<p>Does USC practice front-loading grants for students Freshman year?</p>
<p>Anecdotally that appeared to be the case for our family. We spent down assets each year, income remained stable and grants declined.</p>
<p>Stafford loan limits increase each year ($5,500 freshman year, $6,500 sophomore, $7,500 each junior and senior years), and if everything stays exactly the same, grants would decrease a corresponding amount. In addition, juniors and seniors are expected to be able to manage more hours of part-time employment than freshmen, so the student contribution increases a bit.</p>
<p>In our family’s case, our financial circumstance changed for the worse while our student was at USC, and grants increased significantly in years 2,3 & 4.</p>
<p>NOTE: Students who engage in unpaid research in the summer (such as through PURF) or in the school year and so are unable to work, can appeal their summer earnings expectation and student contribution. If you can document a legitimate research project that you are officially a part of, your appeal might result in a modest adjustment.</p>
<p>On this forum, people have had much larger chucks of the grant disappear without changes in income</p>
<p>Who has? I know there are some parents who had two in college and when one graduates, there is a BIG reduction in grants because the EFC is no longer split. As painful as it is, it is not unexpected. An increase in home equity could reduce grants - California has experienced a modest rebound in home values in the last year. An increase of $50,000 in home equity could trigger a $2,800 grant reduction, depending on total assets, for example. As frustrating as it is, being awarded a continuing student scholarship can also reduce grants because scholarships are considered a resource in financial aid calculations. A $3,000 continuing student scholarship would likely be offset by a $3,000 reduction in grants. I advise always asking if scholarships can be used to offset subsidized loans or work/study rather than grants - sometimes the request is granted (depending on the entire composition of your award v. your USC-determined need).</p>
<p>If there is a reduction in grants with absolutely no change in income or assets and which is greater than the increase in Stafford loans and student self-help, then the student should call USC financial aid and ask what triggered the change. USC financial aid is very forthcoming with information and explanations, and if an error has been made it can be identified and corrected.</p>
<p>About 4 years ago there was an across-the-board reduction in grants when USC increased their summer earnings expectation to align with what UCLA was expecting (about $3,000/summer). </p>
<p>Do you have information about a mysterious grant reduction? If you provide details perhaps the reason for the reduction can be determined and/or an error identified and corrected.</p>
<p>Sigh. Parents, and even the Trojan newspaper, has reported people who got a shock in subsequent years. Also students who’ve had to drop out because of it. It’s been an ongoing conversation on campus. So I think it is fair game for other parents to discuss their concerns and experience without being made to feel as if they don’t understand the system. Or asking for proof of this “mysterious” grant reduction. Every time a parent comes one to talk about their real life circumstances you slam it down even as you admit you’re not an expert on all things USC. </p>
<p>I think you could be more generous in your appraisals of the other parents assessments and comments on this public forum. Even when I spoke on another thread about the fact that three (3) different FA staff members as USC told me that the FA calculator online was inaccurate you came on to tell me I was wrong (even though it was wildly different in our case and that of other parents) you shot down the argument.</p>
<p>Certainly “some of us” have discussed the expected reduction in aid when a sibling graduates. But we’ve also heard other parents and students talk - legitimately - about wildly fluctuating aid even when there is not a huge change in financial circumstances. Getting some aid then being slammed into “no aid” is a big of a shock.</p>
<p>So I don’t think anyone here has anything they have to prove to you. I think a bit of empathy in this case might be a better course of action rather than demanding everyone document their comments in great (and personal) detail.</p>
<p>@Minnymom, I so sympathize. We’re still waiting but not optimistic. I know it’s possible to load up on Parent Plus loans but it’s so difficult to have to wait until mid summer to try to figure out how to balance funds for college. When I was on campus I read some articles in the Daily Trojan that suggests you aren’t alone in your distress. Several parents on the boards have reported they’ve transitioned to the “full pay” club.</p>
<p>Sigh. Once again the above poster has declared that alamemom is personally responsible for their choice to send their student to USC, and the resultant costs. Nope - I didn’t send your child to USC, nor did I calculate your aid package.</p>
