<p>Everyone on these threads seem to be making less than 30k, which is okay. But I live with my parents, am 19, and they make around a little bit over 80k which automatically disqualifies me from the blue and gold plan. Even if they make that much, I have another sibling and 30k for 3 years plus grad school seems to be a lot. How can I even get more grant without having to lie and say that I live with someone else etc ( lots of people do this). Has anyone gotten grants with their families income being more than 80 or close to that? </p>
<p>Truth is I didnt get ANY aid from USC, and theyre known for giving out lots of aid. If i can't get any aid from USC how would i get aid from a UC which is half the price.</p>
<p>Also, my sister is 13, not in college so that won't help me. How do people get grants??</p>
No, they don’t. FAFSA requires parent information until a student is 24 (or meets one of the other independence rules such as being married or being a veteran). Living with someone else does not make you eligible for financial aid.</p>
<p>Mik, yes, it is a tough situation for those whose parents make too much money for their kids to qualify for much or any financial aid, yet they cannot or will not pay what the expected contributions for them are. That does describe a lot of students. The problem is that there is not enough money availabe to pay for everyone and if you are over that cut line, you don’t get anything. In many cases, if you just make the cut, it doesn’t mean you are on a gravy train, as the awards are not usually structured cliff style. You might be losing out on just a little bit when you cross that line, not a whole lot.</p>
<p>The fact of the matter is that most students go to college part time, working at least part time, maybe even full time, and they live with their parents until they find some opportunity for a house/apt/room share with others that is affordable, as they earn more money. That you have at least a year of college under the belt in the CA cc system, means you that by going to a local CA college, you can probably make it a go. You are fortunate in that your state does have excellent options. Both the Cal States and UCs are very good systems, and there are schools accessible to most all residents. Tuition, fees and commuting are usually affordable, and if your parents cannot afford or will not pay penny one, you have the DIrect Loans available and you should look for a job. If you are on zero aid at all, you can go to school part time without having issues with part time/full time status issues that can affect financial aid. Go year around and you can get your degree at this point in time within the four year mark. </p>
<p>Unless you meet the criteria for an independent student, your parental assets/income are in the picture and living with someone else unless you marry the person isn’t going to cut it. That’s a clear cut thing and FAFSA is a federal form and federal fraud has very heavy penalties. Please do not even think of going there.</p>
<ol>
<li>People go to universities that give them big merit aid for their stats.</li>
<li>Some people get ROTC scholarships with strings attached</li>
<li>Some people simply go to the military and pay for education with GI bill</li>
<li>People do what cptofthehouse described</li>
<li><p>And there are even people who get married to get an independent status or get a sugar daddy/mommy through special websites. I don’t recommend this one, but it’s much better than hiding money from IRS or lying on FAFSA</p></li>
<li><p>There are also people who get huge loans $100,000+ for undergrad education. This is the worst case scenario.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Little bit over $80k yet NO AID from USC? Unless USC doesn’t meet need for transfers, this doesn’t make sense unless your parents have assets or are self-employed/take business deductions.</p>
<p>I recall from the FAQ for USC Financial Aid thread that Fall 2013 you applied to USC and UCI as a transfer and were accepted. Your FAFSA EFC was approximately $18,000 (*Note - I recall you mentioning an income figure higher than $80,000) and USC calculated that your family could pay $56,000 and you were offered a sophomore Stafford loan of $6,500 for the remainder. You appealed based on your mother’s expected job loss and projected medical expenses for a relative who lived out of the country. As policy, USC and other schools do not adjust aid for anticipated job losses or possible medical expenses - only for those that have actually occurred, and only in some circumstances.</p>
<p>If your financial situation has not changed, it is likely your aid award at USC would be consistent with the one you recently received. If the job loss HAS occurred and the medical expenses made, there may be an aid adjustment in only the year following, but medical expenses for elective procedures would likely not have an impact.</p>
<p>The difference in your FAFSA EFC and the amount expected by USC suggests either significant equity in your primary residence and/or other assets not reported on the FAFSA, or income from a non-custodial parent.</p>
<p>You mention in other posts that UCI was also unaffordable - with an $18,000 FAFSA EFC you may have been offered a Stafford of $6,500 and work/study of $3,000 with an approximate $3,000 summer earnings expectation which would mean a grant of between $0 and $2,000. Were your parents unable to afford the FAFSA EFC?</p>
<p>The suggestion to consider a CSU is an excellent one as the total costs range at about $22,000 including room and board. If you live near enough to a CSU to commute you could save on that figure significantly.</p>
<p>projected medical expenses for a relative who lived out of the country</p>
<p>would USC consider payment for a relative who doesn’t live in the household? Many/most colleges will not consider that. </p>
<p>Does the income of “bit more than $80k” include the mom’s income? If so, there still seems to be a missing piece as to why USC would think the family doesn’t qualify for any aid. There must be lots of assets or a family owned business or something. </p>
<p>An income of $85k or so, without assets, wouldn’t seem to be a full pay situation.</p>
<p>You mention in other posts that UCI was also unaffordable - with an $18,000 FAFSA EFC y</p>
<p>So, USC expects the family to be full-pay, yet the family can’t pay $18k for USC? Something seems odd.</p>
Most likely not, but if the support could be well documented it might be worth attempting an appeal. HOWEVER, they absolutely would not consider medical expenses that had not occurred - and they had not as of the time of Mik’s appeal.</p>
<p>Thank you for your guys’ input! Ill try to answer as much in detail as I can. Sorry for being so vague. ( also shout out to alamemom for remembering all that from last year!)</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids: MY PARENTS ARE NOT A BUSINESS OWNER!! My mom has not been working since October and my dad’s income is around 72,000. My mom does receive an unemployment benefit of 2,656 a month. I think we can stop the unemployment benefit but I’m not too sure on that. However, this wouldn’t really help since fafsa asks for last years income.
