<p>The difference between my FAFSA EFC (0) and EFC for USC is $3500. Attending USC will cost me 5.5k in loans and 2.5k WS. </p>
<p>How would one go about an appeal for financial aid (what would I specifically have to say)? Whether or not the appeal will work, I would like to make an effort. If I could get any more help with my loans, it would affect the possibility of me being able to go to USC. :)</p>
<p>I am not sure I understand your package - are you saying you have
grants totaling ~$44,000,
loans of $5,500
and work/study of $2,500?
Leaving $3,500 for you and your family to come up with?</p>
<p>Or that you have an EFC of $3,500 and only received $5,500 in loans and $2,500 in work/study - Leaving $47,500 for your family to cover? (This is very unlikely, but you don’t mention any grants.)</p>
<p>Did you take the time to apply for local scholarships in your home state such as Kiwanis, Optimist, Boy Scout, Elks, religious or others? This could help quite a bit with tuition.</p>
<p>How can I find more scholarships? Fastweb doesn’t really help that much…I live in NY. I really need scholarships to afford NYU :(</p>
<p>Alamemom - Oops, sorry for the lack of clarification!</p>
<p>My EFC according to FAFSA is 0. According to USC, it is 3500.</p>
<p>I was awarded about $47,000 in grants.
They are offering me a $5,500 federal loan, plus $2500 Work Study to cover the remaining costs.</p>
<p>The problem is, even though my parents said they could handle it, I know it’s going to be a problem…and they will want me to choose a UC even more because I do not have to take out loans.</p>
<p>GeorgiaGirl - Yes I applied to several scholarships, and I am waiting for replies. I hope some will come through!</p>
<p>shinywing - Try consulting the counselor’s office at your school…the local scholarships are best, because you are competing with far fewer people than state and national scholarships.</p>
<p>maylix, USC’s 2010-2011 cost of attendance is</p>
<p>$55,578 [USC</a> Financial Aid - Applying & Receiving Financial Aid - Undergraduate - Costs](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/applying_receiving/undergraduates1/costs.html]USC”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/applying_receiving/undergraduates1/costs.html)</p>
<p>USC includes the $5,500 Federal Loans and w/s as your self-help portion. Self help is financial aid and is not considered your family contribution.</p>
<p>$5,500 + $2,500 + $47,000 = $55,000.</p>
<p>Your family contribution in this package is:</p>
<p>$578</p>
<p>You will be taking out the loans, not your parents. As GeorgiaGirl mentions, outside scholarships can be helpful. USC would most likely allow you to replace the $3,500 subsidized Stafford and/or your work/study with outside scholarships.</p>
<p>You should be able to find summer employment to earn the $578 family contribution.</p>
<p>You certainly can appeal the package, but this is a fantastic package. A REALLY fantastic package. I am not sure what your approach would be. If there is a reason you cannot work at all this summer, you could present that and see if they will give you another $500 in grants… but again, you received a fantastic package.</p>
<p>One item in the COA is “books and supplies” $1,500. Buy purchasing used books from online sources, you may be able to save the $578 on that part of the budget. College Confidential users will have lots of great suggestions for textbook buying in August.</p>
<p>Congratulations!</p>
<p>Haha oh I see! I didn’t realize USC was already being very generous…I guess it would not be fair of me to appeal anything. I guess what I meant was that my parents don’t want me going into graduate school with any debt. As in, they want to be able to either pay off my loans each year, or not take out any loans, in which case I’d be going to a UC. I will talk to them to see what is possible, and hope scholarships/summer job can come through.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help! :D</p>
<p>Maylix
This is great package.
My advise:
Take it & RUN!
I don’t think it gunna get any better than that.
Maybe you can apply to some private scholarships to get the differnence but I think the school has helped plenty.
