<p>Mine still says, "Thank you for visiting the USC Financial Aid Office. Your financial aid information is currently unavailable because your award has not yet been determined."</p>
<p>Am I the only one? :(</p>
<p>no 10101010</p>
<p>I haven’t received mine yet either. They just recently sent me a request for an extra form (after I got accepted), so they have to process that still =/ It’s making me a little anxious. This is my dream school, but I don’t know if I can afford it. May 1st is too close!! If I CAN afford it, I still have to send in my deposit, try to get good housing, etc…AGH! =P</p>
<p>I haven’t received mine either -_-</p>
<p>I have to wait on finaid, visit on the 19th, decide between Emory and USC after the visit, and somehow still get good housing. Talk about stressing.</p>
<p>guys, you can register for housing at USC, get your “spot” in line for housing preferences and still choose not to attend USC. At most, all you lose is the housing deposit ($45?)</p>
<p>spoke to finaid today - they are hoping to have everyone’s offers out by the end of this week. Officer said “barring any major glitches/hangups” he was very nice, they are really trying and working hard- so just keep checking. If you have forms that are requested - get them in asap.</p>
<p>Nihility, I’m on the same boat as you. I’m trying to decide between Emory and USC but I have yet to hear about finaid from both. Hopefully I’m hearing back soon!</p>
<p>jazz/shreddermom - thanks for the info about housing. I may have to look into registering for housing if that’s the case!
squiggles1118 - thanks for the update. I do understand how hard they are working to get everyone’s letters out. I think I’m more exhausted with the overall college process in general - but it’s almost over!!! WOO!</p>
<p>Does anyone know what the email we get when our award is finalized looks like?</p>
<p>I’m also still waiting for my financial aid award to be given. I called the school yesterday and spoke to my regional admissions counselor. She told me not to worry because there is still plenty of money and several scholarships to go around. Also, she said that I may have to wait until Monday for everything to be finished.</p>
<p>Our D found her award online the day before she received the letter. If you sign in to USConnect, click on Financial Aid. A box might be there that says Financial Aid Awards, open it, scroll down and to the right there is a “continue” button, click on it.</p>
<p>Good luck to everyone.</p>
<p>If we receive an email saying "WHY WE’RE WRITING YOU:</p>
<p>Your 2012-2013 award information was recently updated and sent to your online record.", does that mean our award is finalized or will it still be updated?</p>
<p>S received that message- we were told the package was complete.</p>
<p>My award is HORRIBLE, for whatever reason. The calculator gave me an EFC of 16k, but the award says 29k…
I have received awards from Rochester, Brandeis, and Emory, and all of them were WAY better than USC’s. They all put my EFC around 17 or 18k as well. </p>
<p>What is the deal!?</p>
<p>@Nihility D is in same situation. We had read about how generous USC is with financial aid and were shocked when we saw D’s FA from USC. D received Dean’s Scholarship so we thought FA would be good. But we are required to pay $36,000 plus $5500 in student loans. I thought something went terrible wrong too. Spoke with the Dean of FA personally (very nice gentleman by the way) and he explained how things work. So apparently we got the best deal they could give us, but it so frustrating being in the middle class sometimes. We don’t make enough to actually afford USC, but we make to much to qualify for more help.</p>
<p>UCLA gave D a scholarship, which left her contribution between student loans and work study $10,100 and our parent contribution $11,699 (same as FASFA EFC)</p>
<p>UCI gave D a grant, which left her contribution from student loans $5,500 and our parent contribution $14,999.</p>
<p>After using USC Net Price Calculator I had thought USC would have given her a great FA package, but the difference between the calculator and her actual FA was over $25,000.</p>
<p>How ON EARTH is that possible? Have you filed an appeal? Is there any hope? This is ridiculous.
Calculator gave me an EFC of 17k
Actual award gave me an EFC of 29k.</p>
<p>^^^ I haven’t filed an official appeal. After I saw D’s FA I wrote an email to her admissions counselor, thanking her for helping to select D, but stating that with FA as low as it was D wouldn’t be able to attend. Counselor then forward email to the Dean of FA. The Dean emailed me back saying sorry but it is what it is. So I replied to the Dean and he called me personally. He apologized for the diffidence between the net calculator and actual award. He sympathized with our frustration and explained that there was nothing they could due to increase her FA. He said if situations changed (my husband is facing a 20% pay cut at the end of the month), to send in that information and they would see if they could change anything. But as it stands right now, if D wants to attend USC, we have to take out over $41,000 a year in loans. Or she can go to UCLA for less than $20,000 a year.</p>
<p>I must add that we are grateful for the FA and scholarship that USC gave my D. I do not what to seem unappreciative. Its just after putting in the exact numbers into the USC net calculator that we had from our tax return and that we used to fill out CSS profile. It was a major shock and disappointment to see a $25,000 difference. We had been so excited for our D knowing she could go to USC and that we could afford it when we believed it would cost us $19,000 in student and personal loans. Now we have to rethink the whole situation. When the economy tanked so did our credit, our house is upside down over $138,000, we are a family of six and have two kids in college. I don’t know if we could even qualify for $36,000 personal loan for one year of school.</p>
<p>Nihility I completely understand your situation. I wish you the best of luck, maybe an appeal would help.</p>
<p>Not meaning to sound snippy, snide or snotty- but If UCLA is less expensive- RUN, don’t walk…</p>
<p>Wish I was in that situation, but I’m o.o.s., so I didn’t even apply to any UC school. I am admitted to UT Austin and USC, waiting for USC financial aid. Won’t qualify for any need based aid, and will not take more than $3-5K worth of loans per year. No school is worth it in this economy.</p>
<p>Duke58…If cost was the only factor D would be going to UCLA. She not only graduates from high school in June she is receiving an AA in Humanities in May. She is also only three classes away from fulfilling her IGETC, which after matriculation to UCLA and finishing those three classes she would be bumped up to a junior. She would technically have only two years left. Which would be a plus for UCLA, but with the difficulty getting classes and the state of California’s economy and the state’s budget, who know how long it would really take.</p>
<p>Most importantly though…USC has her major…Music Industry. USC offers a well established program, with incredible opportunities during and after USC. UCLA only has a minor in Music Industry and no Business program. D is also very interested in biological sciences. She is considering double majoring in Music Industry and pre-med, a strange combination, but those are her two passions. USC would support that endeavor, UCLA would not. </p>
<p>So there is much more to consider than just a dollar amount. D has worked her butt off and she deserves the best opportunity, she has earned it. We just need to find someone willing to loan us the money.</p>