<p>"It is just plain cruel to invite a kid to interview for the Trustee scholarship, have them attend Explore, have a great interview, get all excited about attending and then send a letter saying they had been awarded a Director’s ($4,000/year) scholarship - as happened to a couple of our favorite posters last year.
I think they need to revise the scholarship letter to say "you have also been selected as a finalist for a merit scholarship " and are invited to come to USC to interview , which is required in order to be eligible for merit selection. That clearly implies that they may not “win” a scholarship. Students who compete for other highly competitive scholarships- such as the Robertson, are told exactly that when the finalists are selected and invited to campus to complete the scholarship selection process.</p>
<p>Actually, that IS how it is worded: *“Congratulations! You have been selected from among several thousand qualified applicants as a finalist for one of USC’s most prestigious merit awards…” *and then it specifies “Presidential” or *“Trustee.”
*
What I am saying is that since it seems candidates may end up being awarded a Dean’s or Director’s instead, they should not specify that a candidate is interviewing specifically for a “Presidential” or for a “Trustee,” they should say they are interviewing for “the Director’s, Dean’s, Presidential or Trustee” to be sure the kids know that any of those are a possibility.</p>
<p>or just that they are a finalist for a prestigious merit award. period.</p>
<p>"I am not sure there is any way to notify scholarship applicants that they have not been selected for a scholarship that will make them say, “Hooray!” "</p>
<p>I think they need to be told that a decision about their application has been deferred, they will be notified no later than April 1 of their admissions decision, and they were not among those who advanced to finalist status for Trustee or Presidential scholarship consideration, </p>
<p>many other colleges defer decisions for a large % of their early applicants- I see no reason USC should not use the same terminology when communicating to early applicants that they won’t learn the admissions decision until April .</p>
<p>A poster above identified a cause of dissonance and confusion: we also believed that only candidates for pres/trustee would receive notification in January. </p>
<p>Does USC then consider everyone but the presidential/trustee kids ‘deferrals?’ The letter made it sound as though all but the 1000 are deferred, which is strange and devaluing. The process seems more fraught than it should be.</p>
<p>What is going on with the Admissions Dept at USC? My D also did not receive a letter. I called the Admissions Office on Thursday and was told that a second wave of mailings was going out shortly and she should hear by next week. They would not tell me whether it was good or bad (neutral) news but they pulled up her application, made a note on it, and promised that she would receive something in the mail shortly. I asked if this meant that more decisions were being made before the end of March, and he said yes. My thought was that this second wave was for applicants clearly qualified for acceptance (as the other posters missing letters sounded like too) but not being offered scholarships at this pont. Makes sense to me. </p>
<p>So I was surprised to see the email from the Dean that all letters had been mailed as of Jan. 26th and no further decisions would be made until the end of March. I also find it very strange that the post office “lost” 100’s of letters going all over the country. Since USC apparently does not know which letters are missing, are they going to regenerate 20,000 plus letters? Does that meant that the rest of the applicants will get a second letter telling them nothing? </p>
<p>In any event, I took the Dean at his word and called my D’s admissions counselor for a update on her status as promised. But unfortunately, he never returned my call or email so we are left waiting for another week for news or lack of news. </p>
<p>I’m a USC alum and my husband worked there for many years raising money for these scholarships they’re giving out. We are both very disappointed in the University. My D has been left hanging for several weeks now for a letter that she wasn’t expecting in the first place. And yes, she knows acceptances have gone out as several of her friends received them with scholarship offers. </p>
<p>The good news is that USC has dropped down on my D’s list and her third choice has moved up as they have shown her the love (scholarships, phone calls, emails, weekly letters, etc.). Her first choice is Stanford so we will need to wait until March for the final decision. We are planning on potentially spending over $200,000 for her to attend Stanford if she gets in, so money is not the final deciding factor here. The quality of the institution and the fit for our D is the number 1 priority. I have huge question marks about USC now. If this is how we are treated on the front end, what will it be like if issues come up with registration, etc?</p>
<p>^^^ Hi Boomom. Our son is legacy, also, and USC (School of Cinema Arts) has dropped way down on his list. </p>
<p>It had been second choice, or was sometimes ‘tied for first place’ in his mind. But he knew that scholarships were few and far between, so it was always a financial longshot. He’s in at first choice and was shown the love there, with fanfare and fantastic merit $. We are grateful for that, as the perplexing treatment from USC has been pretty easy for him to shrug off. If USC had been a clear first choice, however, I think we’d be mad as hornets.</p>
<p>I think the problem is that USC’s “system” has ultimately become incompatible with the state of the internet and popularity of cc.</p>
<p>As others have noted, many schools notify kids online, then send the packet, and it works just fine. USC is holding on to a lovely tradition of mailbox surprise. BUT… with the "Explore RSVP for admitted students on USConnect and DHL emails, more and more kids are finding out online prior to getting their mail anyway, so what’s the difference?! </p>
