<p>nolanola, they “decide to give you” the amount for which you qualify using USC’s calculation, not another school’s. I am sure you aware that there are a few top Ivys which are known for giving financial aid at higher levels than the rest of the colleges. My question to you is, if the costs were the same would you choose to attend USC?</p>
<p>@nolanola and others facing higher EFC at USC than other universities: I have read several threads about this and gone through the USC FA process, and it is clear that USC uses its own formula for determining need. For some people that means paying more to attend USC than other universities. This is why it’s important to apply to several universities, and the hope is that those of us in that situation have other offers to compare to USC. Just because a student gets a certain package at one university there is no guarantee that a similar package will be offered elsewhere. And like other universities, USC decides to award its scholarships to certain students. At the same time, I don’t want to let USC off the hook because at least in some cases it appears to be using formulas and taking in factors that other FA offices do not. And thus there needs to be a corrective to the buzz that USC is generous with FA. Yes it is, for some people. Other students, however, may face a higher EFC at USC.</p>
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<p>Copterguy, as I have posted on this forum over and over, and as is stated clearly on the USC website, the FAFSA EFC is used ONLY to distribute Federal aid at USC and at other universities that use the CSS/Profile. USC uses the CSS/Profile to distribute USC grants and your FAFSA EFC has nothing, NOTHING, to do with that calculation.</p>
<p>USC, and other universities that use the CSS/Profile, consider assets the FAFSA does not such as home equity. In addition, if applicants qualified for the “Simplified Needs Test” and were able to avoid listing their assets on the FAFSA, those assets MUST be listed on the CSS/Profile and will be considered in calculating aid.</p>
<p>USC applies their formula across-the-board. They do not apply different calculations to different students. They do not use preferential packaging with their need-based aid. They do not package “Parent PLUS loans” as part of the need-based aid (though parents are eligible for those loans if they want them). For those who have educated themselves on the financial aid process the package is not a surprise.</p>
<p>If you call and ask what factors went onto calculating your USC-determined need they will tell you.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/839970-faq-usc-financial-aid-2010-a.html?highlight=faq+usc+financial+aid[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/839970-faq-usc-financial-aid-2010-a.html?highlight=faq+usc+financial+aid</a></p>
<p>And, once again, the FAFSA EFC is ONLY used to distribute Federal aid at USC and other schools that use the CSS/Profile. USC grants are distributed based on the information in the CSS/Profile, NOT THE FAFSA.</p>
<p>The CSS/Profile does NOT generate an EFC. Each of the over 300 schools that use it have their own formula.</p>
<p>Copter guy is on the right track though. Basically colleges can do whatever they want. the term EFC is just that what THEY expect YOU to pay. They in every case…means the school. It’s in some ways…a sellers market…that is little if any negotiation can happen. They name their price. That’s why my daughter is still considering two others schools. She’s weighing the financial packages offered at the others…and of course the academics, and intangibles. The reason we (self included) get upset is that we have zero control, and due to the large volume of customers (potential students) and few customer service reps (admissions people)…it feels like we’re getting dumped on. And, to a certain extent we are. That said, it’s caveat emptor…we can shop wherever we like…and make our final purchase as we see fit. It only makes it a little less frustrating…but it is LESS frustrating when we finally accept that there is a) not the best logic put into these acceptances and financial packages b) very little we can do about it. I’m not telling you all not to investigate and complain. Just steeling you for the battle.</p>
<p>Those who have educated themselves in advance about college costs are not surprised about their financial aid packages. USC’s financial aid website and the book “Paying for College Without Going Broke” have been available to you since your children were in diapers, and my FAQ thread with all of this information has been up on College Confidential since 2009.</p>
