From the USC website: “To be considered for the USC Merit Scholarships, apply for admission by December 1. Apply for financial aid as soon as possible to ensure you receive notification of your financial aid eligibility before the May 1 National Candidates Reply Date. Respond to any additional requests from USC within 10 days. To monitor your status, log in to FAST.”
Apply for financial aid as soon as possible…what does that mean? Now? Or Jan-Feb?
The FAFSA doesn’t open till January 1st, which is what needs to be submitted to see if you qualify for aid, that is what they mean by apply for financial aid as soon as possible. It requires a lot of information, you could look at past samples to see the info they are looking for and get it lined up - lot’s of history on parents, their jobs, income and assets.
From the FAFSA site:
For federal aid, submit your application as early as possible, but no earlier than January 1, 2016. We must receive your application no later than June 30, 2017