<p>The only difference I can see is a few non-internet-y people getting an old fashioned surprise and many, many others getting more and more frustrated.</p>
<p>Worse, when people who didn’t even know about or weren’t even expecting early acceptances or “no scholarship letters” start reading about them here, questions and disappointment multiply, feeding on themselves. </p>
<p>Certainly the “no scholarship” notifications can be be via email or USConnect! It’s not like students would miss the “surprise” of getting that in the mail</p>
<p>And as I’ve stated repeatedly, my son never got the no scholarship letter. His admissions counselor said he “should” have. But the fact is I only KNEW about the “no scholarship letter” because of cc! There is clearly some flaw in that particular system, either on USC’s end or the USPS’s. Whatever the case - email it, USC! Put int USConnect! Do both! Do something else.</p>
<p>USC, it’s not your fault. It’s the internet’s fault. And we appreciate all the years of traditional notification and the admittedly nice “surprise factor” you are clinging to. But the times have changed.</p>
<p>A $90,000-$180,000 Scholarship is dangled in front of the NMF. It is then pulled away and they are told to wait. These students feel as if they have been slapped in the face. Their applications have been reviewed already, probably over 90% will be getting into USC, and qualify for the scholarship. For my D, USC has dropped down on her list of schools. I have to believe USC’s intent of the scholarship is to entice the students to attend USC, But, the impact of the letter is discouragement.</p>
<p>I agree with the last couple of posts and USC has also dropped down my daughter’s list of schools.</p>
<p>Pundad - It sounds like USC does reject a large portion of NMFs. So I would not bet on even 30-40% getting admitted.</p>
<p>OK. I DO want to point out one thing- being a NMF is NO guarantee of acceptance at USC- not in the early round and not later. It is no guarantee of acceptance at ANY top college! There are 16000 NMF’s each year and USC would not accept all or even most of them instead of other applicants who don’t have NMF on their application. Not all top students are NMF’s . No one is entitled to get into USC. Not these days. </p>
<p>That said- If your student IS accepted, and face it, a 18% acceptance rate means the great majority of applicants won’t be, AND if they are a NMF, they WILL be GIVEN a 1/2 tuition scholarship. FREE. </p>
<p>So those of you who thought your students would have an easy, early “in” at USC because they are a NMF, and are now disappointed that they have to wait- try to have a little patience and perspective. They are waiting for decisions from other top colleges as well. USC may be where they want to go, come May 1, and where you can also afford to send them.</p>
<p>USC is my senior’s first choice. He is a NMF (received finalist letter yesterday), and was not invited to interview for a scholarship at USC. Because of this forum, I knew that he had not been selected, knew that the pseudo-rejection letter was on the way, and intercepted the letter. Last week he was sent another letter telling him that his first semester grades were needed before a final decision could be made (even though his grades were sent and acknowledged received more than a week ago). I also intercepted this letter (I opened it because I thought it might be the second “mysterious letter of nothing” that some posts have suggested may be on the way. I feel certain that many parents disapprove of my actions. This is his application, not mine; kids need to learn to handle disappointment; etc. But I know my child, and both of these letters would have been very upsetting to him, and would have changed the way he views USC. S is very busy with school, sports, job, and other activities, and rarely visits CC. I visit this forum every day. If my son had read these letters from USC, he would have searched these threads and noted, as I did, that his GPA and test scores are higher than those of many of the students invited to interview, and would have wondered what was wrong with his application. Did he receive a poor teacher evaluation? Was his essay too risky? Would other top schools reject him? Is he a poor fit for USC? Similarly, the letter asking for first semester grades did not indicate that all students were expected to submit grades, and did not read like a form letter. It indicated that USC needed his grades, even though his stats fall in the top 25 percent in every category. I am grateful to everyone who posts on these threads, and allowed me to anticipate these letters. My son may eventually face a big disappointment if he is rejected, but I think I have spared him six weeks or so of uncertainty, self-doubt, and sadness. And maybe he’ll be admitted. If the letters had been emailed, I would have been unable to intercept them, but that does not alter the many problems other posters have pointed out that arise from use of the USPS. The advantage to one admittedly over-involved mom does not outweigh the harm to others. The bottom line, for me, is that USC needs to draft its letters more carefully – however they are sent. I agree that the students not selected to interview do not need to be told of their “rejection.” Everyone knew it was a long shot, nobody was promised an early notification (as far as I know), and other schools only notify scholarship winners/contenders. I also found the videos posted on the USC blog of students receiving hand-delivered acceptances distasteful. It would be fine to post them early next fall, to encourage and excite new applicants, who will not be competing with these fine students. This year’s applicants, many of whom will be rejected or are already deeply disappointed about scholarship news, do not need to compare themselves to the lucky students in the videos.</p>
<p>“The bottom line, for me, is that USC needs to draft its letters more carefully – however they are sent. I agree that the students not selected to interview do not need to be told of their “rejection.” Everyone knew it was a long shot, nobody was promised an early notification (as far as I know), and other schools only notify scholarship winners/contenders.”
