D was admitted, so now we wait for Honors and Capstone decisions. We know that she will not be competitive for Honors based on her stats, even though she was prompted to apply, but wondering what her chances at Capstone are as this definitely affects her final decision. I see the past ranges on the website but it seems like every year things get more competitive. I’m also wondering if Capstone is grades and test scores only, or if strong Honors App essays will help, and activities, etc. Anyone have prior experience with kids getting into Capstone?
My son is sophomore in Capstone. The year he applied and we visited they said Capstone decisions are based only on GPA and test scores - they did not even look at extra curricular. Not sure if this has changed over the past 2 years.
When do capstone invites come out?
Not until March, I believe. Long wait!
Any extra scholarships for Capstone?h How about fees? I know the honors college has extra fees attached.
Daughter has a 4.75 weighted by USC. 30 ACT.
D graduated in May from USC and was in capstone . There was no addtl scholarship money tied to capstone ( at least while she was there ). They do have some extra opportunities for study abroad and things like that …usc is pretty generous with the scholarship money anyway which is mainly tied to the GPA and test scores that are published on their scholarship page. The amts listed are pretty accurate depending on the strength of the incoming class. There were not any extra fees attached like in honors .( unless that has changed recently)
My oldest son is a freshman in Capstone. He was notified of Capstone in early March of last year. There was no additional scholarship money. There is a $150/semester fee. Capstone Scholar fee is payable in student’s first and second year of the program.
^^ oh ! Maybe we did have a fee and I never realized it !!
My son was accepted into Capstone on March 3, 2017. I only know this because he got the email that night as we were driving home from a visit at USC! He did not want to apply to Honors and we didn’t even know that Capstone existed until he got his invitation. We wound up going back to an Admitted Student Day later in March (which I recommend!) to see the Capstone dorms and attend their presentation.
If it helps you determine your student’s chances, my son got a 33 on the ACT and had a 4.47 GPA, as calculated by USC. As you may know, USC will take your student’s unweighted grades and add a weight of 1.0 to each grade in an honors or AP class. (At least that’s how they did it last year.) They don’t consider minuses or pluses. So, for example, if you take an AP class and get a B+ (they take off the + and change it to a B, usually worth a 3.0 unweighted), they give you a 4.0 for that class on their scale.
Also, they only calculate grades from “core” courses – ones that they require for admission. Last year, this included 4 English courses, 4 Math, 3 Lab Science, 3 Social Studies, 2 Foreign Language, 1 Fine Arts, 1 Elective (computer science preferred but you can look on their web site for others that count). I think they might use 1 Physical Education grade as well, but I can’t remember since my son was able to exempt PE because he was in a varsity sport.
No additional scholarships for being in Capstone, but I think everyone in Capstone has high enough stats that they get at least the in-state tuition award. (We are out of state.)
Last I’ll add that it’s a great community with lots of opportunities. The dorm is older, but many others are too. If your student is accepted to the program, I’d recommend that he/she live in the Capstone dorm – not only because of the community but also because this year a larger percentage of admitted students accepted admission, and as a result, USC could not fit all the freshman in on-campus housing. They put hundreds of freshman in apartment buildings instead.
@SwimMom87 thanks for the information. Very helpful. I’m hoping my son gets the invitation, though, like you, we didn’t know anything about Capstone until someone mentioned it. Seems like a great opportunity.
The best thing I see about capstone is that it takes an otherwise large freshman class and shrinks it to a manageable size for first year students. not everybody gets in state tuition there, although my son’s award was close.