.6% of home equity.</p>
<p>If your total of FAFSA EFC plus 5.6% of home equity plus 5.6% of your assets ($28,000) is less than about $50,000 you would be eligible for some need-based aid - mostly loans. If the total is less than about $40,000 you MIGHT be eligible for (small) USC grants and it would be worthwhile for you to pay to fill out the CSS/Profile ($25 for first school, $9 for each additional school).</p>
<p>Suggest to your father he get a copy of “Paying for College Without Going Broke” for lots of good suggestions.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>what are your opinions on the two business frats, delta sigma pi and ADK? and which would you say have more to offer?</p>
<p>alamemom, I have already filed the FAFSA for the UC’s. I just needed to do the CSS profile, which I am already late for, for USC which is not a free application unlike the FAFSA. Yes, I have excluded some assets on the FAFSA, but the CSS profile asks me to include them. So my dad is unemployed at the moment and has an adjusted gross income of about $43,000 and practically everything else is $0 according to his 1040a form. </p>
<p>The assets I have mentioned to be $400,000 is from Certificate of Deposit since that was one of the categories under “total current market value of your parents’ investments” in the CSS. We have no home equity. I just calculated my EFC online and it comes out to be $2,758 although I’m not sure if it’s accurate because it also said ‘assets were disregarded because the family qualified for the simplified needs test-without qualifying EFC would be around $27,598.’ Around how much might I get from “small USC grants?” My dad told me he can only pay around $15,000 a year so will it still be worthwhile to fill out the CSS Profile? (He’s still doubting)</p>
<p>Does any of this additional information change the answer to what I asked? Thanks!</p>
<p>At our school meeting, it helps (even though it sucks) that if someone is unemployed and looking for work more money is excluded. Make sure you are marking that point on your file. It will help with aid. Talk to your counselor or call CSS and FAFSA to confirm.</p>
<p>ipfun,</p>
<p>Since you have already done your FAFSA, you should have your EFC - it was on the confirmation page when you finished. If you don’t have it, go here [FAFSA</a> - Free Application for Federal Student Aid](<a href=“http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/]FAFSA”>http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/) and choose “FAFSA Follow up - View and Print your Student Aid Report.”</p>
<p>With your $400,000 in certificates of deposit and $100,000 in cash, you will need to add approximately $28,000 to your FAFSA EFC. Just to get an idea, let’s estimate your contribution for USC to be $30,000 (they will calculate it their own way, so this is just a guesstimate).</p>
<p>USC Approx cost of attendance: $53,000
less family contribution (to be paid in cash or PLUS loans) $30,000
less summer earnings expectation $1,500</p>
<p>Need = $21,500</p>
<p>As a freshman, you might receive:</p>
<p>$3,500 Stafford subsidized loan
$2,000 Stafford unsibsidized loan
$2,000 Federal work/study
$9,708 Cal Grant
$4,292 USC need-based grant</p>
<p>USC will offer your father PLUS loans for the family contribution of $30,000, but they will have to be paid eventually, so it will be twice what he hopes to contribute.</p>
<p>USC might reduce the family contribution a bit if you show special circumstances of unemployment, but they are not likely to reduce it to $15,000 when your family has such significant assets.</p>
<p>To sum up, filling out the Profile for $25 is likely to gain you about $4,000 - $6,000 in need-based grants from USC. You have already paid more than twice that to apply to USC, so as a parent I would suggest spending another $25 just to keep options open until all acceptances and fin aid packages are received.</p>
<p>The UCs are FAFSA only, so you may get a package that meets your family’s needs better from a UC, but until you know you are accepted it is a good idea to keep your options on the table.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>ipfun - one more note:
You probably have already listed USC on you FAFSA as well, but if not, as soon as possible go to “FAFSA Follow Up” and add USC as a school to receive your FAFSA.</p>
<p>Yet another note (in my never-ending-answer…):</p>
<p>I just saw that you have been awarded a Cal Grant B. Your grant *total *will remain the same, but the *composition *changes a bit:</p>
<p>$3,500 Stafford subsidized loan
$2,000 Stafford unsibsidized loan
$2,000 Federal work/study
$1,551 Cal Grant
$12,449 USC need-based grant</p>
<p>In subsequent years you would receive Cal Grant A + B and your USC need-based grant would be reduced accordingly. Again, the grant total remains the same, only the composition changes. (This makes submitting the Profile even more important for year #1.)</p>
