Financial Aid. BEWARE.

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
141

<p>Thanks for posting that letter. I, too, think it’s impressive that USC has been able to respond at all to the increased financial need of continuing students who did not apply for aid as incoming freshmen. Many colleges won’t even consider those “new” applications, fearing that people hoping to be admitted would hide the fact that they hoped to get need-based aid in future years. I’m glad USC is able to do that. </p>

<p>I also want to say this: people will gripe about USC going out of its way to offer merit aid in order to attract top students, but that is a strategy that has worked amazingly well for the college. Rankings have gone up, undeniably. Excellent faculty stay or are attracted to USC because they like teaching top students, and they like working at a highly-esteemed university - who can blame them? In turn, the overall quality of the student body continues to go up. Guess what the end result is? A degree that is more valuable to every single student who graduates from the college, whether on a full-pay, partial-pay or no-pay basis. </p>

<p>I’m sorry for those students who have felt blind-sided by a sudden change in financial aid. USC clearly could have done better in terms of advance notice of the problem. But I give Dean Harrington and her group credit for making an effort to address the issues directly.</p>

142

<p>I noticed several posts say a home is worth a certain amount. There is a difference between the worth of a house and the home equity. A house can be worth $1 mil but if the owners owe $900,000 then the equity is only $100,000. Financial aid would be based on the $100,000 not on the $1 mil the house is worth. There is a big distinction between worth and equity.</p>

143

<p>msheft: yes, that is how home equity is calculated. And yes, there is a distiction between worth and equity - and that distinction is fully recognized by financial aid offices.</p>

<p>binks09 has posted that his parents purchased the home over 30 years ago for under $300,000 and that it is now worth over one million. With a typical 30-year mortgage, the property may be fully paid off. If they have taken home equity loans over the past 30 years, then their equity would be less than one million, but only their equity would be considered in finacial aid calculations, not “worth.”</p>

<p>Bear in mind that any expected contribution from home equity is in ADDITION to the FAFSA EFC, and that is the policy at most private universities - not just USC.</p>

144

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<p>Eh? I don’t know his situation, nor did I claim he did, but if your EFC is 40,000, and the school is telling you if they think you can pay, you must pay, it probably isn’t a good idea to go to that school hoping that they will change their mind, knowing that their financial aid comes out fairly late and after most deadlines to accept another school’s offer.</p>

<p>Binks was a freshmen with an EFC of 40,000. Am I saying its fair? No, what I am saying however, is that he had that number in his possession far before he even received his aid package. Next year if his financial situation accurately reflects that massive drop which I don’t doubt really occurred, than it is likely that his EFC will plummet and he will get more aid, but they are basing it off the year where his dad and mom were pulling in more than six figures, and correct me if I’m wrong have an equity of 1 mil on their house, not a value. To try to degrade our school, implying that our school is biased against “those that fit the SC stereotype” because your affluent is not only ignorant, but it shows a general lack of appreciation that you come from money, something many people desire.</p>

<p>Again, there are many amazing public options out there, and like I said, there are special circumstances appeals, however if your mom is still pulling in a bunch of money and you have money saved and assets (they use the CSS profile as well), I really don’t see you getting much FA from SC binks, I would consider transferring to UCLA if necessary, but I would discuss this further with the FA office</p>

145

<p>“but if you have a 40,000 EFC and your house is worth one MILLION dollars, why wouldn’t you go to the public school, not the private where you know that people that can afford to pay out of pocket must.”</p>

<p>So,if you make enough money to have an EFC of $40,000, you should go to public school, only if you are are broke can you afford to go to private school. Does anyone else see the irony here?</p>

146

<p>merry, the irony is indeed heavy. However, there is an expectation on the part of higher education that middle class families will be saving for college for years (not saying this is realistic with cost of living so high in many communities, unexpected medical crises, and other financial losses, but many do) so the burden is placed there. Where USC shines is that they make many generous merit scholarships available to high-achieving admits without regard to financial need.</p>

