Financial Aid--What Portion Would be Loans?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
1

<p>Okay, my daughter has not been accepted, and we got the letter saying she is not being considered for the biggie scholarships. </p>

<p>So now I am wondering if she does get accepted, what would a financial aid package look like if we did get one–or would she get accepted with no financial aid offer?</p>

<p>Our FAFSA expected contribution is $5000 a year. </p>

<p>Specifically:</p>

<li><p>I heard that schools sometimes expect you to pay more than FAFSA indicates. Would USC expect us to have a higher contribution than FAFSA says?</p></li>
<li><p>What portion can I expect in a financial aid offer to be loans? Can anyone tell me what they were offered in loans? Would be looking at $5000 a year in loans, $10,000??? $20,000???(gasp)</p></li>
<li><p>Are there people who get accepted but don’t get any financial aid offers from USC even though they are in my financial situation?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Thanks, I am trying to plan ahead as much as person can at this point…</p>

2

<p>Hello happy_sunflower!</p>

<p>All I can give you are generalizations, because there is SO much that goes into the financial aid determination, but here is some info that might help:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>EFC: Yes, your USC-determined EFC may be different than the number generated by the FAFSA. This is because USC also uses the CSS/Profile and considers some assets that the FAFSA does not. For most of us, that means home equity. Don't get too worried, though, they will NOT expect you to use "all" your home equity, or even most of it. I think it is about the same amount they expect from other parental assets (after asset-protection and age-of-parent allowances) . For our family (we have home equity), the USC-determined EFC was about $3,000 higher than the FAFSA number. Some families may have a lower EFC because there may be expenses the FAFSA does not consider that USC will.</p></li>
<li><p>USC has very generous financial aid policies. You will be expected to pay the EFC from savings, income and/or parent loans. (USC has several programs to help with the EFC.) Your student is likely to be offered about $5,500 in subsidized student loans and about $2,000 to $3,000 in federal work/study. The rest of your student's USC-determined need (cost of attendance minus the FAFSA+CSS/Profile EFC) will likely be covered by grants (University grants and Cal Grants if you are California residents). In addition, students are offered an UNsubsidized Stafford loan of $2,000 - they can decline it or use it for a new computer or even to help with the EFC.</p></li>
<li><p>NO! USC guarantees to meet 100% of USC-determined need for ALL accepted students who file all financial aid materials on time (FAFSA, CSS/Profile, and copies of student and parent tax returns).</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I saw in another post that your student has also applied to UCLA. My student was accepted at both USC and UCLA last year, and received financial aid offers from both. After figuring out the final cost of each (out-of-pocket and loans), they were almost the same, with USC costing slightly less (even WITH the EFC difference!).</p>

<p>We have found the USC financial aid office to be professional, helpful and flexible.</p>

<p>Hope this helps, and good luck!!!</p>

3

<p>That helps somewhat. It's nice to know that acceptance would bring about some help in terms of grants. I think I am bracing myself for the loan part.....our retirement savings is on the low side I hope they take that into consideration. I did add on the extra information part on the Css Profile that we are already paying off equity line of credit---although here in CA our property values still look pretty huge on paper. But I don't want to take out more loans. I would rather eat bean and cheese burritos several nights a week.</p>

<p>The expected contribution of $5000 seems huge already.....</p>

<p>So the subsidized loans and work study would also be after the EFC? Or part of the EFC?</p>

4

<p>The maximum Stafford loan for a freshman is $5500. Of this the maximum that can be subsidized, if there is 'need', is $3500. So the $5500 subsidized mentioned above is only possible if the school has sufficient Perkins loan funding to award.</p>

<p>WS and subsidized loans are part of need based aid so are not part of the EFC. An unsub loan can be used toward the EFC.</p>

5

<p>I've through the USC financial aid process for 6 years in a row now, for 2 students. My experience matches alamemom's item #2, that is, the gap between COA and EFC has been covered with only $3500-5500 in subsidized loans, reasonable work study, and grants. Your situation may vary, past performance does not guarantee future results, etc., but this seems the likely result for you too.</p>

6

<p>Thanks, that is helpful to know. Now I can give my daughter a little more realistic picture of what it will take and how to even start saving now. Of course she needs to get accepted.....thanks!!!</p>

7

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<p>With an EFC of $5,000 (assuming the Profile info doesn’t bump it up too much) your daughter will probably (if accepted, of course) get a larger grant from USC than the Trustee Scholarship would have been. Had she received the Trustee, it would have been subtracted from her grant and she would have received the same amount. USC has very good financial aid.</p>

8

<p>tocollege, how is that possible? If the person lives in California, they’d receive that $10,000 Cal Grant. An EFC of $5,000 is right on the brink for the Pell Grant, so at most the person would receive a couple hundred dollars. There are not enough grants that could possibly surpass the $37,000 Trustee scholarship amount.</p>

9

<p>USC gives USC grants. Based on my experience (with an EFC a bit higher than happy_sunflower’s), here is an example of the sort of package someone with an EFC of $5,000 MIGHT get:</p>

