Any chance for a Presidential or Trustee?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
1

<p>Curious to see how I stack up against some of the scholarship winners in recent years.
Applied to Marshall</p>

<p>3.93 unweighted GPA, 4.55 weighted, top 3% of class
All Honors and APs - AP World, AP US, AP English Lang, AP English Lit, AP Spanish Lang, AP Calc AB, AP Physics BC</p>

<p>800 Math, 700 CR, 790 Writing
680 US History, 640 World History (Subject Tests)</p>

<p>Editor-in-Chief School Newspaper (1 yr), technical/layout editor (soph/junior yr)
President, NHS (2 yrs)
Varsity Golf Captain (4 year letter winner)
Editor-in-Chief Literary Magazine (2 yrs)
Treasurer, FBLA (3 yrs)
Treasurer, Class Council (3 yrs)
Treasurer, Spanish Club (3 yrs)
Academic Decathlon Main Team Member
Varsity Soccer player (2 yrs)</p>

<p>Antioch Retreat Leader (2 yrs) - 200 Hours of Service
CCD Sunday School teacher (2 yrs) - 50 hours</p>

<p>NJ Boys' State Representative
Hugh O'Brien Youth Leadership Ambassador
National Merit Commended Scholar
AP Scholar</p>

<p>Caddy at a private country club - highest level "A" caddy
have worked for 3 years, March - September, 25 hrs/wk in the summer</p>

<p>Great Recs/Essays (I think)</p>

<p><strong>Also, my brother currently attends.</strong></p>

2

<p>It is nearly impossible to predict which students will be selected. Last year around 27,000 applied by the early date. Those large scholarships are chosen from a huge pool. </p>

<p>Have you received your scores on the AP classes?</p>

3

<p>you have a good chance! :)</p>

4

<p>The criteria to be selected for a Presidential/Trustee interview are more than scores/grades/class rank–and at those you do excel. :slight_smile: </p>

<p>Each major tends to look for evidence of leadership in their field. It helps to have great out-of-HS activities, internships, awards, honors and accomplishments to distinguish you from a crowd of other top stat kids. As your major is business, your multiple treasurer positions should help, as should your work experience. They look carefully at your essays and LoRs, so if you wrote about your goals in business, that will only help.</p>

<p>Best of luck.</p>

5

<p>thanks guys!</p>

6

<p>I am a Presidential Scholar at USC and based on your statistics I can say with near certainty that you are a shoe in not just for Presidential, but probably for a Trustee scholarship. I love how some of the posters on here who have such great profiles are worried that they do not stand a chance.</p>

7

<p>Well, it may be time for a little bit of honesty (i.e. cold reality) because so many students get their hopes for top scholarships way way up, and then feel angry when they are not invited to interview. So just to set the record straight for this new crop of applicants, there is NO sure thing in Trustee/Presidential invitations just as there is NO sure thing in ivy admissions. The odds are just as spectacularly crazy and so must be looked at as a reach for everyone. Even the top top GPAs, 2400s, whatever. Please keep some reality in mind so you don’t feel shock in case things don’t fall your way. (You may, of course, feel aggravated and disappointed, but no one should feel anger, or surprise even. This is competitive to the highest level and not everyone will win.) </p>

<p>What’s more, the truth about these awards gets even tougher. Not everyone who interviews will get an award, and many are offered lower awards (Pres, Directors, etc) than they may hope for. Of course, several do get bumped up to higher awards, but these full-tuition and half-tuition scholarships are rare and highly selective. If you want to know just how angry and disappointed some feel when all is said and done, just read through last year’s results. They claimed to feel misled–which is odd, since all the info on the website is quite clear and open. But perhaps tiptop seniors think USC should be easy for them to get into and OF COURSE they deserve to go for free? That seems a little too confident, but I hope this year everyone on cc who reads this forum will have all the correct information. </p>

<p>And even then… some get hopes up and feel they deserve to have USC pay for their full tuition. I urge caution and a bit of humility, too. There are wonderful scholarships available, but like all good things, only a few. With 27,000 early merit hopeful applicants last year, about 1000 were invited to interview for these top merit awards. That’s the top 3.5% out of an already highly talented pool. In the end, about 200 or so were offered Trustee. So even among those strong students who came to Explore, many many did not get the top prizes. </p>

<p>The saving grace is for any NMSF who comes to USC. You are automatically awarded a Presidential Scholarship withing coming for an interview. Again, I must post a DISCLAIMER: Just because one is a NMF does not guarantee they will be admitted to USC. Their applications will be read holistically, just as every application is. But should they be admitted–Congratulations!! 1/2 tuition for 4 years. </p>