147

<p>is a $40,000 EFC even middle class though? Maybe upper middle class. That has to be a number from an annual income of over $200,000 a year.</p>

148

<p>I believe he said his parents made ~$100,000. And no, you do not need an income of $200,000 for a $40,000 EFC.</p>

149

<p>AMX, binks09 has come on this thread to rant because he is disappointed he was not able to attend USC because his parents very sensibly refused to pay the extra money for USC when binks09 had a wonderful opportunity to attend UCLA at a much lower cost. He was in no way “screwed” by USC.

<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/673830-extenuating-circumstances-arent-reflected-fafsa.html#post1062076886[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/673830-extenuating-circumstances-arent-reflected-fafsa.html#post1062076886&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>His $40,000 FAFSA EFC is appropriate for his family’s $150,000/year income. (He is now vaguely saying “over $100,000.” Yes, $150,000 is over $100,000… 50% over to be exact.) Home equity of approximately $1,000,000 as reported on the CSS/Profile would add as much as $60,000 to the FAFSA EFC, meaning at USC his expected contribution would be as much as $110,000. Despite that, based on his special circumstances, USC granted him $6,000/year - an OVERAWARD based on his financial circumstances. (The $3,000 he states is for 1/2 year as he is a Spring admit.) They also said they would re-evaluate his need when his father was no longer able to work. (His father was still working and earning full salary as he was negotiating financial aid.) No other university (he was accepted to several) gave binks09 any need-based aid - ONLY USC. I was one of the posters who responded to binks09 starting back in March, so I am familiar with his many conflicting posts regarding financial aid.</p>

<p>Middle Class?
The designation “middle class” very much depends on perspective, so is not a useful term. Our family falls into the income category several people on this thread have said gets “screwed” by financial aid - over $50,000, but (well) under $100,000. With careful planning over the several years prior to our oldest starting college and fully educating ourselves on how financial aid works so we knew what to expect, our daughter had several excellent options at prices we fully expected. Though binks09 calls my family “dirt poor,” at USC we are contributing in the 5 figures each year - something we knew would be expected from us and for which we planned.</p>

<p>Fair?
I am not saying financial aid is “fair,” or that it isn’t a disappointment for these kids when they can’t attend a “dream school” because of money. I am saying that binks09 has not been “screwed” by USC, that parents need to educate themselves on costs and financial aid BEFORE a child settles on a dream school, and then fully communicate the financial constraints to the child well in advance of May 1st.</p>

<p>Frustrated
I am frustrated with some parents who have come on this thread with vague statements about their child’s unknown friends who cannot return to USC because of a “financial aid crisis.” You have no idea the real circumstances - from the FAFSA and CSS/Profile, for example - and yet are accusing USC of underhanded acts. It seems nearly all the posters on this thread have had their financial aid concerns either explained or adjusted. Isn’t it plausible that those unknown friends had similar circumstances? If you truly believe those students have been “screwed” by USC and have had their aid reduced arbitrarily and unfairly, please immediately have your child get in touch them and pass on the contact information in the letter in post #140 so they can resolve the problem. USC is anxious to do so.</p>

150

<p>In our case, a mistake had been made, and I understand that mistakes happen. I am just happy it was taken care of. I never believed USC was being underhanded. I mainly wanted to understand what was going on. We filed two appeals which basically stated only the facts and asked them to look at the numbers again. I do feel like it was difficult to get someone’s attention–but then I knew how busy the financial aid office was. I was feeling somewhat panicky while trying to be patient. I had cosigned an apartment lease, so if things did not work out, that would be another worry. But all is well here even though I do tend to worry a lot. </p>

<p>Wishing everyone the best.</p>

151

<p>Glad that things worked out for you.</p>

152

<p>USC increased my grant after I appealed to them since I had several reasons to ask.
Thanks USC :)</p>