<p>Question for swimcatsmom - does the $5,500 max Stafford include the $2,000 unsubs? Or is there a total of $5,500 subs available? (D was offered $3,500 last year, w/s $2,500, the rest grants.)</p>
<p>The total total is $5500 of which up to $3500 may be subsidized. </p>
<p>So it could be $5500 unsub if there is no ‘need’. Or it could be a combination of subsidized and unsubsidized if there is ‘need’, but not more than $3500 subsidized. But not more than $5500 total.</p>
<p>My comments about grants were purely about federal grants. I don’t know about institutional grants. USC sounds very generous, Our State Us (or is USC not a State U? I am guessing not) have no grant money of their own at all (well I think my daughter’s offers $1000 if you have received no other grant aid).</p>
<p>As with so many things, whether USC is generous or not depends on perspective. Some families are stunned when they discover their home equity is factored in to the equation, others are overjoyed when the see a huge “USC grant” as part of their aid.</p>
<p>Thank you for clarifying the Stafford - D was offered the “extra” unsubs $2,000 above the cost of attendance to purchase a computer, but declined it, so now the $5,500 total makes sense to me.</p>
<p>*** No, USC is not a state U - it is private.</p>
<p>Does anyone have experience with USC financial aid with an EFC of $15000?</p>
<p>^^^ how about an EFC of 40,000. Am I truly screwed?</p>
<p>So my EFC is 7250 and the value of my home is about 250k or so, but my parents owe about 255k on our home (interest). I’m not sure what home equity is, but this would probably work in my favor, correct?</p>
<p>I’m so anxious for the Financial Aid. If it’s not enough then I’m screwed. For some REALLY weird reason I was rejected from UW, but got into USC (and other colleges) xD. Seriously, how the hell do I get rejected from my state college. Everyone at school is going to laugh at me lol. ~_~</p>
<p>Home equity would be the difference between the value of the home minus the loan (if any) against it. In the case you describe above, it would be $250,000 - $255,000 = negative $5,000. In terms of financial aid awarded, that would work in your favor in that it would not add to the amount you would be expected to contribute.</p>
<p>It is very hard to give estimates about financial aid, because of all the factors besides income that go into the calculations. USC has pages and pages of info from the FAFSA, CSS/Profile and your tax returns that they work with. You only have another week or so to wait - try to just enjoy the feeling of being admitted for a bit!</p>
<p>Some colleges cap your home equity to be 2 times your income. I don’t know if USC does that or not.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot alememom! I feel a lot better now about my financial aid package. ^-^</p>
<p>Columbia, I don’t know if USC caps or not either. I searched for the information and looked at lists of universities that DO cap last year, but could not find the answer either way. Our USC-determined need was higher than our EFC (but not by very much worried new admits) so my first thought was that they included our home equity. If they capped, our home equity would not have been used.</p>
<p>In any case, they do not expect that “all” or even “most” of your home equity is used. I believe it is the same % they asses from parental savings, which I think is 6%. (If swimcatsmom is still around, maybe she can give a more accurate answer.)</p>