<p>YOU ARE CORRECT, poster, that this is a PUBLIC forum and therefore, I have EVERY RIGHT to post my thoughts. If you are suggesting that I do not have a right to post, then you are in violation of the terms of service of this site. </p>
<p>Again, if the OP has concerns about a grant reduction, they would be smart to try to figure it out, and I would be happy to lend a hand. </p>
<p>I have seen several people talk about it on this forum, I was wondering if it is a common occurrence. </p>
<p>Aid packages are recalculated every year, so they will respond to changes in income, assets (such as an increase in home/real estate values) and number of undergraduates in college. As I said, if you call the financial aid office, they can help you understand any changes you see - they are very forthcoming and helpful. If a continuing student sees a significant change in their aid package and they don’t know why, they should immediately call to see if it was one of the reasons listed above or if there was an error.</p>
<p>In other words, changes in your aid package are as common as changes in a family’s income, assets and number of undergraduates. Those changes may be up or down.</p>
<p>As I said earlier, I can verify for you that my student’s grants increased in years 2, 3 and 4. </p>
<p>I am always troubled when doom-type posts appear on any anonymous board like CC that give vague anecdotal references without links to specific cases. Even with links, however, this is an anonymous board. I have found–without variance–that those I know personally who have felt unhappy about downward FA awards have, indeed, had some changes in circumstances. They feel horribly upset, of course. Who wouldn’t? But there has always been a reason, and when we see on CC a poster who has a real “huh?” reaction, the simple answer is to talk to the FA office. I have never seen a poster come back and say: yep, nothing at all changed and they just arbitrarily gave us less $$ in grants this year. Never seen it. And I do know of students who do not return to USC when their FA suddenly changes. Did they have a sibling leave college? Did their parents business take off? Did a mom remarry? Were other assets added? This is very personal information and I’m not sure any of us have a right to get those specific details. But, as a rule, the few posters who come on to rage that their FA was lowered, either come back to say–well, they took into account some additional “facts,” or simply do not report back here. I object to those who want to blame USC FA for playing unfairly. I don’t believe they are guilty of that. Why would they want the bad publicity?? It would be way worse to bait and switch (on the school’s reputation, on their credibility, etc) than to simply offer less to begin with. So I’m just not buying into the panic and anguish (and that is certainly real) of unhappy parents who see their FA dry up when their circumstances significantly change. </p>
<p>Do you think I’m on USC’s payroll? I most certainly am not. But I live in an area where many students to to USC using FA and scholarships. I know many parents who are full pay as well as many more whose students get FA and I am not naive. Yet I have seen/heard nothing to make me believe USC is trying to play dirty with their FA. As Alamemom noted above, there are many reasons the grants may decrease–including a student getting a continuing scholarship, the Fed loans that increase each year, and more dramatically, changes in a family’s reported income, property value, assets, marital situation and sibling(s) in college. I’ve also seen a family with an EFC of $50,000 with one student at USC (no grants) suddenly receive about $40K in grants the year their second child began college (at another school). Perhaps those stories are not crowed about as loudly?</p>
<p>Anyway, I do share in the fear and misery of trying to afford college and understand the worry expressed in many posts. I have not seen any evidence that USC makes arbitrary cuts in grant aid.</p>
<p>Those of us who have students currently at USC are every bit as qualified to make statements on this public forum as the old timers. I’ve resisted joining this thread because of the feeling that any statements I make will be automatically discounted, perhaps by the same person who once claimed ownership (against the terms of service) over a thread in this section. </p>
<p>It’s not mysterious. All one has to do is read the threads and comments made by parents to know that there can be inconsistencies. Just because it is anonymous here does not mean people are making it up.</p>
<p>For 2013-14, in our case the USC FA office made some mistakes and wrong assumptions and ignored some pertinent documents. It happens, especially if you have a more complicated tax situation. It took months to get through the red tape and by the time the situation was addressed, the first-semester bill was due. Grant money that had been removed was replaced in part with a Perkins loan. For the coming year, although my income went down substantially, the Perkins is gone (that should tell you something about what went on the year before). Thankfully however the grant level is approximately back to where it was in 2012 although my income in real terms has gone down and tuition has gone up.</p>
