<p>Hi,
I received an email from USC's Financial Aid Office, but it just says
"Your 2012-2013 award information was recently updated and sent to your online record."<br>
Does this mean my financial award is finalized? </p>
<p>The reason I ask is, I've looked at the award and the only form of aid (that are not loans) I received was the presidential scholarship. I was shocked to see the lack of any financial aid as my EFC according to FAFSA is around $5k. I am aware that USC uses the CSS/Profile, but my "EFC" could not substantially vary from the FAFSA. Additionally, cal-grant was not included.<br>
The "amount needed to be financed", aka the amount I have to pay, is more than twice my mom makes in a year. I've submitted numerous supporting documents on special circumstances regarding the lack of financial support I will be receiving from my father. And this information was submitted to USC back in January, promptly after I was notified of my admission in January. </p>
<p>Should I contact the office? Or is this financial award not complete?
Can anyone please give any insight? I've read through the Financial Aid thread but I could not find much information on competition.</p>
<p>I would call FA on Monday, but my recollection is that the email received actually refers to the FA as being ready. My son, a freshman, gets the email you referred to when things are updated on his FA.</p>
<p>Did you qualify for a Cal grant at another school but didn’t see one in your USC package? If so, parts of the package may still be missing and is not complete. Best thing to do is contact financial aid, especially since you have special circumstances. This will let you know if more may be coming or not, and will allow you to start making some decisions. Good luck!</p>
<p>**Your FAFSA and CSS EFC could be very different, though, if your family has assets other than income. If your family owns a home (equity is an asset), cars (value is an asset), etc… these are used in the CSS. For example, your mom makes 40K a year, but you live in a home with 150k in equity. The equity could be used to finance part of your education (see the financial aid sticky—Alamemom defines this particular calculation). However, if your family does not have assets, your numbers may be quite similar.</p>
<p>Please take some time to read alamemom’s later financial aid posts. She states what is included in the final statement. You have until May 1 to make a decision about college choices.</p>
<p>After reading her detailed explanations and you still have questions call or e-mail the financial aid office. If you live close to campus an appointment is even better. Have your copies of financial statements and tax forms at hand for any communication with the office.</p>
<p>Most private colleges/universities use the CSS profile.</p>
<p>Hello! Thank you all for your help. I just got off the phone with the Financial Aid office, and unfortunately my package was complete. </p>
<p>And to be honest, it’s extremely frustrating and disheartening to see that the amount I have to finance is 3 times of what my mom makes in a year. I questioned them on how would I be able to pay that amount, and they referred to my mother’s equity in her house. I understand that for private schools, they calculate EFC by factoring a percentage of house equity. But where would the money be derived from? My mom cannot just sell the house, and I questioned them about that. The Financial Aid office said they were not recommending to sell the house, but never addressed the issue of where this “equity” would be taken out in order to pay off USC’s tuition. </p>
<p>I qualify for a Cal Grant which was not included, and they informed me that the grants were not included in the financial package due to uncertainty with funding. Which is understandable, but I saw another admittee’s financial aid package and Cal Grant was included with the aid package. </p>
<p>The financial aid office suggested a Parent Plus loan, which my mom does not qualify for. Basically, the only solution I was given was to appeal the financial aid package I was given. Reading through Alamemom’s posts about appealing does not provide any optimism onto this issue as it seems the appealing process does not result in a substantial change in funding. </p>
<p>I am extremely frustrated and feel so helpless. I’ve applied for about every USC related scholarship under the sun. I’ve visited the school countless times to interview for scholarships and meet with the faculty. I’ve followed every guideline and met every deadline for applying for financial aid. I honestly do not understand why or how my financial package is so unreasonably high. Can anyone provide advice or tips that I can consider to help my case?</p>