<p>As memama says, they cap equity in the primary residence at 2X yearly income. However, equity in additional real estate holdings<a href=“such%20as%202nd%20homes”>/U</a> is NOT capped.</p>
<p>I have an EFC from both the FAFSA and the CSS/Profile. For us, CSS/Profile EFC is higher. Is it possible that USC would calculate an EFC higher than the CSS/Profile? (I am anxious…) I have read some posts where the EFC for USC is calculated to be the FAFSA amt + 5.6% of home equity but that does not allow for the same allowances (parent’s age, educational savings for other siblings, etc) as does the CSS/Profile.</p>
<p>The EFC you get from the College Board calculators are a very rough estimate based on averages from all the schools (over 300) that use the CSS/Profile. They do not reflect the actual formulas any individual college will use, so yes, USC may have a different result.</p>
<p>It is probably my posts you have seen with that information - you are correct there is much more involved and actually, the FAFSA EFC is not used at all by USC in distributing their own funds - the USC grants. They do their OWN calculation using the CSS/Profile. The FAFSA EFC is only used to distribute federal aid such as Stafford loans, federal work/study and Pell grants.</p>
<p>It is often stated that way to give a quick way of coming up with a very rough estimate (and I can only type all this stuff over and over and over so many times before I start using some shorthand).</p>
<p>Yes, the CSS/Profile takes parent age and siblings into account, but so does the FAFSA, which is why it can be used as a starting point when making very rough estimates.</p>
<p>Home equity is not the only asset that may be considered - anything your were able to leave off the FAFSA will be considered by USC - so those who benefit from the “simplified needs test” on the FAFSA will have those protected assets considered by CSS/Profile schools.</p>
<p>I have a huge dilemma right now and I’m wondering if anyone else is in the same situation: </p>
<p>i submitted all the documents required for financial aid on time, but a few days ago, usc requested that my parents fill out a business / farm supplement form. I contacted the financial aid office, and they told me that this was only because of the fact that both my parents work at the same place. When i notified them that they did not own the place where they work, they told me to submit a word document that simply stated they didn’t own any farms or businesses. I was able to do this today, but because of the fact that it was part of the required documents, does that mean that i’ll have to wait two weeks before receiving my financial aid report?</p>
<p>this becomes a dilemma because i am currently debating between ucla and usc, and the cost is a significant factor in my decision</p>
<p>Hey</p>
<p>it looks like I didn’t get much from financial aid =(</p>
<p>But my dad is retiring later this month and this was not reflected in my financial aid documents and such so I was wondering is it worth it to email usc about this to try to get a bit of extra money? Or is it kind of pointless?</p>
<p>**ignoramus<a href=“sorry%20-%20it%20is%20YOUR%20username%20:”>/B</a> ), you will have your package before the commitment deadline of May 1st. UCLA has the same deadline, so you do not have to respond to them before that date either. I think it will be well before then - probably next week sometime.</p>
<p>YuQiLin, his retirement this year will have no effect on your aid for 2011-2012 - it was calculated on the financial info from the calendar year 2010. If because of his retirement his 2011 income is significantly less than the 2010 income, you may receive more financial aid for the 2012-2013 school years and beyond. If his retirement income is near his previous income, the change will not be very much.</p>
<p>@alamemom: Since the scholarship table says that scholarship award notification date for the International Freshman Academic and Deans Scholarships is 1st April, does that mean I didn’t get any scholarship? They didn’t say anything and my FA status page has nothing. Just need some form of closure :/</p>
<p>heybeautiful, you should start a thread about the International scholarships to see if anyone has news. I have not seen any posts from people saying they received one. I recall the same thing in the past - that at this point there had been no posters announcing they had received notification. Maybe the scholarships have been awarded, but recipients just haven’t mentioned them, or maybe we just don’t happen to have those who received them here on College Confidential. OR, maybe they are yet to be awarded.</p>
