FINANCIAL AID APPEAL. Am I doing this right!?!

Paying for College
1

<p>I am trying to write a financial aid appeal to the University of Southern California. I'm not sure how well written my letter is, nor if I am saying the right things. Please be honest, I could really use some help. Thank you!</p>

<p>To whom it may concern:</p>

<p>I am extremely eager about my admittance to the University of Southern California, and cannot thank you enough for my chance to be a part of the Viterbi School of Engineering. Viterbi will provide me with an abundance of educational opportunities and a chance to impact the world. I am most excited for studying environmental engineering in depth, being a part of the WiSE program, and immersing myself in the Trojan spirit.</p>

<p>At this time I am in a challenging financial situation that prevents me from affording even the net amount of my USC cost of attendance. I recognize and appreciate the more than generous grant I have received, but unfortunately it does not cover enough of the cost for me to attend USC. Both my parents are not college educated, and we are living off of low income jobs. According to my FAFSA I have an expected family contribution of $1,463. Combined, my parents are able to contribute, at the most, approximately $2,000 to my education this school year, and the remaining cost of $4,936 is going to be a difficult amount to fulfill. I am in a troublesome position where I don’t have any funds saved for attendance to college. It makes me uncomfortable to have my parents pay more than I know they can afford, especially since my brother will also be going to college soon, my dad has no money saved for retirement, and my mom has very little because she has had to take out loans just to pay the rent sometimes. My family lives on a month to month basis and we are trying to take it day by day. I am aware and do regret that I did not apply before the December 1st deadline in order to be considered for merit scholarships. I was involved with Questbridge and did not apply to any schools until after I received the notifications on December 2nd from the schools I ranked. Without Questbridge I would never have known what USC was all about, but by the time I discovered it and decided it was the ideal fit for me, it was too late. I did not want this disadvantage to inhibit me from ever being able to attend USC, so I proceeded to apply to the only other USC scholarship I was eligible for. I felt I was a strong candidate for the Norman Topping Scholarship because I am a first generation college student who has contributed massively to my community, but unfortunately, I was not selected as a finalist. After receiving this news and my financial aid report, I realized my family would not be able to afford the cost for USC, and because of this, I am asking that you please reevaluate my application and financial circumstance for further grant and scholarship consideration in order to lower my remaining cost.</p>

<p>I am ending my senior year with a 4.63 GPA and will be graduating as an Advanced Placement Scholar with Distinction with my AP diploma. I have always taken these challenging courses as well as dual-enrolling at my local community college, with efforts to make the most of my education. Additionally, I have been elected Vice President of the Key Club and Treasurer of the Senior Class, because I understand what it is to be a leader and how to positively influence others - a quality I hope I can soon contribute to USC. I frequently volunteer in my community, either in conjunction with Key Club, National Honors Society, or Habitat for Humanity, along with other projects that come my way. In order to support myself and my educational endeavors, I am a part-time tutor, privately helping six students in several different levels of math. Though I wish more of my earnings could be placed in a savings account and used for college, the majority of it is focused on school activities, books and supplies, and gasoline. I am as independent as possible with my money so that I can relieve the financial burden from my mother. I purchase clothing and shoes if I am in need of any, as well as meals, club dues, community college fees, and my college and financial aid applications. Given my circumstances, I feel that I have done everything in my power to afford college, and for these reasons I kindly ask that you reassess my application and financial conditions for further grant and scholarship consideration. I hope that I will be able to take my place at Viterbi, learning and thriving amongst my Trojan family, teaching each other and changing the world together.</p>

<p>Thank you very much for your time, and I hope you will consider my request. Please send a reply so I can ensure that my message has been received.</p>

2

<p>Angelina,</p>

<p>From your letter, am I reading it correctly that USC’s expected contribution for your family is $4,936 of the $65,000 cost of attendance? Or that your parents can contribute $2,000 of a $6,936 contribution leaving you with $4,936? And that though you did not meet USC’s merit aid deadline of 12/1/2013 (which is a FIRM deadline), you are suggesting that they should award merit aid to you in spite of the missed deadline?</p>

<p>I understand that $4,936 can sound like a daunting amount. If you get a full-time job over the summer you can earn $3,000 of that. Ask for overtime whenever it is available. Part time work between now and then will augment that amount - if club activities are using up all your funds, cut back on the club activities. Choose the least expensive housing option and meal plan. Buy your books used through online sources such as Amazon Marketplace. Downgrade your cell phone to the cheapest plan available. That should cover your shortfall. </p>

<p>As far as the letter, I see nothing in there that is new information or relevant information. Need-based at USC aid is not distributed based on your academic qualifications or how much you love USC, it is distributed based on the information on the FAFSA andCSS/Profile. Merit aid is distributed based on academic qualifications or talent to applicants who applied on or before December 1st, 2013 and you did not fulfill that requirement.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

