Hey everyone!
I’d really like to go to USC but can’t afford it without a good financial aid. I know that USC has a need blind admission policy. But I recently found out that loans (federal, private etc) are also considered financial aid. So, what I want to know is generally what percentage of the financial aid is loan? There’s a certain limit as to how much federal loan a student can take per year. But it doesn’t mean USC will give grants (which don’t need to be paid back) to cover the rest of the cost. They certainly ask students to take private loans and I guess USC then covers whatever is left after federal and private loans.
Generally what are the percentages of loans and grants? I know that it depends on the individual’s financial situation but just wanted to have some idea about the loans. I am an independent transfer student and the net price calculator doesn’t have options for independent students.
I would really appreciate any insights. Thanks in advance!
There is no blanket answer to that question. Each financial aid package is very individual based on family or individual situation/finances. First you have to get admitted, then wait on the FA package which may or may not include a boat load of loans.
While USC is committed to meeting 100% of demonstrated financial need, their analysis of the expected family contribution is usually significantly different than the EFC calculated through the FAFSA. And that # left over for the student or family can then likely be paid a variety of ways… direct payment from the family + federal work study as an opportunity + federally backed loans. Work + Loans are considered Financial Aid. Prior to arriving at that final amount due, most applicants receiving a Financial Aid offer also get federal grants along with the university grant. Some elite programs do not compel loans, but USC is certainly not one of them. But their is also a cap on what you can borrow per year or overall via federally backed loans. This year, my daughter - a sophomore, was allowed to borrow up to $6500. I doubt that many also need extra personal loans… but that will simply depend on whether you can pay your EFC, after deducting also for work study (if you accept it) and federally backed loans.
As stated in the reply above, there is no way to predict what your percentage of the financial aid package would equate to loans. Both of daughters attended USC, and one is still there. Their financial aid packages were generous enough to allow them both to attend, including one overlap year. So we were thankful for how generous USC was. Comparatively speaking, when my daughter reviewed her 8 FA packages last Spring, USC’s offer was more generous than 5… including Rice, UMiami and others. In her case, only Emory and Princeton offered more financial aid. So we were pleasantly surprised. But again… everyone’s scenario is different.
Good luck getting in and with your own FA scenario.
I do not believe USC is “need-blind.” My daughter applied and in March was asked by the school to fill out an internal financial form - they already had her FAFSA and CSS. After submitting it, she was turned down a week later. That is not need-blind at all. I can only conclude they had wanted her as a student, but after looking at her finances, decided they didn’t want to fund her. I think the only thing that might override this is if you check some other boxes such as being a student of color or have legacy.
While you are of course entitled to your own opinion, the USC Financial Aid Office does in fact operate on a separate track (without communicating with admissions) and works to have all needed and requested financial docs from anyone and everyone who applies for financial aid in house prior to the time when final admission decisions are reached. If I recall the #s correctly, nearly 59K applicants (out of an applicant pool of nearly 66K) were not offered admission this cycle. That # of rejections included 90% of all legacy applicants and even 4K+ applicants with 4.0 unweighted GPAs and test scores in the 99th percentile. Final admission decisions were not based on the ability to pay.
And to be clear, they do ask for much from than just the FAFSA and CSS. In my daughter’s case, just this year, as a returning student, they asked for 7 more documents than just the FAFSA or CSS in fact. Both of my daughters applied for and received financial aid sufficient for them to attend USC after gaining admission. And they were not URM or FirstGen or the like.
These days, nearly two-thirds of all undergraduates receive some sort of financial aid via USC… including need-based grants, merit scholarships, federal work-study and loans. Of those 64-65% (or 11,500 receiving financial assistance in total out of the 18K undergrads), 21 percent or around 3,800 received a USC merit-based scholarship last year. The other 7,700 received need-based aid only. Some of the 3,800 receiving merit-based aid also received need-based aid.
And an even higher percentage (more than 21%) received pell grants last year. USC currently has more than 4,000 low-income undergraduate students out of the 18,000 undergraduate students enrolled. (Low income as defined by Pell Grant eligibility). Clearly these #s demonstrate that USC is very much need-blind in its admission policy. In fact… in 2017, the last time they analyzed the #s I believe, USC had more Pell Grant recipients among its undergraduate student population than any other private college or university in the nation.
Needing or qualifying for financial aid has zero bearing on the admission decisions. There are simply way too many qualified applicants all competing for only circa 7100 admissions this cycle.
USC is one of the very few schools that are need blind in admissions AND guarantees to meet full need. The catch here, as it is at most such schools, is that THEY determine the need, not you, not FAFSA. They also include self help, which include subsidized student loans and federal work study as part of the package. That does drop their financial aid rating down because families and students cannot use the automatic Direct Loans and lose work hour options to put towards their contributions to the cost.
PLUS is presented as an option to meeting the parental portion of the cost. Not as part of the financial aid.
As to how draconian, their formula is , one can test it by playing with some numbers to run through the USC NPC and compare it with another school’s NPC. Try it with a number of peer schools.
But bear in mind, that may not apply to YOU! Those with circumstances not covered in the NPC formulas can’t do such comparisons and come to any good conclusions. Also, it is possible, USC has some unusual, even unique considerations that just might apply to you, favorably or…not.
USC also offers merit money which can complicate the picture. A lot of full need met, need blind schools do not. My friends had very little financial need and at most schools just got a bit of subsidized loans, maybe a small grant for their DD. They were just at that edge. USC offered their daughter a nice merit award that covered the need and then some , leaving her Direct Loans and work hours intact. Her other top choices were far more expensive because she only got need met, as those schools gave no merit money.