Financial Aid at USC

<p>My efc is 1680. If I get in, how good will the fin aid be??</p>

<p>USC uses a different formula to calculate EFC, so you might get a good finaid package, you might not. Hard to say.</p>

<p>USC's Financial Aid office says to use the CollegeBoard.com's EFC calculator **using Institutional Methodology<a href="not%20Federal">/b</a> to get a better estimate of what your EFC will be:
EFC</a> Calculator: How Much Money for College Will You Be Expected to Contribute?</p>

<p>in my experience, i ended up paying no more than what my FAFSA predicted EFC was.</p>

<p>socks - congrats to you. We ended up paying more than 10,000 higher than what our FAFSA number was. Advice: always hope for the best numbers, but "be prepared" (financially, emotionally, etc.) for worse numbers. As einna indicated, USC does not use your FAFSA number. You are probably already aware that, in addition to FAFSA, you are also required to submit the CSS Profile. The CSS Profile asks far more questions about your family's financial resources than the FAFSA questionaire does. I do not say any of this to discourage you, but instead so that you will take a healthy and realistic approach to the Financial Aid situation at USC. Sometimes, USC's willingness to provide Financial Aid can be quite frustrating. We were shocked at how much we were required to pay. We love USC, and would recommend it to any student (and their family). However, we, and many others, have been very dissapointed in the F/A package that USC has offered. If you search through the F/A threads for USC, you will see many comments on both sides. You will see some people who have received close to a Full Ride, and are thrilled with the F/A package. (Please do NOT assume that this is the norm.). Because you will also find many posts of families who are extremely dissapointed in the F/A packages that they received. Which is why I will repeat my advice: hope for a great package (and you might get one), but be prepared for less than what you hope for.</p>