<p>COA $52,000
EFC $5,000
Need: $47,000</p>

<p>Work/study $3,000
Subs Stafford $3,500
Remaining need: $40,500</p>

<p>Cal Grant: $9,708
USC University grant: $30,792
Total grant aid: $40,500</p>

<p>(If the student is not a California resident and not eligible for the Cal Grant, the university grant would probably be about $40,000.)</p>

<p>A student with that same EFC who was awarded the Trustee Schoalrship would probably get:</p>

<p>COA $52,000
EFC $5,000
Trustee sch. $37,000
Remaining need: $10,000</p>

<p>Work/study $3,000
Subs Stafford $3,500
USC grant: $3,500</p>

<p>So, with an EFC of $5,000, with or without the Trustee, the student and family pays pretty much the same amount.</p>

10

<p>NYJ:</p>

<p>Cal and Pell are not the only kinds of grants. What we are talking about is when USC marks down or discounts its charges in the case of need, and calls that a “grant.” USC charges you full price for tuition, room, board, etc., then credits your account “paid” by the amount of USC grant awarded in your financial aid package.</p>

11

<p>Tocollege, now you have really boosted my spirits…I will try not to get too excited until we know for sure. I will be sure to post back when we find out.</p>

12

<p>I’ll be thinking good thoughts for you!!! Good luck!</p>

13

<p>tocollege, what do you think a USC financial aid package would look like for an EFC of around 23,000/yr?</p>

14

<p>Haha! Well, I am not a financial aid expert… (there are lots of them on the financial aid forum, so you could try posting there.) The biggest question is how the information on the CSS/Profile will impact your EFC. It is possible that your EFC will be higher than the FAFSA EFC. </p>

<p>That said… USC meets 100% of USC-determined need (note that it is USC-determined need, not FAFSA!).</p>

<p>So you take the COA (last year it was $52,000), and subtract your EFC. If you have remaining need, you will probably qualify for work/study and subs Stafford loans of a combined total of $6,000 to $7,500. Subtract that. If there is still need, USC fills that gap with USC grants - or, as dt123 pointed out - discounts on the cost. My hesitation is that an EFC of $23,000 is much higher than mine, and I don’t know what things the profile might consider that a family with a much higher income than mine might be expected to contribute. In the scenario with an EFC of $5,000, even DOUBLING that EFC still gives nearly-a-Trustee-scholarship worth of grant aid. The same can’t be said for a $23,000 EFC. Maybe someone with a similar EFC can give better info.</p>

<p>I’m hoping it turns out great for you!</p>

15

<p>The above discussion probably needs some clarification.</p>

<p>“EFC,” as used above for example in #9, line 3, as a stepping-stone to USC-determined need, is really kind of confusing, as this is not the FAFSA EFC that you get reported to you at the end of the FAFSA process. Instead it is USC’s-determined EFC, or UDEFC (acronym I just made up).</p>

<p>Nobody outside USC’s FA office really knows how USC determines your need or the stepping-stone UDEFC. This is closely-held internal information. Try calling up USC and asking someone to email you the FA formulas and procedures.</p>

<p>It is reasonable to assume, since Profile is submitted, that the Institutional Method formula is being used. But it is also likely that some USC-specific secret tweaks to the IM are applied across the board by the FA officers, and there may be a lot of discretion allowed for departure from the standard formula in individual cases. The thing to remember is that for government grants FAFSA EFC has to be applied with only limited variation permitted, whereas USC can decide to give its grants/discounts in whatever form it chooses and its procedures are not accountable to anyone.</p>

16

<p>Now I am depressed again. I wonder what USC will determine my new EFC to be…</p>

17

<p>USC’s reputation for being very generous with financial aid speaks for itself. It is harder to get in than it is to get funding if you have need. They will take your retirement/years to retirement into consideration. Good luck with the acceptance!</p>

18

<p>Wait a minute, I thought at most schools if you get a scholarship from them or from an outside source and you still need FA, they will just take it off from your loans and work study and then go into the grants last. tocollege, you made it sound like they take from the grants first, which kind of sucks.</p>

19

<p>For outside scholarships, yes, the general policy is that they can be applied to loans and work/study before reducing grants. (There are some exceptions, though.)The Trustee and Presidential are not outside scholarships, they are USC scholarships and are awarded before financial aid offers are made, so they reduce need.</p>

<p>Last year, many posters reported getting a “University Scholarship” from USC in April. I received one of those (after my financial aid offer was made) and it replaced my work/study award. I also had some outside scholarships that they applied to my subsidized loans. My Presidential scholarship, however, replaced part of my grants - it was part of my aid offer that included subsidized loans and work/study. (This is very difficult to explain coherently!)</p>

<p>Your award and results may be very different, because your info and situation is different. USC is known for being very generous with financial aid.</p>

20

<p>It’s University Grant and not University Scholarship. I think it’s based on need.</p>

<p>[USC</a> Financial Aid - Grants & Scholarships - Undergraduate - New and Continuing Student: Need-Based Grants](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/grants_scholarships/undergraduates/needbased.html]USC”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/grants_scholarships/undergraduates/needbased.html)</p>

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