<p>I just found out that USC's financial aid policy makes it so that if you get extra scholarships, it will eventually subtract from the grant aid they're giving you. This is ridiculous, and it's sad that I've found out so late.</p>
<p>Is there anything that can be done?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>The key term is "eventually". You should ask them what the priority is on financial aid. If you get an outside scholarship it is best if the school takes other financial aid away in the following order:</p>
<p>1) parents PLUS loans
2) Direct non-subsideized loans
3) Federally subsidized loans, i.e. Stafford loans
4) Merit aid</p>
<p>What they can not do is allow you to have scholarships that total more than the cost to attend . . . then that would be income.</p>
<p>One year I had success at getting them to subtract from my work-study award instead. I explained to them that I would not be able to use it anyway, due to my already holding down a job that paid twice as much as work-study, and that pay having been factored into my estimated contribution. So after explaining to them that if I took the work study, I would have to file a 'change of circumstance' form because of my reduced pay, and then I would be eligible for an additional 8k in financial aid, they saw the light and took off of my work-study award instead. I've never heard of anyone else being sucessful at convincing them at this though, sorry.</p>
<p>Eagle- USC has its own priority list. I don't remember the rest of the order, but I'm pretty sure Pell Grants are at the top as the first thing taken away. I really had to put up a fight to hold onto mine.</p>
<p>Yeah . . . I forgot work-study. That would slot in after parents PLUS loans. Probably between unsubsidized and subsidized loans.</p>