<p>Good for Viterbi for posting that update on their site. How hard would it have been for the Admissions Department to have posted something like that on the Admissions Blog? They could have notified everyone last week that merit award notices were being mailed and then gone on to explain the process for Trustee, Presidential, Dean’s, and NMF scholarships, congratulating the nominees and reassuring the others they were still under consideration for admission. I find particularly perplexing the situation where students get an acceptance letter without being notified of a scholarship award or nomination. What’s up with that? </p>
<p>Kudos to alamemom, Georgia Girl, madbean, and others for trying to bridge the information gap. But ironically, their helpfulness actually reflects poorly on USC and its Admissions Department. I can’t imagine any university that aspires to be among the elite using a communications strategy that relies solely on volunteers on a third party social network who put in countless hours doing their own reconnaissance and then speculate on the timeliness of the USPS or advise students “to look at previous years’ threads” on CC to try and figure out what is going on. I might suggest that some of the business students at Marshall write up a case study on how USC communicates with its potential new client base and critique it. I’m sure they wouldn’t recommend the status quo.</p>
<p>I am thinking Viterbi actually got the bulk of that notice from admissions and that an nearly identical posting will be on the admissions blog in a day or so. </p>
<p>USC doesn’t actually rely on us - I feel confident they could soldier on without me entirely, but I enjoy the opportunity to “meet” many of USC’s applicants and admits and VERY much enjoy all the nice things they post to say “thanks.” A big advantage for we volunteers is that we are not constrained by rules about what we can and cannot say to the applicants and are free to make guesses and offer our thoughts about what these things mean (for example, I can tell you that I feel very confident that admission in the early group without a Trustee or Presidential = a Dean’s).</p>
<p>We may be a thorn in their side - if I wasn’t posting a stats thread and saying packages were about to arrive, an early package would just be a great surprise - not a disappointment because the Trustee wasn’t included.</p>
<p>Don’t blame USC because I am a blabbermouth !!!</p>
<p>alamemom As a mom of a recently admitted student, I want to thank you. When students were posting that they were notified on the 25th, and then the 26th my D started to lose hope. But I kept reading what you and all of the other wonderful people on here had to say. I kept positive and tried to keep my D positive too. On the 27th she got her acceptance letter and it was the best day of her life. She didn’t receive any info about a scholarship, so again I kept watch as to what others were saying, again trying to stay positive. And today, the 30th, my D found out she will be receiving a Dean’s scholarship. So once again, THANK YOU to you and all the others who have done their best to provide support and hope to all of these kids who have worked so hard.</p>
<p>Congratulations iamjen1 on the Dean’s notice for your D. Wonderful!!!</p>
<p>Also, I agree with alamemom above. We frequent posters must be, at the very least, a double-edged sword to USC. We give lots of accumulated anecdotes and sometimes even get our info/guesses/analyses right. But some of our posts probably go into areas no school makes public. As an example, there are posters here who are gracious enough to share their student’s or their own experiences in scholarship interviews. Those anecdotes may just do the trick to ease the nerves of those who are going to be attending Explore soon. I know I was very grateful to read un-processed-by-the-university tips several years ago.</p>
<p>I agree, though, there would be much less stress all around with improved notification procedures. For those who have not been on this forum in previous years, this year has actually seen a BIG improvement as they fixed their Status system so it no longer tracks every insignificant (and, maddeningly sometimes significant!) movement of a file which would set off a panic of rumors! But USC is a top 25 university that offers hundreds of full and half tuition scholarships and with so much at stake, it’s understandable applicants get freaked out. Perhaps USC will further catch up to the internet age soon. But I doubt that will quiet alamemom and me entirely. Sorry!</p>
<p>Madbean and alamemom, far from being blamed by USC or considered a two-edged sword, you ought to be thanked profusely. Given the technological age we live in, there is a demand for real time information and you are the only ones supplying it. </p>
<p>And I don’t want to be too hard on USC; their merit scholarship program is extremely generous, and while they no doubt are offering these as a means of attracting better students, it clearly benefits many families who otherwise wouldn’t qualify for financial aid and couldn’t afford the ever rising costs associated with a private institution. But there is a downside to this program, and that is there are many exceptional students who will not be awarded a scholarship (I know of at least one :)). If you give it some thought, the students and families that USC needs to care about and impress aren’t the ones who receive the scholarships, but the ones who don’t. After all, some of them will be considering a commitment of upwards of a quarter of a million dollars over the next four years. For me, this is my first real interaction with USC, other than the glitter and show that comes with a college visit or a glossy brochure. And while I confess to not being totally disinterested, I have spent half of my life in the business world, and I find these kinds of situations interesting to look at purely from the standpoint of best practices. You would expect an organization at the top of its game to have thought through all the ramifications associated with offering a program like this, and to be very concerned about the “first impressions” left with potential new customers. Sure, it’s disappointing not to win one of the scholarships or, in alamemom’s words, be recognized as one of the students that USC is really interested in, but it’s a whole lot easier to bear when the right message is communicated in the right context at the right time.</p>
<p>I can’t help but come back to the poor student on one of these threads who received notice of her acceptance along with a blank sheet of paper with her name and address on it. If this were ESPN, that would definitely be worth a “C’mon, Man!”</p>
<p>“You would expect an organization at the top of its game to have thought through all the ramifications associated with offering a program like this, and to be very concerned about the “first impressions” left with potential new customers.”</p>
<p>Sorry, but I have to disagree. Any student who did his research would have known that there are not thousands of Presidential or Trustee scholarships awarded, and the criteria for awarding those scholarships is very rigorous :</p>
<p>"Candidates are selected by USC faculty and staff from an extremely competitive international pool. Applicants pursue the most demanding curriculum and achieve at the highest level.
