<p>Does USC give a lot of financial aid (like anywhere near vanderbilt's)?</p>
<p>They are very generous if your EFC is low.</p>
<p>what do they consider a “low” EFC?</p>
<p>Well first they are gonna give you max Stafford loans, then max Work study, and then maybe a small scholarship. If you’re still under the cost of attendance then they’ll give you grants. Basically if you’re middle class and up you get screwed because of the nature of the way they calculate EFC. Then the next year when you reapply, the Stafford loan limit increases so they can give you less, and then it increases again the next year.</p>
<p>I’m no financial aid expert but sometimes I wish my parents made less money because they barely gave me anything.</p>
<p>my EFC is under 2500 :X </p>
<p>Sooo, I’m hoping they don’t give me TOO much work-study if i get accepted <em>knock on wood</em></p>
<p>Oh, with that EFC, you’re gonna get huge grants. I’d say at least $30,000. Once again, I’m no financial aid expert, just going off of what friends got.</p>
<p>^what’s wrong with work study? I’d rather have work study than loans.</p>
<p>what’s the max stafford loan for freshmen? also, should i be expecting perkins loan as well?</p>
<p>I meant hour-wise. If I’m working tooooo much, it could start to interfere with everything else. I would GLADLY take work-study over loans, I’m just concerned about what the “max work-study” is. We’ll see!</p>
<p>What about having an EFC of 0?</p>
<p>Is EFC per-semester or per-year?</p>
<p>EFC is per year.</p>
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<p>That is all backwards. For those with low EFCs Grants are awarded first followed by WS and loans. If you do not have a low enough EFC then you don’t get a grant because you’re aid is under the COA. For federal aid, if you are eligible for federal grants, you are awarded those first. For instance with an EFC of 2500 you should get @ $3000 in Pell grant and possibly the ACG of $750 if you are eligible academically. Then if you still have need you will be given WS and loans. Don’t know about USC specifically but my daughter’s school gives the max WS first then Stafford loans. The loans are often the last thing in the package to be awarded. If after grants, WS and loans you are still under the COA then you will probably have a GAP - unmet need - not more grants. </p>
<p>Also, of course, CA residents with low income get the CALGRANT.</p>
<p>Oops I forgot about Perkins loan, yeah you’ll probably get that too. An EFC of 0, I would say would get 35k in grants, the rest in loans/work study. You just have to figure it out by subtracting the cost of attendance by the max loans/work study.</p>
<p>Max work study is $3500 per year, max Stafford is $5500 for a freshman, max Perkins is $4000. Now subtract the total from the coast of attendance and thats how much you should get theoretically in grants if your EFC is 0. But USC also uses the CSS profile in your financial aid calculation, so thats why my estimates are a little lower than the theoretical amount.</p>
<p>Swimcatsmom probably knows more than me, I’m just a student who had a struggle with the FA office. I just assumed those EFCs were low enough.</p>
<p>Work study is good for experience.</p>
<p>Thanks so much! :]</p>
<p>I know! You guys are so helpful. I just wanted to ballpark what sort of package I could expect.</p>
<p>Maximum Stafford for freshman = $5500.</p>
<p>Perkins - maximum varies by school. It has limited funding so schools decide their own criteria for how to award it. Unlike the Stafford a school is given $xxx in Perkins funds and once they are awarded they have no more.</p>
<p>EFC is per year.</p>
<p>EFC of 0 should get the maximum Pell of $5350 (for 2009-2010).</p>
<p>As you can see, I’m a little off. My bad, listen to swimcatsmom. With an EFC of 0, USC is very generous though.</p>
<p>USC uses the FAFSA and the CSS/Profile to come up with the USC-determined need. Federal aid (and swimcatsmom is an expert on that) is distributed using the FAFSA EFC, while USC grants are distributed using USC-determined need, which may or may not be the same as your EFC. The CSS/Profile considers some things not considered by FAFSA - such as home equity.</p>
<p>USC does not technically “gap,” they guarantee to meet 100% of USC-determined need, but again, that number may not be the same as your FAFSA EFC.</p>
<p>From a very small and unscientific sampling of post-ers here last year, it seemed the work/study awards for freshmen were $2,000 - $3,000/year.</p>
<p>We found USC to be very generous with grants with an EFC higher than unefemme or layla. The fin aid should be on Oasis by about the 8th of April or so, so you should get all your answers soon. GOOD LUCK!</p>