How does financial aid at Stanford compare with USC?

The biggest practical tradeoff is that Stanford bases undergraduate aid almost entirely on demonstrated financial need, while USC combines need-based aid with substantial merit scholarships.

Stanford says it meets each admitted student’s demonstrated financial need without requiring student loans in the initial aid package. Stanford does not award general academic merit scholarships, so a student whose family has limited calculated need should not expect a large non-need award. Its financial-aid calculation also considers family income, assets, household size, and the number of children in college.

USC offers need-based university grants and says it meets demonstrated need for eligible students, but “need” is determined by USC’s own formula and may not match another college’s calculation.

Compare each school’s net cost rather than the headline grant: tuition and required fees, housing and meal plan, health insurance if you do not waive it, books, personal expenses, travel home, expected student work, and any loans. For a student with significant demonstrated need, Stanford will often produce the lower and more loan-free cost. USC can be the less expensive option when a major renewable merit scholarship makes up for a smaller need-based package.