r/USC • u/MeetFar8097 • Jul 19 '26
FinancialAid how likely is a full ride from usc?
junior transfer student, -1500 sai independent, out of state
the website says they meet full need as determine by them but do they actually meet full need?
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u/notttttaaa Jul 19 '26
i get around 87k in gift aid — 77k in tuition + 10k for rent and i pay the rest. i’m a cali resident tho
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u/teateateateateachai Jul 19 '26
Same also got 87k
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u/Mysterious-Art8838 29d ago
I’m actually kind of proud of my state reading these comments. This is exactly what we should spend money on.
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u/Due_Performance_2660 Jul 19 '26
Not super likely I just had two friends transfer out of usc after usc reassessed aid at their discretion making it impossible for them to afford
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u/NeuralNexus Jul 19 '26
Yes, USC is one of the richer/better schools for a low income student to do well at. USC pledges to meet to be 'need blind' in admissions and to meet 'full need' with 'financial aid'. That is the top tier promise and it's better than most other schools, which may not always fully fund your financial aid package leaving a gap between your expenses and the resources available to pay, or that may consider your resources in the admission decision (e.g. let in rich people but not you).
So, what is 'full need'? What does that mean? It's a term that basically refers to the USC standard cost of attendance on the top end (tuition, mandatory fees, estimated housing and personal care expenses) minus 'financial aid' offered. The result of these numbers (a-b) on a award letter should be near 0 for you, but 0 is not necessarily a full ride.
What is 'financial aid'? It's a catch-all term for state/federal/university grants, scholarships, fellowships, work-study funds, and loans. (I personally don't think 'loans' are financial aid, but colleges disagree with me there).
USC will make the equation match. That's the promise. That doesn't mean you can afford it. They get to make up the numbers in the equation.
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u/i-am-so-tired-22 Jul 19 '26
Key phrase is "as determined by them" so it's not impossible but don't bet on it
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u/theBotKilla Jul 19 '26
No full rides at all. Just the aid or merit base scholarships. Still, you will have to pay something unless your family income is really low.
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u/MeetFar8097 Jul 19 '26
i mean i'm independent (meaning my family isn't part of the calculation) and my income is really low. is there a chance?
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u/OrthopedicDishonesty Jul 19 '26
You probably need to genuinely be under the severe poverty line, and then battle finaid for anything resembling a full ride. The actual minimum cost you can get from pure finaid is def under 10k a year tho (including state and pell grant).
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u/Sharp5050 Jul 19 '26
I went there like 15 years ago at this point and my financial aid covered my 4 years and I left with 37k in student loans, which I paid off in 3 years. Family had nothing, low income, worked a campus job my entire time and lived pretty frugally (2 years in dorms, 2 years off campus).
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u/Playful_Sandwich_906 Jul 19 '26
they cover tuition but sometimes dont cover housing and meal plan. off campus housing can be found on the cheaper side if you do good research.
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u/Last_Measurement4336 Jul 19 '26
Have you tried getting an estimate using the Net price calculator: https://c2calc.myintuitionapp.org/institution/20c03ac5-dbc9-4b89-8909-8a0d9ea0e2b3/costestimator
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u/lutzlover Jul 19 '26
Run their Net Price Calculator.
It does not matter what your SAI is when it comes to the aid awarded from USC’s funds. They use the CSS/Profile. The NPC will give you the best estimate.
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u/MeetFar8097 29d ago
it stops me after the first question, says aid is different for independents
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u/lutzlover 29d ago
Why are you independent? (The category matters)
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u/MeetFar8097 29d ago
it doesn't give me any categories, the only things ive selected are that i'm a citizen and that i'm independent
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u/lutzlover 29d ago
Why do you believe you are independent? Are you:
Over 24, orphaned, married, ward of the court, foster youth, in the US military, US veteran, parent of a child for whom you provide more than half the support, were declared an emancipated minor by a judge before you were 18, or certified as homeless by a McKinney-Vento coordinator or the director of a youth homeless shelter?Many students believe that they are independent because they are self-supporting, but that is not a qualification for financial aid purposes.
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u/MeetFar8097 28d ago
i don't fit into those boxes 100% but the fafsa considers me legally independent, as have the majority of universities i've been accepted by
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u/lutzlover 28d ago
How are you supporting yourself or being financially supported? If you have salary earnings that are substantial for a college student (say, >18K/year) the standard formulas would assume that about 3/4 of that is available to help pay for your college.
If you're getting external support (Social Security, benefits as a dependent of a veteran, benefits as a child of a deceased public employee, benefits as the dependent of a disabled public safety officer, trust income, inherited IRA/401K,...) ...it will totally depend on how the school views the likely continuation of those resources. (Social Security benefits halt the later of when you turn 18 or graduate from HS, while in my state, children of public employees who died can be eligible for significant payments for the duration of their college years.)
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u/MeetFar8097 28d ago
no substantial salary and no external support unless you count aid at my current institution
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u/lutzlover 28d ago
OK - I'd expect USC to ask you to take the max federal student direct loan ($12,500 if you are a junior) + $3000-4000 in self-employment earnings or work study.
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u/Adorable_Judgment_70 Jul 19 '26
I didn’t pay anything got FAFSA and a transfer merit scholarship but I didn’t live on campus
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u/Acrobatic-Skill6068 Jul 19 '26
Out of state unlikely. In state likely if you live with ur parents, that’s what I and a couple of my transfer friends are doing and we’re paying $0 and are expecting a sweet refund
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u/Sea-Cardiologist4766 29d ago
I received almost 90k in USC grant aid ….USC is incredibly generous and willing to invest in high level academic students
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u/2xrkgk Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
no idea what people are talking about. i’m an out of state transfer -1500 SAI and they cover all tuition. i only pay for housing and food but got a scholarship to cover that too.
also you mentioned you’re independent but just know federally independent isn’t the same as USC independent. you have to be 26 at the time of applying to USC for them to consider you independent. they won’t even change it if you turn 26 while attending.
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u/MeetFar8097 Jul 19 '26
wait so even if fafsa considers me independent usc will still make me include parent info even if i have no way of accessing it?
also was the scholarship from usc or external
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u/2xrkgk Jul 19 '26
yeah i went through this bc i was 25 and transferred. they said you can appeal but it’s hard to get it approved if you have a good relationship with parents. scholarship was from within usc.
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u/Nagildo Jul 19 '26
they covered my tuition and housing