<p>Those who have educated themselves in advance know to apply to FAFSA-only schools if they qualify for the Simplified Needs test and are shielding significant assets.</p>
<p>Those who have educated themselves in advance know that schools that use the CSS/Profile consider home equity in calculating packages.</p>
<p>Those who have educated themselves in advance know which schools cap home equity and which do not.</p>
<p>Those who have educated themselves in advance know that financial aid calculations do not ignore savings the parents have “earmarked” for another purpose - only funds in a designated retirement account are shielded.</p>
<p>Those who have educated themselves in advance know that schools that use the CSS/Profile distribute instituional aid with calculations from that form, not the FAFSA.</p>
<p>Those who have educated themselves in advance do not start shopping around only after all the acceptances have arrived. </p>
<p>Those who have educated themselves in advance have assisted their children in finding several schools with automatic scholarships for their qualifications as financial safeties.</p>
<p>Those who have educated themsleves in advance have discussed with their children all of the information they have gathered, the maximum amount they are willing to contribute to the child’s education, and that the child must have a list of schools - including financial safeties - that they love and are willing to attend. No “dream schools.”</p>
<p>Those who have educated themselves in the past know the purpose of *need-based *financial aid. It is NOT meant to make college “affordable” or “easy” or allow you to keep you savings safely in the bank. It is meant to make college, with sacrifice and scrimping and just barely, POSSIBLE.</p>
<p>Those who have educated themsleves in advance do not blame schools that use a predictable and across-the-board finaancial aid calculation when that calculation is more than they want to pay.</p>
<p>Yup. Everything Alamemom is exactly spot on. All of this is knowable in advance. To those that are just discovering it now…I’m sorry. Hope that the little dose of “you couldn’t have altered how they do it anyway”…is at least some consolation. That said, if you don’t have options planned out…then that has to be frustrating or worse. But take heart. In a worst case scenario, you or your offspring can start over for Spring, or next year’s admission. If you really can’t make it work this year…talk to an expert like Alamemom and see what your options might be by waiting, and exploring a few more and different schools.</p>
<p>@alamemom. You do a great job of helping people on these boards, and you have answered one of my questions in the past, and I thank you for it and do not want to get into a big spat on cc with you. But in my experience I have seen FA packages from several other top-50 private universities, and the others are all within the same ballpark – except for USC. It’s not about FAFSA but about packages coming out of private universities that use the CSS/Profile. I have the same home equity for those other universities and the same savings, etc. And I don’t have any fancy investments, a second property, or complicated financial situations. But the FA award at USC is about $10K lower than at the other universities, and thus the contribution is $10K higher. Other people have posted similar experiences. And this particular discussion started with someone who has an offer from Harvard for half the cost of USC.</p>
<p>This matter is not about educating yourself about financial aid – it’s about USC IN SOME CASES offering less FA than other universities after reviewing the same financial information. I’m not complaining and not surprised – USC can determine how it wants to award its financial aid. This is not an attack – USC is an excellent university and I have no love for UCLA. 
I’m just sharing this experience as others do on cc.</p>
<p>this is anecdotal evidence but i found that USC gave me significantly more aid than emory, pepperdine, and occidental back when i applied.</p>
<p>Coperguy, yes I remember the thread on which I responded to your question. You indicated you did not feel USC had a right to ask you for an income/expense statement. You also stated that your income was “more than enough” to meet your expenses, which indicates to me that perhaps USC looked more closely than other schools at your resources. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1093944-expense-income-report-form.html#post12063135[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1093944-expense-income-report-form.html#post12063135</a></p>
<p>As far as a “spat,” I am not engaging in one. I do, however, correct misinformation about USC financial aid when it appears on this forum and I will continue to do so.