<p>For OP, (NM Commended), I would urge the cautious approach to all college dreams. There is hope… good hope… but no guarantees.</p>

8

<p>To be honest, without a trustee scholarship, a lot of students can not afford the school. For these who can indeed afford the school, they may still pick Stanford or Harvard over the scholarship. The selection goes both way. Btw, I have not heard anyone being an interviewee and getting nothing.</p>

9

<p>I agree, greenfieldcn. Many do apply to USC by the Dec 1 deadline because they are fishing for a free-ride. But that’s okay. One strong reason that USC offers high merit $$ in the first place it to try to attract mega-top candidates to choose USC over other high (often higher) ranked schools. Even with the offer of a full-tuition USC scholarship, some students whose family’s can afford paying tuition or who will qualify for those schools generous FA will not be swayed by the Trustee or Presidential. Every year many (about 1/3) select Harvard, Stanford, et al.</p>

<p>However, as you mentioned, for the student whose family is pinched in the middle–makes too much to qualify for much if any FA and cannot easily send several students through $250,000 UG educations, the top USC merit awards are more a strong reason to apply. If they are passed over, they may focus on other schools. However, many students, of course, connect to a lot of the qualities that make USC great and attend no matter the merit $$. It’s a personal decision and, like all college decisions, will depend on what other schools one is admitted to. </p>

<p>But… year after year on this cc forum, many talented students and parents express anger at being passed over for this honor… and that is even if they have no intention of making USC their 1st choice anyway! I’m just posting to point out that it is no more insulting to NOT be invited for one of these scholarships than it is to be passed over by any other extremely selective process/admission (ivy, etc). There are many more highly qualified applicants with fabulous resumes than spots. Well meaning students may post with very encouraging promises, but facts are facts.</p>

<p>In previous years, some students have been bumped down from Trustee interviews to Director’s Scholarships. I do not think anyone has ever received nothing. :)</p>

10

<p>Even if a applicant was to get the Dean scholarship or other smaller merit awards, is the offer still considered a acceptance into USC just as if he/she got the trustee/presidential award?</p>

11

<p>Yes, the acceptance comes with the invitation to interview for presidential or trustee. So even if you do not receive the scholarship, you do know very early that you are admitted to USC. In my sons case he was also told he was in the school and major of his choice. I know some who knew they were admitted at that time, but didn’t yet have confirmation of school or program choice. That is a really nice part! Knowing you are in, then if the scholarship comes through it is the icing on the cake.</p>

12

<p>A thing to remember when thinking about these sort of scholarships: In high school you may have been tops at everything, best student in a generation, everything going your way, but compared to other applicants to USC? There are dozens of people exactly like you, and there are people who are better as well. Big fish in a small pond disease is very common among incoming students, and freshmen get a pretty harsh dose of reality when they get to campus and realize that they’re no longer the big fish anymore.</p>

<p>That being said, your stats and activities look good, great even. There’s nothing there that would exclude you from consideration for a Presidential or Trustee scholarship. Don’t count on it, but be grateful if you get the opportunity for one.</p>

13

<p>Thanks a lot for all the input and advice. Scholarships applicants hear by January 1, right?</p>

14

<p>No definitely not by 1/1. Those selected to interview for one of the big ones are admitted and notified by mail towards the end of January.</p>

15

<p>I know the Dean’s Scholarship doesn’t require an interview, but if you get it, are you still notified of admittance earlier as well, such as late Jan/early Feb?</p>

16

<p>^^Probably not, judging from past years, but a few may find out they are admitted in the early wave (end of Jan/early Feb) and not get the invite for the Pres/Trustee interview. They are likely going to receive another award, but don’t hear until later.</p>

17

<p>^^ what do you mean by other award? What type?</p>

18

<p>My D received an acceptance letter late January of this year. There was no mention of a scholarship with her acceptance package. A few days later a letter stating she received the Dean’s scholarship arrived. So, some students do get accepted early even if they are not invited to interview.</p>

19

<p>Also, there are additional merit awards such as the Director’s Scholarship, University Scholarship and others, as well as a small number of talent awards given by some of the Schools or for particular majors. In addition, you should look into applying for alumni scholarships and Town & Gown scholarships, I believe. Letters notifying students of these awards are often delivered soon after the admissions packets are mailed, so there is always a little hope.</p>

20

<p>Some National Merit Scholars reported last year they received smaller merit scholarships from the particular school that admitted them such as Viterbi or Marshall in addition to the $1,000 NMFoundation Scholarship and the 1/2 tuition National Merit Scholarship.</p>

<p>In some cases alumni designate funds to be given in memory of an USC family member or friend in the form of scholarships. These we have seen reported here are smaller scholarships.</p>