<p>I got in after appealing but I have to pay 57k per year at USC vs 28k at UCLA. My family has about 200,000 in savings but my dad makes 69,000 a year and my mom doesn't work because my family has a neurological disorder. Should I negotiate with USC or just stick with UCLA? 57k is breaking the bank.</p>
<p>I think you can renegotiate. With a 69k salary per year, there’s no way I’d go to USC.</p>
<p>Honestly I would go to UCLA. It’s a great school. So is USC but it is not worth double UCLA.</p>
<p>With the information you have provided, no, that is not a typical award. The $200,000 in a savings account would, at most, increase your expected contribution by $11,200. If your family’s only income is $69,000/year, I would expect the FAFSA part of your EFC to be $7,000-$11,000, so (again, given the information you provided) the expected contribution from your family would be estimated in the $20,000-$23,000 range for a $69,000 income, $200,000 in the bank and NO home equity. (Actually a bit lower because there are asset protection allowances.)</p>
<p>Possible reasons for the difference:</p>
<p>-Significant home equity
-Other assets such as rental properties or second homes
-Income from other properties
-Not submitting the CSS/Profile and tax return copies. USC grants will not be awarded without them.
-Other income or assets that your parents have not mentioned to you (as a parent, I do not disclose my financial information to my children, and many other parents also choose to maintain their privacy) but which appeared on your financial aid applications.</p>
<p>If none of the above apply to you, you should definitely call USC to ask what added to your expected contribution.</p>
<p>If you are comfortable with posting it, what is your FAFSA-generated EFC? Knowing that would give me a starting point to help you figure out your situation. Given the information you provided, it looks like UCLA also only awarded a $5,500 Stafford loan which suggests that your FAFSA EFC is approximately $30,000 or more. That figure is much higher than would be typical for a $69,000 income - so there is likely other income or assets (FAFSA does NOT consider home equity) being considered.</p>
<p>As others have stated, UCLA is an excellent choice if it turns out USC is twice the cost.</p>
<p>My FAFSA-generated EFC was 20,000.</p>
<p>My family also does not have other income or assets and I turned in my CSS Profile and tax return copies. UCLA gave me a $2,600 scholarship for turning in the FAFSA on time and a grant for $1,400 for purchasing insurance, so it actually comes out to 4k, not 5k. My bad :(</p>
<p>Do you have significant home equity? If not, a call or email to USC financial aid to ask what generated your expected contribution would be a good idea.</p>
<p>Also, I do not know how disability income is considered in financial aid calculations - you might post a question on the financial aid forum to ask (if your parent receive disability income of some kind).</p>