No, is has nothing to do with other universities. It is about USC using a uniform calculation for all their applicants. They are under no obligation to “match” the awards of other schools, they are under no obligation to use the same calculations as other schools, and they are under no obligation to limit themselves only to the information presented to other schools.</p>
<p>But in my experience – and it’s anecdotal like josebiwasabi’s – USC did offer less financial aid than other universities. That’s not an error. It’s a fact. Out of several top private universities, two of them comparable or more prestigious and another a bit less prestigious, USC offered about $10K less than the others. It’s a point of comparison based on experience, and others have posted similar experiences, which leads me to conclude that IN SOME CASES (such as mine) USC offers less FA than other universities.</p>
<p>As far as the expense and income report, yes, that requested a monthly budget of expenses and income. So USC did look closer, but I don’t know what they found. I said I can meet current living expenses, but for my son to go to USC under the current offer we would have to go into a combined $60K in debt on top of substantial annual payments. So then it does become about other universities and other options. </p>
<p>We’re talking about comparisons. Universities recruit students and try to draw the best possible pool of applicants, plus an extra 10-20,000 so they can lower the admission rate. Either through reputation or merit aid, they try to draw the best possible students. They also use FA to help people who cannot pay the full (inflated) cost. And then for students and their families it’s all about finding the best (most appropriate) university at the best price given their financial constraints. NO ONE is under any obligation. </p>
<p>But I have work to do, so for now I will end by echoing Mitch and concur that everything alamemom says is absolutely correct and I would give her a strong recommendation for a job with USC’s PR department. :)</p>
<p>Rec’d D’s fin aid pkg. (Haven’t gotten an email yet, I was just checking USConnect and it was posted) I will say that it is not what I was hoping for, but it could be worse. D was given around $20k in USC grants which is truly appreciated. The rest of the equation is $5500 of loans, $2500 work study & $30k family contribution. </p>
<p>I noticed that USC’s estimated COA ($58,026) only allots $580 for travel, which, for us is not realistic because D would fly to/from midwest several times/ yr so I am adding an additional $2000 to the COA for us. </p>
<p>Anyone know how much students can/do earn each year in work study? Would they need to contribute 100% of their earnings towards COA or can/do they earn more than $2500/ yr?</p>
<p>Forgodsake it goes up everytime someone posts…or USC hits “publish”. Last year it started around $51, then i saw $52, then $55, now $58. why don’t we make it an even $60…and have it be higher than all the ivy’s?</p>
<p>Second. Copter guy really nails it with his point that it is an open market regarding cost, and financial aid and merit. It’s totally up to the schools. Alamemom is right that in one sense it’s not about whether USC is fair with regard to other schools…it’s about whether or not they are consistent within their applicants. My guess is that they are. That said…my D is getting a 1/2 ride offer an an excellent school…and yet wants to consider USC at so far “no merit no need based…nothing.” Why would she make such a comparison? Well…academics…available programs…campus…location…etc. Is she a fool? Some would say yes…others no…others “it depends”. If she believes that the LA area, and the USC network in the end can make that much difference…and that she wants to eventually live/work in Calif. then maybe it will more than pay itself back. $80k over a 35 year career? It’s the open market. No one is “good or bad” it’s just what is. And USC will lose many qualified candidates by underbidding. But they may also get just exactly the candidates they want. It’s their call (frustrating as it may be for us).</p>
<p>I have a friend who rounds everything to $60k, and honestly it makes sense. Anyway, USC’s official cost is right at $58 for the first year. [USC</a> Financial Aid - Applying & Receiving Financial Aid - Undergraduate - Costs](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/applying_receiving/undergraduates2/costs.html]USC”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/applying_receiving/undergraduates2/costs.html)</p>
<p>Hey everyone, just a little heads up if anyone else is considering using this excuse in an appeal:</p>
<p>It would be very unlikely getting a financial aid appeal to be successful based on decrease in income based on overtime. I brought up my situation to the financial aid office today and was told that thanks to some wonderful people in the past, USC can’t trust claims based on decrease in income due to availability of overtime. Also, decrease in income would have to be around 20% in order for them to take a look at it.</p>
<p>btw, does anyone know how much a second mortgage would impact a financial aid appeal? I know they are taken into account, but how big is their influence? Especially with a high home equity (the number still owed on the home, right?).</p>