Average SAT and ACT scores are in the top 1–2 percent of ALL students nationwide. In addition to academic criteria, candidates’ talent, involvement and leadership are considered. "</p>
<p>That means those scholarships are offered to a select few students that have the SAT scores, grades and accomplishments to be accepted at the most competitive colleges in the country. Those colleges don’t bend over backward to soften the blow when rejecting 90% or more of the thousands of applicants who apply there. I dont think USC should be criticized or expected to do more when a student is disappointed that they were not selected for scholarship consideration.
USC is doing all that it can to make college more affordable for accepted students, but no college or university can accept all the students who want to go there, nor can they afford to pay for every deserving students’ education. USC does offer more $$ to more students in the form of FA AND scholarships than many of the top 25 Universities in the US.</p>
<p>If the USC Admissions Department wants to cede control of its communications (albeit unintentionally) to bloggers on this web site, (a role they clearly don’t want to assume - at least in any official capacity), then that is its choice. As they say, nature abhors a vacuum. My own estimate is that literally hundreds or even thousands of posts on CC would have been rendered unnecessary by a single communication from USC Admissions on their blog last Thursday.</p>
<p>With respect to the colleges that don’t bend over backwards to soften the blow when rejecting 90% of their applicants, I agree: they just communicate.</p>
<p>lonelybottles, I cannot fault any of your reasoning. I expect in the years before sites like college confidential, universities were used to notifying applicants by mail when and how they chose. If some years the mail came later than previous years, each individual bit their nails alone, wondering and waiting. Many got no forewarning that others were receiving merit awards or early notice (or for some other universities those early likely letters and/or invitations to special recruitment-type weekends) unless someone at their HS happened to get one and word spread among friends.</p>
<p>It’s only recently that we can share with others these events and the consequence–not always to the good–is increased worry in those still waiting and wondering. I don’t think all universities have caught up with this change in the information flow and the negative ramifications from hurt feelings.</p>
<p>On another note, when wonderfully qualified applicants learn online the instant others begin receiving invitations they are left to suppose/surmise/dread that they are not being considered. Some get the relief of finding good news in a few days, but others… On a positive note, USC has been quite generous to those with low EFCs and their merit results might even be less than all-grant FA. For families unlikely to qualify for much if any FinAid but need big scholarships to afford USC, however, this uncertainty and then sad letdown is difficult. I understand that feeling. While my older son was incredibly lucky to get the Trustee, my younger son was not invited to interview for top scholarships. But there are thousands of wonderful applicants. Many thousands. And I think we sometimes mis-speak around here and suggest that only the scholarship winners are “most wanted” by USC. Nonsense. They just have a limit to these enormous scholarships and an institutional need (jargon alert!) to bring in a diverse range of talented students. Some get lucky to fall in just the right slot (major/ECs/who knows?) but there are many other scholarships that students can win. My younger son was amazed to receive a completely unexpected (and you’d think I know about all this already) merit scholarship from his major/School. We were shocked and happy and, once again grateful to USC. That’s why alamemom and others suggest everyone stay calm and wait it out. Things can change.</p>
<p>Still, I get your points. I really hate this bad feelings side-effect of the scholars early notice. Before the internet, this let-down was likely muffled by the relative privacy in which students got the decisions and ignorance of what others were getting. Now–we all share everything.</p>
<pre><code>Somehow I missed the tale of the student who received a blank sheet of paper with her name on it and notice of admission. After years on this board and thousands and thousands of admissions this is the first time I have ever heard of this. Could it be a mythical internet story? Some universities inform students of admission via e-mail. Also, many send a short e-mail telling prospective students they have been rejected.