3

<p>First, tell us the breakdown of the aid letter, the award details and the COA details. I don’t think you have to come up with that amount of money as a payment up front We can explain a bit more how you can work it out, if you do give details.</p>

4

<p>USC meets full need, doesn’t it? Are you saying that your family cannot pay it’s portion? What IS that portion? Your letter is not clear to me either. </p>

<p>Regardless, most of these schools also expect a student contribution. Do you have a job? </p>

<p>The other thing to look at is your aid from USC, and the actual billable costs. These are the costs billed to YOU by the bursar’s office…tuition, fees, room, board. What are THOSE costs? Did your need based aid package meet that number? If so, the remaining costs are more able to be controlled by you…books, personal,expenses, travel.</p>

<p>P.S. I think your letter is WAY too wordy and long. You spend way too much time talking about all the scholarship money you did NOT receive and why…all excuses, and all because of missed deadlines.That does not matter at all when asking for a reconsideration of financial aid. USC has calculated your need based aid, and they seem to have awarded you a very generous package. If you want them to reconsider this, you need to give them financial reasons why they should do so. Otherwise, all you are asking is that they use the current numbers and crunch them again.</p>

<p>Last edit…other threads indicate you have been accepted to USC, Swarthmore and UMich. You want to be an engineering major.</p>

<p>If you are instate for UMich, that might be your most affordable option. If you are OOS, the school does not meet full need for OOS students.</p>

<p>You are visiting Swarthmore, but not USC…and yet you want them to believe this is your TOP choice? Is it?</p>

5

<p>@alamemom I see how that may be confusing. My parents can contribute $2,000 to $4,936. Though I would like to work full and over time during the summer, I do not turn 18 until July 23, and seeing as high school ends May 24, I will be losing two months of that working time. Also, since my dad lives in another state from me, I spend half of the summer with him, and the other half with my mom, also making it difficult to solidify a job.</p>

<p>Though it is too late now, I understand that club activities cost me money, but those are the kind of things that needed to be on a college application, so kinda stuck there.</p>

6

<p>I am happy to explain the full breakdown. Also, I understand that USC meets 100% of need, so if anyone can explain how they do this for me, that would be great! I say this because if my EFC is $1,463, I don’t understand how I could be expected to contribute $4,936.</p>

<p>Total estimate cost of attendance: $65,113</p>

<p>Grant Aid: ($52,177)
University Grant: $47,897
Federal Pell Grant: $4,280</p>

<p>So there is $12,936 left to cover, broken down in this way…</p>

<p>Work-study: $2,500
Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford Loan: $3,500
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan: $2,000</p>

<p>Estimated remaining cost: $4,936</p>

7

<p>@alamemom @thumper1 I agree with everything you guys have to say in regards to missing merit deadline, merit and need-based aid being different, and the letter being too long and wordy. Thank you</p>

8

<p>@thumper1 Yes, I do have a job. I make on average $100/wk
I can’t afford to visit USC. Swarthmore paid for my visit, I can’t do anything about that. I am not in-state for UMich, so yeah, that is likely out. Swarthmore is giving me issues with financial aid right now and have not received anything back from them yet. I never said USC was my top choice. Both USC and Swarthmore are schools I would like to attend.</p>

9

<p>

I don’t understand this. You don’t have to be 18 to get a full time summer job. Both my kids had full time summer jobs at 16. </p>

<p>You may have to tell your Dad or Mom that you need to work this summer for school and won’t be able to spend half the summer with one of them. That is just part of growing up.</p>

10

<p>Does the letter breakdown the COA? If so give us that breakdown. Tuition, fees, R&B have to be paid upfront. Personal expenses and travel will be paid during the year. Books have to be bought upfront but probably can be obtained for less than the amount included in the COA. Where do you live so we can get a feel for how much travel might actually cost.</p>

<p>The COA breakdown can be found on the school’s website but it would be best if it’s in the letter and you post it.</p>

<p>ETA: Schools meet need as they define your need from fafsa and profile. They don’t meet need as your family sees it or fafsa alone defines it.</p>

11

<p>You need to get a job. Seventeen year olds work, there are still plenty of jobs you can do. Child visitation ends when you graduate from high school because ADULTS need to work. Of course you want to visit your father, but it doesn’t have to be for 6 weeks. In the alternative, stay with him for the entire summer and work somewhere near his house. My step-nephew had to make this decision when he was 16. He needed a job, so visited my BIL on a different schedule, talked more on the phone, etc. The reality is that teens whose parents are still married to each other see less of those parents when they start working, become more involved in school activities, need to study more. You just don’t have the luxury of a six week vacation with your father when you need to pay for school.</p>

<p>You should ask USC if there are any other sources of aid you can apply for, any scholarships in your major, and way you can EARN (come up with) more money. Some of the ways may be to opt for a less expensive dorm, less expensive meal plan, used books, no trips home for holidays, outside employment. You need to whittle away at the $65000 sticker price, from the top down. It will also save you on taxes next year as you will have to pay taxes on the money you received for room and board. The less you receive, the less you’ll pay taxes on.</p>

