Your (Financial Aid) Questions: Answered!



This has been great to hear from therefore many excited admitted students, but we know that numerous families still have actually lingering financial aid questions. We thought it might be helpful to compile a list of the common questions we have obtained and have the workplace of school funding respond. Please see the post below for answers to common questions you may have about school funding at USC:

Why is the EFC based on USC different than the EFC reported on FAFSA?

The information you provided on the FAFSA is used to calculate eligibility for federal pupil aid (including Pell Grant, Stafford Direct and Perkins Loans, and Federal Work-Study), using a formula known as Federal Methodology (FM). FM takes into consideration:

• Total income (taxable and nontaxable).
• Asset equity (not such as the family members’s house and/or business or farm, if your family is a majority owner with less than 100 employees).
• Allowances for basic bills and retirement.
• Family size and quantity of children in college.

Eligibility for university grant funding and other college aid that is need-based determined by firmly taking into account the excess data provided on your CSS PROFILE, federal income tax information and other supporting papers, using a formula referred to as Institutional Methodology (IM). This formula may include some sources of untaxed earnings in addition to home and business or farm equity. In addition, certain other allowances and adjustments may be viewed which the FAFSA does not. Using this information permits us to more accurately determine a family group’s financial strength so that you can circulate university-funded grants that are need-based equitably as you can.

Your FAFSA EFC determines the sort and amount of federal student help you meet the criteria for, even though the IM EFC determines the quantity and form of university need-based financial aid you will be awarded.

What if my family can’t manage the EFC?

Keep in mind that the EFC isn’t bill however a measure of your ability to contribute to the cost of degree, based on your family’s financial energy. Your price, or family share, depends on your own actual price of attendance minus any monetary aid received. The family contribution is intended to be paid through a combination of sources including current earnings, college or other savings, and/or longer-term financing such as for instance parent and student loans.

Besides finding approaches to reduce costs, families may give consideration to these solutions at USC:

• The USC Payment Plan is an interest-free installment plan that allows the family to pay all or perhaps a part of the student’s university charges each semester in five equal month-to-month payments for the $50 fee/semester.

• The Federal PLUS Loan program and private loan program(s) enable families to spread the fee of education over years.

Many families make use of combination of the USC Payment Plan and the Federal PLUS Loan to simply help cover the price of attendance. We encourage families to evaluate their short- and resources that are long-term develop a plan that works best for their situation.

Families ought to borrow because conservatively as possible. Students and parents should exhaust all federal help available, including the Federal Direct Stafford Loan and the Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan, before considering an exclusive student loan program, as the credit and payment terms of federal loan programs may be more favorable compared to those for private loan programs.

Using personal student loan programs to pay for the fee may result in the pupil dealing with an unrealistic and ultimately unmanageable debt load. For students who choose to apply for private loans, applying with a credit-worthy co-borrower increases the chance of qualifying and can lower the interest rate.

Although some loans are deferred, parents should give consideration to interest that is making while the student is in school, if at all possible, to reduce the entire cost of borrowing.
Finally, that you believe was not taken into consideration when determining your EFC, please be sure to let us know by submitting an appeal if you have a special circumstance.

What if I don’t qualify for financial aid but can not afford to send my child to USC?

Irrespective of financial need, all students are entitled to Unsubsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loans. File a FAFSA to figure out simply how much your student can receive.

We also encourage families who do not qualify for need-based school funding to think about these choices provided by the college:

• The USC Payment Plan is an interest-free installment plan that allows the family to pay all or perhaps a portion of the student’s university charges each semester in five equal monthly premiums for the $50 fee/semester.

• The Federal PLUS Loan program and personal loan programs enable families to spread the price of education over years.

Can we stack scholarships?

If you’re not an aid that is financial, merit-based scholarships may be stacked. Please be aware that if you receive awards that can just only be employed to purchase tuition, the total quantity of one’s awards might not surpass the price of tuition for the year. You need to refer to the scholarship guide that you received for details on how scholarships may be combined.

Whenever coordinating scholarships with financial aid, our office makes every attempt to preserve any university that is need-based you might have been awarded. A new merit scholarship received after your initial financial aid award will reduce the amounts of Federal Work-Study and federal loans you receive in most cases. The total aid that is financial may also increase, allowing your Stafford Loan to help utilizing the family contribution. In some cases, however, the university grant that is need-based be paid off because the total amount of gift aid exceeds the determined need.

Who is eligible for work-study and exactly how much can they receive?

To be eligible for Federal Work-Study, you must have a USC-determined financial need. In addition, you need to have met all application deadlines, be described as https://shmoop.pro/ a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen and enroll for the quantity of units your educational funding award was based on. New first-year students whom meet these qualifications may receive up to $2,500 in work-study.

If you do not receive work-study funds, you can still work with campus. Numerous on-campus employers will hire pupils who do maybe not have work-study. You will find jobs on campus through the ‘ConnectSC’ portal on the USC Career Center site.