<p>Good information - it is very useful to hear how others got through the complicated maze of financial aid. Yes, as mentioned my post and madbean’s post above, if students see an inconstancy in their aid, they should immediately contact USC to inquire about it - if it isn’t due to the many possible reasons listed earlier in the thread it could be, as mentioned in my earlier post, an error. If it is an error, USC will correct it - though it is unfortunate it took so long in the above case. If others find themselves in a similar position, one strategy is to sign up for the payment plan <a href=“Student Financial Services”>Student Financial Services; which divides the semester bill into 5 payments. That can help tremendously.</p>
<p>As madbean mentions in her post, the above post supports what she and I have observed on the forum - once the changes are ;looked into, the reasons become apparent and/or an error is corrected. USC’s financial aid office is very forthcoming and will spend time listening to your concerns and do their best to address them.</p>
<hr>
<p>To the poster above: Yes, everyone’s perspective is welcomed and I do recall that the above poster and another poster made repeated personal attacks and insults against me on that other thread, including placing “blame” upon me for everything they felt was wrong with financial aid. It got to the point where I chose not to continue to provide responses on that thread as the intent of the thread - to provide information about the financial aid process at USC - had been obliterated by pages of posts about how awful financial aid was for “the middle class.” Despite my repeated requests for those two posters to start new threads focusing on their concerns, they chose to continue. That was their choice, and I left them to it - so I suppose “congratulations” are in order for ArtsandLetters and Snowdog. Those who frequent the USC forum can thank the two of them for forcing that scourge of the forum, alamemom, off of the Financial Aid FAQ. CONGRATS!!! </p>
<p>I don’t wish to comment on whether or not USC front-loads grants, but I do think it is important to note that grants are NOT guaranteed every year so when looking at financial aid and considering a university make sure that a school is still affordable for following years without the grant.<br>
So many families are working really hard to afford schools such as USC that are easy for the rich (they can afford it) and the poor (they get money that covers everything and its brother), but so hard for families caught in the middle. I feel your pain and pray that opportunities for our children will prove enriching and happy in the long run without being too much of a financial burden.</p>
<p>With regard to our situation last year - it was not fully addressed. Either the available grant money was gone by the time I was able to get the FA appeal through, or something else, but a small piece of the grant was restored and a much larger piece replaced with the Perkins loan. Although I was grateful to have the Perkins, I would have been more grateful if USC FA officers had read the file correctly, as well as the CSS Profile correction that arrived there in January, the first time. </p>
<p>It really is okay to have dissenting views. We are all grownups here.</p>
<p>Amen, @Snowdog. Very well said! :-)</p>
<p>I actually concur with @Snowdog as well, I hesitate to jump in on certain topics because of the same reason. When comments are made, particularly by those in the unfortunate middle, they are frequently accused/made to feel that they are ungrateful to be at USC. That’s a shame since they are the ones funding many students that aren’t paying for whatever reason. I think supporting and respecting everyone’s position in a positive manner would be best while enriching the forum with more varied and useful information for a broader audience.</p>
<p>I wonder if the OP’s question speaks to a broader misinterpretation of a USC "grant? While many universities provide large pools of renewable grants in the form of merit aid tied to test scores and/or grades - USC provides only a small number relative to the size of the campus. Everyone else receives need based aid that fluctuates from year to year. Sometimes it is predictable - such as when a sibling enters or leaves college. Sometimes it is not. So the question about “front-loading” may really imply the grant was a scholarship - which is really isn’t. We know a lot of middle class families (including some whose financial situation seems to indicate more aid) who got very little relative to their need.</p>
