<p>So I'll be going to USC this January (I was a spring admit) and I never applied for financial aid because my parents never really brought the subject up. However, they are telling me now that their finances are running short and have put me in charge of finding different loans that will help us. </p>
<p>I'm very new to the whole financial aid thing and I know I already missed the deadline to apply for it. Can you guys suggest any loans or other advice?</p>
<p>First…contact USC and see if you can apply for aid.</p>
<p>Second…go ahead and submit FAFSA…you haven’t missed the deadline for that. With that, you can borrow 5500…and your parents can borrow the rest as a Plus Loan.</p>
<p>You’re not a child any more, which means you should be taking the initiative to do things without being told. From now on fill out the FAFSA every year in January.</p>
<p>That’s pretty harsh, numbersix. Most high schoolers are naive about finances/financial aid, and unless the school guidance counselors are doing a great job of giving financial matters top priority (a rare thing), it’s up to the parents, who are the ones expected to pay for college, to keep an eye on the ball. It sounds like faktorvich got poor advice, or no advice, from both school and home–he doesn’t deserve a scolding.</p>
<p>I agree that you should immediately fill out FAFSA, contact USC and see if there is any aid available. Also ask your parents for their 2010 tax records and for a list of their assets as of right now and run the figures in the FAFSA estimator. THat’ll give you an idea if you even qualify for financial aid from USC.</p>
<p>Let your parents know that as a student, you are not eligible for more than $5500 in loans from the government and to get that, the FAFSA needs to be completed. Any other loans will need to be co-signed by them. The PLUS is a loan they need to take out, not you and repayment starts a few months after the loan funds are given to the school. Ask them if they have a home equity line or other source for loans, since you are limited by age and lack of credit history and no job. Also let them know what the deadline was for USC financial aid.</p>