Hope that Helps.</p>
<p>On a related note, what is the best way to appeal financial aid? Is it best to call, email, or send a letter to the Financial Aid office, especially if comparing aid with that of another college’s? Any help would be greatly appreciated. :D</p>
<p>Kimburlee - haha yeah, I realize 5.5k in loans isn’t really that bad at all, it’s just hard to turn down two full-ride offers from the UCs to take out loans! :(</p>
<p>ferrywell - do you think it’d be best to do it by phone? I’d like to give it a try :)</p>
<p>Why you so greedy? Huh? You so greedy like the god of greed in Greek mythology. I wonder if you are a Greek greed greese?</p>
<p>:( I’m not greedy lol. I just would like to close the gap so my parents are willing to let me take out loans vs. taking out no loans for a UC.</p>
<p>Which two UCs did you get full rides for? If they’re around the same as USC ditch USC =] No offense to many people.</p>
<p>Lol! UCLA and Davis 
… you think so?</p>
<p>I’m sorry, but UCLA > USC. I am NEUTRAL…not a LA or SC fan so I am not biased. You should go to LA if they are giving you a full ride. Money is money! If you really really really want to go to SC then go. It would be quite easy for you to pay off those loans once you get a job after you graduate. Go with your gut =]</p>
<p>5.5k loans is almost nothing. are they subsidized or unsubsidized? there’s a big difference between the two. if it’s unsubsidized, the interest accrues while you’re still attending school, whereas with subsidized the interest will not add up until after you’re done with school plus the grace period.</p>
<p>here is what i would suggest for you if you really want to go to USC over the two UCs you got regents for:
this summer, find a job and work the full summer. you should easily be able to make 2-3k if you work enough hours. that right there already takes care of your EFC, and then you’ll be able to cancel your some of your loans. be sure to do this! you do NOT have to take out the full amount of loans that is offered to you. USC’s written CoA is NOT how much you HAVE to pay. the only things you must pay are the tuition and miscellaneous student fees (and housing + mealplan as a freshman)</p>
<p>i just looked at my usc ePay statement and here are the things they billed me for spring 2010:</p>
<p>Physics Lab Fee - Sp2010 200.00
Biology Lab Fee - Sp2010 200.00
Exercise Science Lab Fee Sp2010 90.00
N. Topping Student Aid Fund Sp2010 8.00<br>
Student Health Center - Sp2010 228.00
Student Health Insurance Sp2010 580.00
Student Programming Fee - Sp2010 55.50
UG Student Service Fee Sp2010 15.00
UnderGrad Tuition, Flat Fee Sp2010 19,285.00 </p>
<p>your statement will probably be even less, because if you look at it closely, i have 3 science lab fees which most students will not have. also if you have an outside health insurance plan you will not be charged the 580. the remainder of the fees are mandatory, though. </p>
<p>ok so assuming you have an outside health insurance plan, the following items will be the only things that apply to you:</p>
<p>N. Topping Student Aid Fund Sp2010 8.00<br>
Student Health Center - Sp2010 228.00
Student Programming Fee - Sp2010 55.50
UG Student Service Fee Sp2010 15.00
UnderGrad Tuition, Flat Fee Sp2010 19,285.00
SUBTOTAL FOR ONE YEAR: $39,183.00 (does not include housing + meal plan)</p>
<p>Housing + Mealplan will probably be around $10,000 for freshmen.</p>
<p>TOTAL FOR ONE YEAR (rounding up to include textbooks): $50,000</p>
<p>i see that you received $47,000 in grants for the entire year. so this would mean that you have a deficit of around $3,000. as i mentioned above, if you work over the summer you can probably make close to this $3,000, and if not i’m pretty sure your parents will be able to spare around $1000 to cover the difference. IF THIS IS THE CASE, CANCEL YOUR LOANS. YOU DO NOT NEED THEM. you are still eligible to take a work-study position (which i highly recommend). the money that you make from this job, say with a rate of $8/hr @ 10 hrs a week is a $160 biweekly paycheck that goes straight into your pocket. this money gives you money to go shopping, go out and eat, etc. this money that you would spend on non-school related items is calculated into USC’s CoA. for some people, their CoA would be closer to 65k due to their spending habits, and others will be closer to 50k. it simply depends on your lifestyle. personally, i’ve gotten by by being very frugal.</p>
<p>ps: something that will really help out you and your family is to become an RA. please do not become one solely for the money, but if you find that you’re genuinely interested in the position, housing and food are taken care of for you by the university. if you have further questions about being an RA feel free to ask me in my thread <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/867125-ask-me-about-usc.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/867125-ask-me-about-usc.html</a></p>
<p>If it was, say, no aid at USC versus a full ride at UCLA, I would have chosen UCLA without question. However, with that fantastic FA package bro, I would definitely choose USC over a full ride at UCLA.</p>
<p>josebiwasabi - You’re amazing, thank you so much for providing all of that information! The possibility of not having to take out a loan is a relief, and makes the situation so much better (except that I was not aware of having to pay the EFC in addition to loans xD). I will be sure to ask you for questions in the future :)</p>
<p>Heheh wymae and Malik…two different opinions? :(</p>
<p>It’s going to be so hard to pass up a full ride at UCLA. I already know that. At the same time, taking out less than 10k in loans for a private school is pretty darn good. I toured UCLA yesterday, and USC today, and must admit I found both campuses to be smaller than I chose to expect (after Davis and Berkeley xD). So far I prefer UCLA’s campus, but USC’s programs and family emphasis :/</p>
<p>I’ll trade you packages! :)</p>
<p>**maylix, USC’s 2010-2011 cost of attendance is</p>
<p>$55,578 USC Financial Aid - Applying & Receiving Financial Aid - Undergraduate - Costs</p>
<p>USC includes the $5,500 Federal Loans and w/s as your self-help portion. Self help is financial aid and is not considered your family contribution.</p>
<p>$5,500 + $2,500 + $47,000 = $55,000.</p>
<p>Your family contribution in this package is:</p>
<p>$578</p>
<p>You will be taking out the loans, not your parents. As GeorgiaGirl mentions, outside scholarships can be helpful. USC would most likely allow you to replace the $3,500 subsidized Stafford and/or your work/study with outside scholarships.</p>
<p>You should be able to find summer employment to earn the $578 family contribution.</p>
<p>You certainly can appeal the package, but this is a fantastic package. A REALLY fantastic package. I am not sure what your approach would be. If there is a reason you cannot work at all this summer, you could present that and see if they will give you another $500 in grants… but again, you received a fantastic package.</p>
<p>One item in the COA is “books and supplies” $1,500. Buy purchasing used books from online sources, you may be able to save the $578 on that part of the budget. College Confidential users will have lots of great suggestions for textbook buying in August.</p>
<p>Congratulations!**</p>