Finaicial Aid Package

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
1

<p>I just got my financial aid package this morning.</p>

<p>It was:</p>

<p>33,000 Grants
3,500 Stafford Loan
500 Perkins Loan
2,500 Work Study</p>

<p>There was no mention of EFC but since this package is roughly 40k I'm assuming EFC would be the difference?</p>

<p>My question is, though this is definately a generous package, I'm not sure if it's something I can afford. I do not want to ask my family to pay for my EFC, as this would be very difficult for us to do. I will most likely take out the EFC in student loans, so I would have between 10-11k debt/year, plus day-to-day living expenses (gas, car insurance, clothing, etc.)</p>

<p>40k+ in student loan debt seems really high and I'm not sure if I can justify in lieu of some full ride scholarships within my state. Has anyone had any luck with the financial aid office in appealing their aid package?</p>

<p>Because the grant is already sizeable, I'm worried that there may not be much they can do. Any ideas or similar experiences?</p>

2

<p>I'm not speaking from experience, but I doubt you are going to be able to appeal that big of a grant...</p>

3

<p>omg that is one of the biggest grants ive ever seen.... try doing a work study more to handle some of the EFC? i dunno how much it is for you or if its possible.</p>

4

<p>Is this per year?</p>

<p>So how much is left to be paid? Looks like $39.5K takes care of everything if it is this much per year ($28.5K tuition) - are you looking for beachfront property as well?</p>

<p>Remember - grants are givaways, not loans to be repaid.</p>

5

<p>That's an amazing financial package. What is the COA for the school? COA usually includes an element of living expenses. Also you can work in the summer.</p>

6

<p>Tuition & mandatory fees = $33 892
Room & board = $10 144
Books & supplies = $750
Transportation = $580
Orientation fee = $140
Misc. expenses = $1600
Total = $47 106</p>

<p>that's what was listed in the application. you can probably cut back on your debt by limiting your "misc expenses," buying used books, etc... i doubt you can get much by appealing, except maybe a greater workstudy. what was your fafsa efc?</p>

7

<p>Both of my parents just recieved a very small raise and it bumped our EFC from 4k to 7k.</p>

8

<p>Looks about right to me then. They met 100% of aid. Is the 7k your FAFSA efc? Usually it seems like FAFSA efc is lower than the actual EFC when combined with css profile.</p>

9

<p>That is an EXTREMELY generous grant, i think it would be impolite to appeal for more</p>

10

<p>Talked to the financial aid office and they told me it costs 49k/year to attend USC. All of the literature says 47...</p>

11

<p>That is the most generous package I have ever heard of. If you really want to go to SC, you can always make up the difference with summer employment and additional loans.</p>

12

<p>Check your financial aid summary on OASIS, this shows the total university price against the financial aid that you were offered:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.usc.edu/oasis%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.usc.edu/oasis&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>You log on initially with your USC ID and your password is your birthdate (MMDDYY). It will immediately ask you to change you password.</p>

<p>Once you are in, click on "Financial Aid Summary" under the Financial Information section. This seems to be more accurate than the one on the information gateway.</p>