12

<p>@swimcatsmom You are right. It slipped my mind that when there is no school, I can work full-time.</p>

13

<p>@annoyingdad Of course. USC also has a payment plan for the $4,936 which allows me to pay in monthly installments. My grant would cover tuition, and loans could cover room and board. I guess the $4,936 would just be for the other expenses. I live in Florida, dad lives in NJ, so travel might get pretty steep, haha, but this might not be so bad, now that I am thinking of it in this way. Anyway, here is the COA breakdown.</p>

<p>Estimate Cost of Attendance: $65,113
Tuition: $47,562
Mandatory Fees: $1,068</p>

<p>Estimated Other Costs
An estimate of additional educational costs you may incur while you are enrolled.
Housing: $8,038
Dining: $5,302
Books & Supplies: $1,500
Transportation: $576
Personal & Miscellaneous: $1,000
Other Educational Costs: $67</p>

14

<p>What would I be paying with the $4,936 remaining cost, because USC says it can be paid in monthly installments, since the remaining things are kind of “on your own” costs? Not things like tuition, room and board, and meal plans. </p>

15

<p>I sure wish we had POST numbers. The OP said at 10:46 that she HAD a job that paid $100 a week. Elsewhere, she claims she cannot work until she is 18 (which is poppycock…plenty of jobs for under 18 year olds…babysitting for example).</p>

<p>OP. Your aid package for USC is VERY VERY good. They are expecting your family to contribute $4936. Of that, you should be able to earn a good chunk at your $100 a week job. Add some baby sitting to that and you could easily have $1500 to contribute. My guess is the billable costs are fully covered by the grants and subsidized loans…or very close to it. </p>

<p>If your family really can’t afford these costs for these schools which give EXCELLENT need based aid, then perhaps you applied to the wrong list of schools. I hope you have an affordable financial safety school on your accept list. With competitive stats for USC and SWAT, you likely would have been eligible for large merit awards elsewhere. But it’s too late for that this year. And I see no mention of your instate options. Some states have excellent awards for high achieving instate students. </p>

16

<p>@twoinanddone You are absolutely correct. When you say no trips home for holidays, what holidays are you speaking of?</p>

17

<p>Thank you for the breakdown. Please note that USC has a summer earnings expectation for ALL students. They expect that you will find full-time summer employment and use the earnings toward your college education.

USC’s summer earnings expectation is approximately $3,000. $1,463 + $3,000 = $4,463. Considering that USC is a CSS/Profile school, your package comes as close to meeting FAFSA need as I have seen at USC. Telling them that you cannot work because of your club activities and/or that you prefer to spend your earnings on club activities… Your appeal is not likely to be successful.

You do not have to be 18 to be employed. Start now in applying for full-time employment over the summer.</p>

<p>Your aid award appears workable to me. You state that your parents can cover $2,000, so that leaves you with $2,936. That is within your reach. Please remember that the purpose of financial aid is NOT to make paying for college easy, or affordable, or to allow you to reserve funds for clubs and activities, financial aid is meant to make college, with much scrimping and sacrifice, just barely possible.</p>

<p>USC costs:

</a>
The billable costs are $48,347 + $13,334 + $350 = 62,031.

  • Grant aid $52,177
  • Loans $5,500
  • Work/study $2,500
  • Parent contribution $2,000
    = $62,177</p>

<p>Your billable costs are covered with your package and your parents’$2,000. You can cut the books costs down by $500 easily by buying used online (use your ISBN numbers to be sure you get the right book). That leaves $2,580 for you to scrape together by working. Start now. Your biggest issue is that if you live far from USC your travel expenses will exceed $580/year, so be sure to consider that. It is likely you will not be able to come home for Thanksgiving break, for example - it just won’t be in the budget. Remember that you will need to choose the least expensive housing and meal plan options to make it work.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

18

<p>Depends on what you can afford. Thanksgiving break, winter break and spring break are the 3 major off-times. Thanksgiving probably not, spring break depends on if you can afford it. Probably only winter break depending how long it is and if you can afford it.</p>

19

<p>@alamemom Very helpful. I am definitely planning on getting the cheapest housing and meal plan. As for the books, definitely going for used. Maybe that will help balance out the travel. Probably the only times I will travel back home would be for winter break and summer. I am very new to all of this, and initially the financial breakdown seemed daunting, but I recognize I was given a very generous offer and my financial aid is, as you said, mean to make paying for college, “barely possible” but still possible! Haha, thank you so much!</p>

20

<p>@thumper1 I am a tutor, and I make $100/wk. It is impossible for me to save all of that, because my mom doesn’t pay for anything for me, not complaining. During the summer, I won’t have as many students to tutor because school is out. For a minute I though I couldn’t work FULL-TIME and over-time under 18, but that is only during the school year, not during the summer.</p>