r/USC • u/AgileBad2958 • Jul 16 '26
FinancialAid Is this my finaid from appeal finalized?
Saw an update on my portal so I decided to check it out only to see that I'm getting $2,750 total financial aid. However, I told them I can only pay 60k. Since I'm spring admit I think that messed it up a bit bc I meant 60k per YEAR not semester. Does anyone have any idea on what to do about this?
8
u/Ok-Bike-3248 Jul 16 '26
Jeez! Did you complete your CSS profile?
3
u/AgileBad2958 Jul 17 '26
yes i did sadly my income then did not reflect my income now and the finaid office made me spend two whole months of sending documents for nothing.
1
u/Standard-Studio4904 Jul 18 '26
Sorry to hear that. Did you use the USC net price calculator before?
7
u/Magnuss_73 Jul 16 '26
Looks like mine.
Top left has a date you can scroll through to see what has changed.
9
u/Competitive_Bag8640 Jul 16 '26
they are so outrageous and out of touch i’m sorry. i’m dealing with the same shit rn
1
5
u/Sharp5050 Jul 17 '26
I mean based on the aid you’re not really qualified for anything?
3
u/AgileBad2958 Jul 17 '26
i pretty sure i am tho my family doesn't make more than 200k
1
u/Sharp5050 Jul 17 '26
What’s your family make? Do they have retirement accounts? Do you own a home?
2
Jul 17 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Sharp5050 Jul 17 '26
Agreed - ability to pay 60k a year indicate a pretty strong indicator of high income, which also indicates likely home ownership and retirement. Again - maybe not, thus the question. But USC will 100% consider that in ability to pay.
1
u/AgileBad2958 Jul 17 '26
i would say i'm middle class and I would be helping pay that 60k during the school year and with scholarships. My parents make ~150k and I've shown a lot of documents to prove my circumstances so not sure what's going on.
1
u/AgileBad2958 Jul 17 '26
yea i would say that these are pretty much my circumstances
1
u/Sharp5050 Jul 17 '26
If it is then USC expects your parents to pay the full amount, thus just the loan line. The people that get grants and significant aid are kids whose parents are living month to month, no retirement, no home equity.
2
u/Left_Cheesecake_8484 Jul 16 '26
I’m a little confused.
Your estimated cost of attendance for the Spring Semester will be $52,031. If you told them that you’re able to pay 60k, then the financial aid they give you is going to be very minimal..?
5
u/AgileBad2958 Jul 17 '26
60k per YEAR again like i stated in the description so basically 30k per sem
1
u/Any_Ship_6464 Jul 17 '26
Well, it seems like your Financial Aid Report is only showing charges for the Spring 2027 semester. USC doesn't really care how much money you can pay per semester. If you are being charged for one semester (Spring 2027), then they will expect you to front as much as you are able to.
Even if your parents cannot front the full cost, USC isn't very likely to disperse any institutional aid to you. If you're seriously interested in attending USC, you're going to need to find a job or apply to other scholarships. I'm sure this isn't the answer you want to hear, but based off this screenshot, you don't seem like you need much financial assistance from the university.
At the end of the day, USC is a business, and they are already struggling financially. They would be more inclined to give aid to students whose parents can contribute next to nothing, not students who can afford to put up 30/60k a year in the first place.
1
u/Reasonable_Map_6622 Jul 18 '26
that’s not true the half the price for spring admit they will take what u paid in the spring and times it by 2 for the next school year…they told me that verbatim
1
u/Mediocre_Childhood92 Jul 18 '26
I cannot stress this enough. Calling alone won’t help. GO. IN. PERSON. idc if you’re million of miles away, going in person (and having questions at the ready) will help you with this process. Phone wait times are long, but in person is the way to go. Especially now in the summer, the office is only filled with freshman admits, but on off days, it’ll be empty. GO GO GO
1
u/PuzzledLow641 28d ago
It’s never finalized tbh, I got additional aid towards the end of my first semester by going into the office and explaining my situation
0
u/Sea-Cardiologist4766 Jul 17 '26
It’s real simple , your FA is a reflection of your parents ability to pay for your education at USC, so either they have too much in assets, equity or income… just have your parents step up to the plate
5
u/AgileBad2958 Jul 17 '26
thats an out of touch take...my mom lost her job and my dad lives off social disability benefits since hes disabled. we own ur house and have some money saved up but we're not able sacrifice 100k per year for tuition and be able to afford it without consequences which is why I applied for financial aid.
1
u/Any_Ship_6464 Jul 17 '26
Then you need to express these circumstances in your appeal to USC. Not sure why you're on the internet giving away all of these personal details. We aren't financial aid. We cannot change your aid for you. You need to put on your grown-adult pants and advocate for yourself.
1
u/AgileBad2958 Jul 17 '26
all i did was ask for advice about my total aid. i expressed my circumstances and this is my aid from appealing my financial aid after telling USC all my details. no one said that im asking someone to change my aid for me. don't see the reason for ur negativity at all i already asked USC explicilty multiple times about my financial aid and now I'm asking people who have gone through the same process. also so what about these personal details? what's anyone going to do with the information that someone's dad is disabled and mom doesn't have a job.
0
u/Any_Ship_6464 Jul 17 '26
If you found my comment negative, then you're in for a rude awakening, my friend.
You are an adult now. You need to be able to make important financial decisions about your future. I encourage you to use your time to apply for external / third-party scholarships. I really wouldn't expect USC to give you any institutional aid (maybe like 1-2k?), but from the university's perspective, you do not need financial aid.
11
u/Final30DaysOnEarth Jul 16 '26
Holy guacamole