USC Financial Aid, Grant and Scholarship

USC’s admissions process is need-blind, which means that a student’s financial ability or interest in USC financial aid does not influence their acceptance. Furthermore, families are consulted to meet the complete documented financial need of students who meet all deadlines and qualifying criteria. 

What Is the Cost of Attending USC? 

The first step in budgeting for college is to figure out how much it will cost. You must consider more than just tuition when attending the University of Southern California. You must also consider where you will reside and other factors.

A typical student must spend the Cost of Attendance to attend a given school, excluding any financial aid. Consider the ‘sticker price’ for the USC school before taking admission to it. It covers not only tuition and fees at USC but also housing and board, textbooks, and personal costs. 

The following is a breakdown of USC’s Cost of Attendance: 

• Tuition and Fees – $46298
• Room – $7702 
• Board – $5200
• Textbooks – $150

How much USC Financial Aid does provide to its students?

The above-mentioned USC Cost of Attendance can seem expensive. The good news is that most students do not pay the entire tuition to attend USC. USC Financial aid helps families bridge the gap between the cost of attendance and other related costs. 

We’ll look at how many students receive financial help from USC, what forms of aid they receive, and how much they receive. USC Financial aid can take a variety of forms, including: 

• Grants based on need 
• Scholarships awarded based on merit 
• Loans for students

Overall USC Financial Aid 

Fewer students receiving USC financial aid may mean that students pay more at USC than at similar schools. It could also imply that USC students are wealthy and require less financial assistance. 

Grants and Scholarships 

The most essential types of financial help are grants and scholarships. Grants and scholarships are preferable to loans in that they do not require repayment. Students who receive more grant/scholarship aid at a certain school will be better off in the long run. This is 30% less than the national average of 89 percent for private non-profit colleges. While knowing how many students receive grant aid is helpful, it’s also crucial to know how much grant money people typically receive. It is preferable if the average grant payout is higher.

How much do USC students get in terms of grants? 

This is $13440 more than the national average of $16488 for private non-profit colleges. The news is mixed: fewer students receive USC financial aid, but those who do receive more than the national average. This can be a good option if you qualify for financial aid; this can be a good option because you’ll receive a substantial grant.

Federal Financial Aid

Federal aid is either provided by the federal government or is subsidized by it. Institutional aid is provided by your school. In general, more students should get large amounts of financial help because this lowers the cost of tuition. Federal financial aid, including the Federal Direct Loan, is available to citizens and eligible non-citizens of the United States.

Loans

You can examine your Financial Aid Summary online at the ‘Financial aid’ website of USC once the Financial Aid Office has confirmed your financial aid eligibility. To apply for any loans included in your financial assistance package, you will need to take extra procedures. 

There are also private student loans accessible from banks and lending companies. Before pursuing a private student loan program, students should exhaust all federal Title IV assistance options, such as Federal Pell Grants, Federal Stafford Loans, and Federal Graduate PLUS Loans. The terms of federal loan programs may be more favorable than those of private loan programs in terms of payback.

Regardless of their financial position, students can qualify for Federal Direct Loans. Federal student loans are required by law to provide various flexible repayment options, such as Income-Contingent Repayment plans and Income-Based Repayment. Students can also avail of loan forgiveness benefits, which are not required for other student loans.

• Private student loans are not eligible for Federal Income-Based Repayment Plans and may not be included in Federal Direct Consolidation Loans. 
• Federal Economic Hardship Deferments are not available for private student loans.

Other Financing Options

Furthermore, the USC Office of Student Financial Services provides a number of payment choices. This includes the USC Payment Plan, which allows students to pay for each semester in five monthly installments. You can prepay up to five years of full-time tuition and required fees. 

Departmental Fellowships and Assistantships

Graduate fellowships and scholarships are competitively awarded to graduate students by USC schools and departments, as well as by other entities. Academic departments grant assistantships based on academic achievement, potential, and competence. Tuition credits and stipends are part of the awards package. 

Because departmental awards are often issued later than those administered via the Financial Help Office, they may not appear on your initial Financial Aid Summary if you apply for federal financial aid. If you receive a departmental award, your financial assistance package will be adjusted so that the total of all awards does not exceed your projected cost of attendance. Stipends are paid out on a nine-month basis. If you’ve been offered a graduate assistantship at USC for the autumn semester, you’ll get your first paycheck at the end of August. 

All students should contact the relevant department representative to sign up for a direct deposit. Remember to keep your local and permanent addresses current in my.usc.edu’s Online Academic Student Information System (OASIS).

How Generous is USC Financial Aid? 

So far, the grant dollar figures have included federal and institutional money. Schools have little control over how much federal aid students are eligible for (such as Pell Grants), but they do have control over their financial aid funds and how they are used. 

We’ll examine how USC awards its own (non-federal) financial assistance funds to see how robust its financial aid program is. The better the financial aid program, the more students receive aid directly from the school (also known as institutional aid) and the larger the award amounts.

Fifty-nine percent of students are eligible for some type of school grant. This is 23% lower than the national average of 82 percent for private non-profit schools. USC may offer less competitive financial aid since it gives a lesser percentage of its student’s institutional grants than similar schools. Around $26764 is the average school grant. This is $12965 more than the national average of $13799 for private non-profit colleges.

What Is Net Price and Why Is It Important? 

The Net Price is calculated by subtracting the entire cost from the total amount of aid received. In other words, this is the out-of-pocket cost you must pay to the school. The Net Price is determined by the cost of the school and the amount of financial aid you get. We’ll go through two methods for calculating your Net Price at USC: the quick way and the accurate way. 

The Quick and Easy Way to Calculate Net Price 

Here’s a quick overview showing the net price of real students at USC if you want a quick, general idea of your annual Net Price. All you need is the revenue from your household.

• If your family makes between $0 – $30,000, your Net Price will likely be around $16403.
• If your family makes between $30,001 – $48,000, your Net Price will likely be around $17253.
• If your family makes between $48,001 – $75,000,  your Net Price will likely be around $22464.
• If your family makes between$75,001 – $110,000,  your Net Price will likely be around $32484.
• If your family makes between $110,000 and up, your Net Price will likely be around $46606.

Your actual Net Price will depend on other criteria such as the number of family members and overall assets, as we’ll explore next, but this is a typical Net Price. Often the school will ask for more information than just income:

• The number of individuals who live in your home 
• The number of family members who are enrolled in college. 
• Wages, income, and assets of parents 
• Wages, income, and assets of students

This will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete, and you’ll obtain a more exact net pricing than the description above.

Hopefully, this article helped you find the admission and other fees of USC and the details about financial aid at the college. So, get your applications ready, and check for the eligibility criteria for admission to USC and USC financial aid to proceed with the admission process.