Try it with fake numbers, like their tuition waiver income and no assets to see what it says
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I wasnāt clear. Itās the FA we hear about next week, but he has been admitted. My gut feeling is what you say, that we might get the money we need. Wow, that would blow my mind!
If I get it working, Iāll do that. Great idea. Itās too bad weāre ever so slightly over the guaranteed amount, and I like what you say about it being a scale and not a cliff. 
Itās a scale. Try different numbers to see. Thatās what I do!
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I just hate to spendā¦.if you donāt need to.
Would you have time after to prep an appeal ?
Donāt forget guaranteed amounts usually have disclaimers- looking at assets etc.
My god- their COA is $91k. Wow
https://financialaid.usc.edu/parents/all/how-much-will-my-education-cost.html
Itās crazy, right?! But if you look at their average price after aid for our income bracket, itās doable, if they actually offer us that.
H had another surgery two days ago and is once again sick in bed, just like when we did the CSS the first time. 
He and I just talked and we feel the same way about spending. Weāll wait to get the package, then if it is anywhere near feasible and S wants to go, weāll hire consultant. There will be time to make an appeal, because I think they will turn it around within a few weeks. Enough time to choose a school by 5/1. In the meantime, my H is reviewing our CSS answers one more time.
Hire a consultant to try and earn more money ?
I didnāt see a table for USC. W&L had one. 88% in my bracket for on average $38k. We got nada.
I asked why. They said I missed the disclaimer - based on avg assets.
It could be someone is retired, has little income but large assets. I donāt think theyād hook them up.
Itās great yours got in. Hopefully it works out !!
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I know, those are all the pieces that are up in the air. The disclaimers and asterisks and fine print! Unlike Miami, USC does not consider home equity, so that should help us a great deal.
And yeah, I would totally pay someone to help me earn more money. As a grant writing consultant, thatās been my job for ages. An organization might spend $1,000 on me and get $100,000 or more in grants. I would consider $200 - $400 spent now a bargain if I could get $10,000 x 4 years more in aid.
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Has anyone heard from Jacobs School regarding merit scholarships?
Iām reading that all the academic scholarships are already out.
Also, why did our student bother with the Hutton/selective scholarship application process? From what I can gather, it doesnāt appear it applies to the Jacobs School students. Itās frustrating that they asked for additional essays when it didnāt even pertain to our student.
This student has already been accepted @tsbna44
@BeverlyWest please donāt hire a consultant for this. Simply call USC and ask them what their timeline and process for filing a special circumstances consideration is. They will tell you whether to do it nowā¦or wait.
If it were me, I would wait until you have the actual package in your hands. Then call if needed.
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You will be helping the consultant earn moneyā¦
Colleges have a process for doing thisā¦you donāt need a consultant to get that infoā¦or provide the colleges with the documentation they request.
And once you provide the infoā¦having a consultant wonāt give you a nickel more aid.
My opinion.
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Yes, she corrected me after - and yes, I agree, donāt spend til you know (if itās possible to hold off) or at all as you suggest.
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This is what weāve decided to do - exactly as you say: wait for the offer and then call if needed. I donāt think we need paid help, though I totally would not mind paying for it if we needed it.
In the meantime, my H found an error in our CSS. There really is something wrong! I am not surprised, given that on the night we filled it out, he was on serious painkillers and still in pain, and Iām ignorant of how assets are recorded. I doubled one account to the tune of $18,000.
Following finding that error, I immediately tried to correct the CSS, and the college board site does not function when I try to save my correction. 
I contacted USC and Miami directly. Tomorrow, when everyone is working again, Iāll take this further and make sure everyone gets the correction.
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Jacobs music scholarships have been separate from academic in the past few years. So you will get your award from the music school. Andā¦they are known to be late. I think some instrument awards can come out earlier. But our experience was that it was lateā¦like after 5 pm the last day. I remember my D being mad about it.
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Contact the schoolsā¦they will tell you how they want you to correct the Profile. Also, if the schools use IDOC, would they have the correction already? Or is this a number that would not be on the Profile.
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The error is in the value of my kidās deposit accounts, not something that would be noticed on our tax forms.
Thereās only one way to correct the CSS, as far as I can find, which is the big correction button on the main page. Clicking there allows me to fill in my corrected information, but when I submit it gives me an error every time, no matter what browser I use.
USC does not use IDOC. They were so helpful last week, Iām sure theyāll get back to me, and weāll figure it out.
That makes it ridiculously hard to deal with.
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In the meantimeā¦go to that account and take a screen shot of the balance the day you submitted your Profile. You likely will need that to prove that was the amount.
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Thanks for sharing this info. I guess we continue to wait.
Weād like to return to a couple schools before accepting; Jacobs being one of the possibilities. The overall financial picture will play a role in which schools to visit.
Flights into Bloomington are not getting any less expensive as we wait it outā¦
Three years ago, IU/Jacobs was the first of my sonās potential schools to provide the financial info. If I recall, he heard back in early March with his acceptance, academic merit and music merit all coming at the same time. They are also one of the schools who stack awards.
If your student is already accepted, I would not think it is a problem to call and get an ETA on the financial package. Especially if you explain that you are hoping to visit if their program is a viable option.
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