Financial Aid Eligibility Requirements
Once you complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and it is received by USC, you should check your financial Aid eligibility and requirements on Self Service Carolina (SSC).
Student Requirements
Students should review the “Student Requirements” tab to see satisfied and unsatisfied requirements. If you have an unsatisfied required, read the instructions to see what information you need to provide to satisfy the requirement. Once the information you provide is processed by the Financial Aid Office, Self Service Carolina (SSC) will show the requirement as satisfied.
Holds
Students should review the “Holds” tab for any issues that may affect their financial aid.
Academic Progress
To receive financial aid, students must be making Satisfactory Academic Progress toward their degree. On this tab students can check on where they stand compared to the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards.
Financial Aid Offers
You can view your financial aid offers by logging in to Self Service Carolina (SSC). You must follow all instructions provided to you to ensure that your financial aid will be available for fee payment and disbursement. After reviewing your financial aid offers, all that is left do is to accept or decline your offers for the aid year.
Most grants (free money that does not need to be paid back) and institutional scholarships are automatically accepted on your behalf.
If you have been offered a LIFE Scholarship, Palmetto Fellows Scholarship, Lottery Tuition Assistance, or SC Need-based Grant (SNBG), you must complete the required certification by taking the following steps in Self Service Carolina (SSC):
- Choose “Financial Aid”, “Financial Aid”, and then “Financial Aid for Aid Year”.
- Choose “Award Overview” tab. By choosing the “Terms and Conditions” tab you can also complete the required certification forms for the LIFE Scholarship, Palmetto Fellows Scholarship, Lottery Tuition Assistance, or SC Need-based Grant (SNBG),
An offer of a Federal Subsidized or Unsubsidized Direct Loan requires your decision. You can accept or decline your federal loans online through the “Accept Award Offer” tab in Self Service Carolina (SSC).
If this is your first time borrowing a federal loan, you will be required to sign a Master Promissory Note (MPN) and complete Entrance Loan Counseling. To see if you need to complete these requirements, log in to Self Service Carolina (SSC) and take the following steps:
- Choose “Financial Aid” then “Financial Aid for Aid Year”.
- Click on “Requirements”. If the requirement is unsatisfied, then you will need to sign your MPN or complete Entrance Counseling. Click here to complete Entrance Loan Counseling and to sign your Master Promissory Note for Federal Direct Loans.
Once you have fulfilled all your responsibilities, your loans will appear in the “Award Overview” tab. The loan amounts are gross amounts offered and accepted by you, not the net amount that you will receive. All federal loans will have a loan fee assessed as required by law.
Fee Authorization
Any recipient of Federal Financial Aid must complete a Title IV Authorization. If you agree to the terms, you will authorize your federal financial aid to be applied to charges on your bill other than tuition and allow payment of prior year non-institutional charges of up to $200. For example, if authorization is not provided, things like parking permits would not be paid by federal financial aid. Students may then need to pay these charges using other funds.
To view the Title IV Fee Authorization, take the following steps:
- Log into Self Service Carolina (SSC)
- Choose “Financial Aid”, “Financial Aid” then “Financial Aid for Aid Year”.
- Select the “Resources & Additional Information” tab and read the Title IV Fee Authorization.
- If you have not already completed this authorization, you must read the certification and choose Agree or Disagree in the dropdown box.
If you change your mind after you have submitted your decision on the Title IV Fee Authorization, contact your campus Business Office to update this information.
College Financing Plan
The Financial Aid College Financing Plan is designed to help you assess your total cost of attending a USC Palmetto College campus. Using a simplified format, the sheet presents information about your available financial aid, net costs, and how much you should expect to pay out-of-pocket. This information should be used to help you compare financial aid packages offered by different institutions.
You will be able to access the college financing plan in SSC after you have been offered aid for the requested academic year.
To view and print the College Financing Plan:
- Log into Self Service Carolina (SSC)
- Go to “Financial Aid” Tab
- Select “College Financing Plan”
The figures noted in the college financing plan are based on estimates; your specific costs may differ from the information provided.
Summer Financial Aid
For financial aid purposes, summer is considered to be the end of the academic year. A student’s eligibility for summer financial aid is based upon your remaining annual limits for grants and loans. To be considered for federal financial aid for summer, you must have FAFSA on file for the current academic year (the one use to determine your eligibility for financial aid for the preceding fall and spring semesters).
In addition to the FAFSA, applicants for summer financial aid must complete a USC Financial Aid Summer Application available on Self Service Carolina (SSC) beginning April 1. The deadline to complete the application is June 30. The compressed time frame for summer demands that our office adhere to strict application deadlines.
You can apply for summer financial aid by logging into to Self Service Carolina (SSC). Choose “Financial Aid and then “Summer Financial Aid Application.”