<p>memama/alamemom - Do you know if the cap for assets regarding the home is placed on home EQUITY or home VALUE?</p>
<p>^ Equity.</p>
<p>Hypothetical example: Income $80,000/year, home valued at $400,000, mortgage of $200,000.</p>
<p>In the example, equity = $400,000 - $200,000 = $200,000.</p>
<p>Yearly income of $80,000 X 2 = $160,000, so $160,000 of the $200,000 in home equity is considered. Approx. 5.6% of assets are considered available, so $160,000 in equity X 5.6% = $8,960 added to the family contribution.</p>
<p>If the home was valued at $700,000 with a mortgage of $500,000 the equity result would be the same.</p>
<p>*The cap ONLY applies to the PRIMARY residence. All other real estate holdings have no cap, so a 2nd home valued at $400,000 with a $200,000 mortgage would have $200,000 considered regardless of income.</p>
<p>@alamemom, do you know if USC treats second homes that are foreign properties differently from US properties? (We have a teeny tiny vacation home in Europe that has a bit of equity, but we can’t tap into that equity because of foreign laws.)</p>
<p>^ Yes, they will expect a contribution even from equity in foreign properties. If you are unable to access the equity from that particular property, they would expect that you find a way to access the funds or borrow against another asset the amount they expect from that property (by borrowing more against your US properties, for example, or by selling the foreign property).</p>
<p>I am not suggesting that you sell the property 
, I am just gently pointing out that financial aid officers are very likely to take extra care in sharpening their pencils when calculating aid for those with European vacation homes - even teeny tiny ones - as opposed to the applicants living in poverty with no equity in anything.</p>
<p>^Excellent explanation. Thank you very much!</p>
<p>My son is a Spring Admit and there is still nothing posted on his page regarding Finc. Aid. Although we may have jumped the gun(not sure how we will pay for his education) he already submitted his response card. I do not know what we may receive as far as scholarships or aid. I know what other Universities were offering him. Hope USC is at ;east comparable, since they are the most expensive out of the 11 he was accepetd to.
Please give some advice.
Thank you</p>
<p>If everything was in on time, you should get it before the May 1st response date for his other college choices, and definitely before the June 1st response date for Spring admits. Remember it will be a 1/2 year package, so it will “look” like less than the other schools. be sure to multiply by two for your comparisons :)</p>
<p>alamemom I want to thank you for all the information on this thread. Our D will be applying next year, she USC is at the top of her list, and the information in this thread is great! THANK YOU!</p>
<p>Alamemom- Thank you! for your help</p>
<p>Did you double check that you listed “3” as the number in college* on the FAFSA and CSS/Profile? *Only full-time undergraduate siblings 24 years or under qualify.</p>
<p>I believe we did list 3. They are all undergraduates 24 years and younger- 2 are HS seniors this year-</p>
<p>Our EFC has been 20,000 for the one that has been in college for two years now- Getting nervous that 3 colleges are going to tell us —EFC is 20,000 for each- SCARY!</p>
<p>Thanks for your help!</p>
<p>alamemom - I work for Uncle Sam overseas; we live in a rental house. We own a home in the states that we will move into when we return home. Do you know if USC considers the rental we are currently living in as our primary residence and the house in states (which we are renting out) as a secondary residence? Will we get dinged for our home in the states? Thanks for all your help.</p>
<p>Since you are renting the overseas home, there is no equity there to be considered. The home in the states *should be<a href=“in%20my%20opionion%20anyway”>/I</a> considered your primary residence and have the equity capped at 2 X your income. If they consider more than 2X your income of equity on the US home, that would be definitely worth writing a letter stating that it is your only home, that you will return to it when your contract is up and asking for an adjustment.</p>
<p>*Any rental income you receive on the US home while you are not living in it would be considered income and added to your earned income.</p>
<p>Thanks alamemom - we’re still waiting to hear from USC about fin. aid - nothing yet.</p>