<p>Bump for Rodmaniac91</p>
<p>If you still haven’t turned in all of your financial aid documentation, can you be accepted to the university?</p>
<p>I know, I know, I’ve been nagging my mom for over a month about it. We have some of the forms in (FAFSA and CSS), and got those in more or less on time, but she still hasn’t done the W2 etc.</p>
<p>This is a little off subject, but what does it mean when everyone says, “Bump”?? I don’t get that at all. Also, what does SIR the college mean, which I have seen on other threads.</p>
<p>wisdom, you do not have to have your financial aid documentation in to be accepted. You do, however, have to have it in to get financial aid. The problem with waiting until late March or April to submit your tax return copies and W-2s is that you may not have your financial aid package before May 1st, when you have to commit to a university. It is important to have all your financial aid information so you can make that important decision, so remind your mom once again.</p>
<p>tornados, “bump” is an acronym for “bring up my post.” (I wondered about it when I first saw it too!) Poeple use it to move a thread back up to the first page where it gets noticed.</p>
<p>“SIR” is another acronym meaning “Statement of intent to register.” By May 1st you will have to decide where you will attend and make that commitment by filling out your statement of intent to register or SIR. “SIR” is specifically used by the UCs, but all colleges have a similar statement.</p>
<p>Does USC send us our Financial Aid package at the same time as our decisions? I am a junior transfer student and I might get a Spring Grade Request b/c I didn’t finish Calculus yet for Marshall and if I have to wait all the way until July possibly until my spring grades are in…then well, that’s just stupid. I have to submit my SIR for UCLA or Berkeley by June 1st…</p>
<p>Do USCs still give us the same amount of financial aid and scholarships even if we get an SGR? For example, if I finished all my prereqs and was just accepted right away at the regular time would I get more financial aid or scholarships or would it be the same if I got an SGR?</p>
<p>
Typically, no. For freshman applicants who submitted all materials on time the financial aid packages are usually available at the end of the first week of April. For transfers, the packages are usually available about two to three weeks after you get your acceptance.
For those getting a SGR, that does put it after the UC commitment deadline. (This is a problem every year.) You can ask for an extension from UCLA, but as they are in direct competition with USC I am not sure they would grant it. In the past many students have submitted the UC deposit to be sure they had that option available as they waited for their USC financial aid.
Your financial aid will be determined by the information in the FAFSA, CSS/Profile and your tax returns. Whether you are accepted today or in July you will receive the same financial aid. (At least I have good news for you in this one!)</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>^Thanks for the reply. Do you know if any of my (potential) scholarships will be affected by receiving an SGR? I know there aren’t many scholarships for transfers besides the “Transfer Merit Scholarship,” but it would make me feel better if I knew that I’m still eligible for scholarships. </p>
<p>Also since you said UCLA/Berkeley probably won’t grant me an extension for the SIR, is there any way I can ask USC to expedite my review process? lol. I have pretty good stats so they shouldn’t need to see my spring grades 
</p>
<p>Stats:
-59 completed units (all USC transferable)
-71 total units done by Spring
-4.0 GPA
-Completed all prereqs besides Calc…(i’m only taking 12 units this semester so they shouldn’t think i will get anything less than a B in any of my classes, considering the fact that I took 24 units last semester and got a 4.0…) So is there anyway I can “appeal” an SGR 
and have them give me a decision by end of May-ish like everyone else?</p>
<p>
It can’t hurt to try - I suggest you both ask for an extension at UCB or UCLA (the worst they can do is say no) and - if you haven’t heard about USC aid by then - ask them to expedite it.</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about the merit aid - but you look like a great applicant! Hopefully you won’t be asked for spring grades and this won’t be a worry.</p>
<p>alamemom: Thanks for the quick response. Also, thank you for all the wisdom about financial aid. Great help!</p>
<p>true that… she should be paid or something… btw it took me a bit to figure out what her name meant… i was pronouncing it in my head like Alamee Mom… hahahah USC here i come</p>