<p>Will I still qualify for merit aid and get my decision in January? </p>
<p>USC’s website says the deadline is Dec 1 by midnight in your own time zone–meaning just before it turns Dec 2. However!! Meeting that deadline only puts you into the large pool of candidates who will be considered for USC’s top merit awards. Last year, that scholarship deadline applicant pool was about 20,000 students, from which about 700 are invited to interview (next step in the competition). And it’s pretty much just those ~700 finalists who are given a decision on their application. So, I’d figure about 3.5% of all of the before- Dec 1 applications result in admissions news (and merit scholarship invitations) by end of January. The remaining 19,300 who applied by Dec 1st plus the additional 30,000+ who apply after that date will hear their results at the end of March. Good luck and have a bit of patience. </p>
<p>Agree with @madbean on this. Note that National Merit semifinalists are the most likely to get called in for the interview for scholarships, considering that about 15,000 students of 16,000 total semifinalists were finalists last year. Considering the half-tuition Presidential’s scholarship they guarantee NMFs, they need to interview those (note that about 230 admitted students were NMF in the 2014-15 Admitted Students’ Profile - this means they like NMFs).</p>
<p>Not sure I’m following you, redwall, but NMF Presidential scholarships (1/2 tuition for 4 years) are automatic and do not require interviews. Good news: If you are admitted and NMF, you get one! However, the decisions about who gets invited to interview (Explore USC) for top merit awards (Trustee/non-NMF Presidential) are completely independent of NMSF status. In fact, NMF winners have until May 1 to declare USC their top choice school, and USC is not notified which applicants are NMF until they list it–for many students this is way way after merit scholarship interview invitations are sent. As I mentioned on another thread, although USC matriculated 230 NMFs last year, we do not know how many applied. Over 50,000 applications were received, and it’s very possible many more than 230 applied to USC. In fact, there have been theories posted on CC over the last few years (also unsubstantiated because USC does not release this information) that USC may have a target number of NMF Presidential scholarships (certain block of $$) and they therefore have a target number of those scholarships they can afford to give out. While they certainly want NMFs to attend, they may admit a certain number (considering historical data as to yield) and not more. Because of these nuances, it’s just smart for NMFs and all applicants to apply to a wide range of schools and be prepared. Highly selective universities, and even more selective competitive merit scholarships at such schools are a reach for even the top top candidates.</p>