<p>And I wonder about the peculiar tendency of looking at retirement contributions. I know of at least one person who had to raid her retirement to pay for USC. One college told me retirement contributions are now considered voluntary despite the age of the parent and proximity to retirement age. So that means that not contributing to a company fund means you not only are taxed on the income and don’t have it for later, but you lose the company match as well. So forgoing a $10,000 contribution, for instance means losing an additional $5,000 from the corporation and - worse - increases your taxable income. Years ago colleges would only consider a portion of retirement (if at all) now it seems to be all of it.</p>
<p>Honestly - the way I look at it is that USC has a mission and is very upfront that it considers itself a network. But in the process, USC also knows it has more applicants than it has space for and even as it rejects more than 80% of them, nearly half of all the students who received offers will turn them down – I often wonder if it is due to finances relative to other college packages. Those who do enroll pretty much buy into the idea that they’re paying to be part of USC’s exclusive network. The system - from USC’s perspective - is not broken - so why fix it? They have more than enough takers at any price it seems.</p>
<p>But from a parent perspective it’s a question of affordability, accessibility and upfront disclosure. They don’t tell you that the financial aid calculator online doesn’t always match the award. So parents may be lulled into thinking the USC grant will be larger than it is. Also, it’s not very transparent for new parents that its calculations don’t match Fafsa even though it is required. So our USC EFC, for instance, for one child was twice the FAFSA EFC for both children combined. My oldest daughter’s college (also private) matched the FAFSA EFC. USC did not. There was no discrepancy on finances as that form also asks about assets, home equity and retirement contributions. Even on the final financial aid tab where USC helps parents calculate - the monthly payment figure shown if the parents take out a Plus Loan (including the years to pay it off) is not the same as what the Plus Loan actually assigns. So yes - for some the system works out. For others - it’s a bit glitchy and it is IMPORTANT for us to talk about those things here for parents who have no wiggle room in their budgets. We did. Many don’t. </p>
<p>Why is that such a bad thing to talk about? Why is there such insistence that the parent MUST have made a mistake if their aid is lower when others are saying that isn’t the case. It’s a bit disingenuous to attack parents who have concerns because someone else’s experience was rosier.</p>
<p>My D was heartbroken to have made so many friends on the admitted students Facebook page - even going so far as to start arranging roommates and joint activities - only to see many of the students announce they have to decline because of affordability. I was saddened to read in the Daily Trojan a year ago about the young woman whose aid dropped significant enough for her to have to drop out. Parents struggling in the economy who may have taken a hit on their credit ratings have no access to Parent Plus loans. And students can’t borrow enough to cover the load. </p>
<p>So the best way to characterize USC is that it is expensive. And even with merit awards that give partial tuition it is still expensive in a city where the cost of living in general is expensive. But I do think USC could make its process a bit more transparent for those parents who can’t afford to travel to L.A. for a sit-down meeting. And I also think it could be better in its communication with parents who have continuing students. Waiting until the summer given the early deadline for submitted paperwork makes it hard for parents to know how to plan. </p>
<p>I don’t feel like there is anything malicious in the way USC administers financial aid. I don’t think there is any intention to bait and switch. What is undeniable is that USC is a large university with many financial aid applicants, and the process is opaque. It is difficult to get information on what is counted and how. </p>
<p>Also I think, and this is just an observation for which I have no data other than my own experience, that USC has started to tighten up on need-based aid. Its reputation for generosity created expectations that are now, in large part, unrealistic. An AGI that will result in a near-zero parental contribution at some Ivies (e.g., around $60k) will be a 5-figure bill at USC. That’s fine, USC can do what it wants, but applicants need to go in with their eyes open.</p>
<p>I agree, @snowdog. I’m not slamming USC in any way - although it is sometimes hard to read tone and intent on a discussion board. </p>
<p>I would just hope that they could be as transparent in their online calculations and communications with parents as they are after the fact. I would encourage new parents to call and have these conversations before the process (during campus visits) and after acceptance to fully understand what the award will mean over four years. </p>
<p>We’re all in as a family - but my heart goes out to those who can’t make that initial hurdle but relied on the calculator and the sound bites to expect more than will likely be offered. Eyes wide open is a good description.</p>