</code></pre>
<p>It has been SC’s custom to follow a more personal method of informing students of admission by sending a large packet to their home. In this packet is a warm letter of welcome to the Trojan family and a beautiful admission folder. Other helpful information about orientation is enclosed. For those students who are denied a formal letter of regret is sent before April 1.</p>
<p>In reference to the thousands of students who do not receive the top merit scholarships there are still many others to be announced, which are substantial. SC also offers students who do not receive merit scholarships the opportunity to apply for financial aid. Over half the students at SC receive financial aid. Students posted last year on the Facebook 2015 Accepted Students page their financial aid packages. These students were able to attend SC due to financial aid given by the university. It is my understanding SC is ranked #1 of private research universities in economic diversity of the student body. Also, last year 14% of the freshmen were the first in their family to attend college.</p>
<p>In a long post you can find I listed continuing student scholarships which are available by competition for students who do well academically, achieve in leadership roles or perform at a high level in community service. These scholarshiips are not used to attract students, but to reward students for their achievements. Many are donated by faculty members. Others are memorial scholarships. There are hundreds of continuing student scholarships. </p>
<p>If you visit other large university forums I think you will find students who had some sort of difficulty with admission forms, scholarships, denials or financial aid packages. I have yet to find one that is “at the top of their game” without a mishap now and then.</p>
<p>This is the first year SC has used the common application. Also, more scholarships than ever are offered. How would you select 4 or 5 per cent of recipients from a pool of over 20,000 to 25,000 highly qualified students?</p>
<p>It is not a myth. A couple of the students who’ve received this year’s early acceptances without mention of Presidential or Trustee scholarships have reported these “blank” sheets (here on cc). The “best guess” is that they will receive the Dean’s scholarship, and I believe one person who got an acceptance w/out the Presidential or Trustee mentioned has already confirmed this by calling Admissions. </p>
<p>But I agree with the complaint - it would be preferable if USC would just include the Dean’s with the packet! Seems they’d know at the time of mailing, doesn’t it?</p>
<p>I got a “blank piece of paper” with my name and address on it as a potential Dean’s scholarship recipient… It was only the sheet they put at the front of the package to indicate who the package was to be sent to.</p>
<p>The blank sheet is the paper that shows your name/address through the mailing envelope window. Everyone should have one of these as per Seahawks post.
(S received invite to Pres. so these are not just for Dean’s)</p>
<p>Yes, I had the formal packet, and in front of it was the name/address paper meant to be from the mailing window. I didn’t have any other blank papers like that, so I’m assuming this was what people were talking about.</p>
<p>To close the loop on this (for me, at least), I want to thank the “Big 4” (alamemom, Georgia Girl, menloparkmom, and madbean) for their thoughtful replies. There probably is no one right way to handle this situation, but perhaps feedback from people like me will help improve it (or perhaps not). To give a specific example of how it might be done differently in the future, check out how UNC handled their EA decisions: [UNC</a> Admissions Blog](<a href=“http://unc-admissions.blogspot.com/]UNC”>http://unc-admissions.blogspot.com/). The entry dated 1/19 prepared everyone for the coming announcements, and then on 1/23 FAQs were posted for admitted students, deferred students, and denied students. In each case students were allowed to ask questions, which were answered “officially” by an admissions counselor (“Julie”). Again, this was all done on their admissions blog, not CC.</p>
<p>In USC’s case, I could see separate FAQs for Trustee/Presidential Scholars, Dean’s Scholars, NMF Scholars, those curious few who are admitted early but receive no scholarship, and the rest of the applicant pool that is deferred til April.</p>
<p>Finally, I have a confession to make. (Warning: movie spoiler) I’m a Bruin. For some strange reason, my progeny wants to be a Trojan. Go figure. Should that fateful day ever arrive, perhaps we will meet in person and share a few laughs and war stories. In the meantime, fi-, fig-, fight,… oh, never mind. I can’t bring myself to say it.</p>
<p>“In the meantime, fi-, fig-, fight,… oh, never mind. I can’t bring myself to say it.” </p>
<p>Chuckle. Actually, it took me a looooooong time to learn to say it too.
The only school that rejected DS was his dad’s school-Stanford. And of course students from that school had a long history of looking down on SC. So I understand.</p>
<p>what seahawks received must have been a mailing label. </p>
<p>he must have expected more. but mailing labels are inserted, with address information at the right place on a blank sheet, to be seen through windows without any other information. </p>
<p>I think seahawks understood the insert was for mailing purposes and was trying to clarify for others. Another poster (not seahawks) inquired about it days ago, possibly on another thread.</p>
