<p>I'm looking at all the scholarships that USC offers and wondering about the stats of the people who recieved some sort of merit aid. i'm applying there this fall.</p>
<p>One guy I know who's a freshman there this fall got 1/2 off tuition. His PSAT was 225, he was a NMF. I think his unweighted GPA was close to 4.0 out of 4.0 & he had a good class rank from his public school. Very competitive to get full-ride since they have very qualified applicants.</p>
<p>I know the stats of two current students with full rides. Not full rides on merit alone, and I don't think USC does that. (Unless you are a Heisman contender.) The most you can get on merit alone at USC is free tuition, which leaves you to pay for your own reading matter, ride, roof and ramen noodles. USC is however generous with need-based aid, and merit+need amounts to the full estimated COA for these two.</p>
<p>I also happen to know that the awards were unchanged for these two their sophomore years. No "bait and switch" nonsense like you will find in the archives.</p>
<p>As to their stats, I would rather not get into that. Know, however, that USC uses these awards to lure people away from Berkeley, Stanford and other places that are harder to get into but not as generous. USC for free, or Stanford full pay, is a real dilemma.</p>
<p>I know a kid who got good merit + need aid from USC, even tho his family's EFC was high. His family paid $9000/year & his grants & scholarships went up each year to help offset increases in tuition & R/B. He & his family did have some loans as well. He went to a public HS & was not even a commended NM, but got good grades. He's now in 1st year of med school at our state school (his 1st choice).</p>