This is the deal: My parents are willing to pay. Ofcourse they want me to have a bright future and all but, I am going to be working for sure and want to make it easy on them. I seriously did not get any aid from USC. I do, however, have money in the bank. This is probably considered an asset.</p>
<p>No, i did not apply to CSU’s. </p>
<p>YES, my family can pay up to 20,000. However living costs and such may add up to more. I’m doing my best in getting good insight on whatever tricks ( appeal etc) there are to get more financial aid. WHY is there limited aid for transfer students. Was it because I was going to be a sophmore at USC that they gave me little aid and more aid to transfer who completed two years and are waiting to get out of a CC?</p>
<p>Actually, USC meets 100% of *USC-determined need for transfer students and you would receive the same aid as a sophomore transfer as a sophomore who entered as a freshman would receive.</p>
<p>The important thing to remember is that USC uses the FAFSA to distribute federal aid ONLY (including Stafford loans, work/study and Pell grants, though you would not be eligible for Pell). They use the CSS/Profile and their own formula to distribute USC grants which comprise the bulk of USC aid. Therefore USC considers assets the FAFSA does not, including home equity and assets protected by the simplified needs test and the amount you are expected to contribute may differ from your FAFSA efc (and by “differ,” I mean it will likely be more).</p>
<p>With your mother’s unemployment benefit, your family income is over $100,000. Yes, money in the bank - both yours and your parents - is considered an asset as is equity in your home.Parent assets are typically assessed at 5.6% and student assets at 20%. If you call USC financial aid and ask, they will tell you what assets are contributing to their calculation of the amount you must contribute. That would be a good idea so that you are aware of what they are considering and correct any errors on your financial aid application. They may not have your record on file anymore, but it would be worth a call to find out after the winter break (no one will be there the next two weeks).</p>
<p>If your family can afford $20,000/year, then the CSUs are an ideal choice for you as you could afford them with little to no debt. If you do not secure an affordable option this year that would be your next step. Alternatively, a UC within commuting distance from your parents’ home would fall in that price range.</p>
<p>*@mom2collegekids: MY PARENTS ARE NOT A BUSINESS OWNER!! My mom has not been working since October and my dad’s income is around 72,000. My mom does receive an unemployment benefit of 2,656 a month. I think we can stop the unemployment benefit but I’m not too sure on that. However, this wouldn’t really help since fafsa asks for last years income.</p>
<p>This is the deal: My parents are willing to pay. Ofcourse they want me to have a bright future and all but, I am going to be working for sure and want to make it easy on them. I seriously did not get any aid from USC. I do, however, have money in the bank. This is probably considered an asset.*</p>
<p>You need to understand the concept of the word, “or”. I said business owner OR assets. You have assets. </p>
<p>And you were rather misleading about the family’s income. If for 2013, your dad earned 72k, and your mom worked up until October AND then got 2700 a month unemployment (which suggests that her salary was a good one!), then your statement that they earn around $80k is NOT TRUE. From the latest info, your parents had a 6 figure salary for 2013. </p>
<p>The fact that despite that your mom is now unemployed, your parents are still willing to pay strongly suggests a good amount of assets. People who ONLY have an income of $80k aren’t paying full freight at USC. </p>
<p>So, it’s now more clear why you didn’t qualify for aid.</p>
<p>Mik, If you and your family have enough money in the bank to pay for your education, that is what colleges expect you to do. Financial aid is for people who cannot afford to pay, not for those who do not want to pay.</p>
<p>I would like to drive a lexus. The dealership is not going to let me choose not to pay full price at the dealership, which means that I must take out a loan, get an extra job, or choose to drive a used hyundai…</p>
<p>Time to take the money out of the bank? haha, sounds good. Still not worth paying full price at USC but everyone has their own opinion</p>
<p>I didnt’ say that. If I were you I would transfer to a Cal State or UC that I could commute to. If that’s not possible, then go away to a Cal State. Paying $32k per year to go away to a UC when that means digging too much out of savings, isn’t a good idea. </p>
<p>There are also a few privates (some Catholics) that will give $10-15k or so in transfer scholarships. That would still be more expensive than a UC, though. </p>
<p>You have strong stats, so maybe someone here can suggest a school that gives larger merit for high stats transfers…there aren’t many. </p>
If you will re-read the posts on your thread, you will see that posters have NOT recommended that you spend $56,000/year at USC. What they have done is explain why your aid package is what it is: Your family has both an income in the top 10% nationwide and significant assets/equity so USC will not pay you so that your family can keep those significant assets.</p>
<p>Posters here have suggested alternative plans, NOT that you continue to pursue USC. </p>
<p>You asked for ‘tricks’ to receive need-based financial aid. It isn’t going to happen. Your family has, at minimum, an income that is twice the US median (the US median is approximately $45,000/year) and significant assets. You are not a needy student so need-based aid is not in your future. Look for affordable options (CSUs and commute-distance UCs) or merit aid.</p>