<p>All mortages held against a home are considered in figuring home equity and they should have been included in the amount listed as owed on the home on your CSS/Profile. Double-check to see if it was included and if not be sure to correct the CSS/Profile (print out your copy, cross out the incorrect info and fill in the correct info) and FAX it to financial aid. That isn’t an appeal, it is a correction.</p>
<p>Yes, as I mentioned when I replied to you earlier, current-year income reduction is not generally considered.</p>
<p>is it true that we have to wait for an email or our package in incomplete?? I know that USC doesnt use fafsa/other college’s info but just to get an idea of my financial situation…i only have an efc of around 25k and i got some aid from other schools but i was given NO aid at usc. All it says is I have a total of 5500 in federal loans. this doesnt seem right because they didn’t even offer me enough in loans to go there. and if this is my full package, is it too late to appeal/would it even really help? i’ll be devastated if i can’t attend due to a poor financial package.</p>
<p>rosyhours, If the package you receive does not make it possible for you to attend, you can appeal at any time - the worst they can do is say “no.”</p>
<p>Re: Loans. The $5,500 Stafford in the maximum loan offered to freshmen students, but because you filled out the FAFSA, your parents are eligible to apply for Parent PLUS loans up to the cost of attendance. USC does not include them in the need-based package (as many other schools do) because they - simply put - are not “need-based” aid, they are meant to help with the family’s expected contribution. Contact the USC financial aid office and they will guide you on the application process.</p>
<p>I glanced at a few of your previous posts, and from what I can gather you live with a single parent and your FAFSA EFC considering only that parent is $25,000. You are aware that the CSS/Profile considers other assets that the FAFSA does not and that the expected contribution at USC is likely to be more than the FAFSA EFC. I am wondering if you were asked to complete an income/expense form - it may be that USC noted your expenses were a bit more than the single parent income could cover and were wondering if you receive significant support from your non-custodial parent. If so, USC would expect that the non-custodial parent would continue to contribute.</p>
<p>In addition, I noted that you applied to several UCs as an out of state applicant. When posters mentioned that the UC would cost ~$50,000/year and that you would receive little in financial aid regardless of EFC as an oos, you responded that it was very expensive, but that your supportive parents were willing to take on that cost and it wouldn’t be a problem for you. The reason I bring this up is that if it is that simple for someone on an anonymous chat forum to discover that you have financial resources upon which you can draw for college costs of ~$50,000/year, it is very likely that a university with your tax returns, the CSS/Profile, FAFSA and possibly an income/expense form to consult has made that same discovery :)</p>
<p>So yes, you can appeal and yes, PLUS loans are certainly available to your parent(s) to finance the cost of USC (though they must qualify for the loans - the qualification is a bit easier than for typical loans of that amount, but there still will be a threshold in terms of income). Do you have other lower-cost options available? $50,000/year in loans for undergraduate would be a very heavy burden, especially since you hope to continue on to medical school. I noted that in your previous posts you had dismissed the idea of your in-state publics - did you apply to a few anyway as financial safeties?</p>
<p>I am one of those “uneducated” souls that alamemom was referring to when it comes to financial aid. We just received my son’s FA package. Yes, it was lower than expected but I’m not surprised. Since he did not receive one of the scholarships, we were hoping for the FA package just received to have a little more offered in the way of grant money. Admittedly, that’s probably confusing merit aid with need-based aid. What surprised me the most is that Berkeley and UCLA offered my son four times more in NON-loan and/or work study money than USC.</p>
<p>^ Yes, FAFSA-only schools like the UCs don’t consider those other assets I am always droning on about, so for families with lots of home equity finding FAFSA-only schools to apply to is a very good idea.</p>
<p>For instate, the difference with the UC is even greater, because the instate discount amounts to a $20,000/year “scholarship” when compared to a private school.</p>
<p>UCLA and Berkeley are wondeful choices, and with the instate discount + the nice financial aid package, they look pretty irresistable. (But I’d rather have you here! )</p>
<p>Rosyhours, the same thing happened to me! We have an efc
Of around 20k and an income of 60k. I couldn’t figure out why it was taking so long to get my award and we called yesterday only to find out that they stopped processing me march 30 for some mysterious reason. Then I woke up this morning to find 5500 in loans. That only gives my family 8000 to live off of if they paid my tuition… Obviously not an option. What do we do?</p>