these points I totally agree with.</p>
<p>Despite the denials of the two pro USC posters on this thread, this has clearly been handled poorly by USC and has turned off a number of very qualified applicants. It is not their top 3% of applicants, but the next 10% of highly qualified applicants (who clearly are being courted heavilty by the competition) that will go elsewhere. Looks like they might have to increase the acceptance rate above 17% if they want to fill the classes next year. </p>
<p>By the way, I thought the two videos were cute until I couldn’t get a return phone call or email from my daughter’s admissions counselor. Guess he was our courting his top 3%.</p>
<p>
Pro-USC posters? Here?? On the USC forum??? What are THEY doing here?</p>
<p>I am very sorry that several of you were disappointed that your children were not invited to interview for USC Trustee or Presidential scholarships. The college application season is very stressful for applicants and parents alike. It is good to see that several of your kids already have had so many wonderful opportunities presented to them and are excited about those opportunities. I am sure there will be many more to come.</p>
<p>If they admit the same number as last year (8566 <a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/private/1112/USCFreshmanProfile2011v4.pdf[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/private/1112/USCFreshmanProfile2011v4.pdf</a>) with 45,000 applicants (reported in menloparkmom’s email excerpt) I come up with a possible 19% admit rate. They have over-enrolled by 200 to 300 each of the last 5 years (while using the same notification system and letters with similar wording), so they will probably be okay in terms of filling the class.</p>
<p>I couldn’t get a return phone call or email from my daughter’s admissions counselor. Guess he was our courting his top 3%. </p>
<p>I think he was rather trying to deal with earlier phone calls and emails from many students and will be getting back to you soon.</p>
<p>Just want to make one clarification and then I am done. I am not complaining that my daughter did not recieve an offer to interview for a scholarship. </p>
<p>I am complaining that:
1 - she has not received any letter at all despite the Dean insisting that everyone has been mailed one
2 - the admission office gave me information when I called on Thursday that was contradicted by the Dean on Friday
3 - I have not received a return phone call or email from the Admissions Counselor to answer my questions about 1 and 2 above.
4 - My guess is that an actual letter will be forthcoming sometime next week and most likely it will say that nothing is going to happen for another two months.<br>
5 - What a waste of time and energy for all of us on something that could have been easily avoided by USC. </p>
<p>I just needed to speak my mind and vent my frustration at how this has been handled. Now I am finished with it, and can focus my energies on things that are within my control. Best of luck to all of the students in their college search.</p>
<p>I am sorry your daughter did not receive a letter saying that she had not been invited to interview for a scholarship and that you have unanswered questions about the admissions process. I have observed USC admissions for five admissions cycles, so perhaps I can offer some unofficial clarification.</p>
<p>If she has checked USConnect and cannot log into the admitted student events (Explore), that confirms that she was not invited to interview for the Presidential or Trustee scholarships and she will hear by April first about her admissions decision. If she is a NMSF and is admitted she will receive the NMSF Presidential scholarship. The letter that you are upset to have not received says nothing more than that.</p>
<p>If you have other questions or concerns, perhaps the pro-USC posters here can offer to unofficially fill in any gaps while you wait for a return email from your child’s admission counselor. </p>
<p>It is wonderful that your daughter has a school which has already notified her of admission and scholarships - that must help ease your stress greatly.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>boomom, we discovered during my S’s admissions cycle that the USC Admissions office, like MANY others, is staffed in part with students who often give bad or unclear/incomplete answers to common questions. That is likely why whoever answered your student’s call contradicted the Dean of Admissions statements. </p>
<p>The ONLY way to ensure getting complete correct answers is from the full-time admissions counselors that each applicant is assigned to. In our case, when my son didn’t receive the letter, we knew he was “supposed to” have received it, but since we knew what it said both from cc and his Admissions Counselor, it didn’t really cause us any stress. He was ultimately admitted with a small music scholarship, and we were over the moon.</p>
<p>My son’s Admissions Counselor always responded within a day or two. It’s regrettable if they’re taking longer than that, and I completely understand if that’s frustrating. </p>
<p>I will also say this: when we actually met that Admissions Counselor at Explore, she totally remembered her 3-4 correspondences with my son!</p>
<p>Hang in there, parents. I know how hard it is, believe me. Hopefully your struggles will prompt USC to start doing this stuff online! I’m sure by then your kids will be happily enrolled in USC and other great schools, and with any luck, the next round of kids will benefit from your venting.</p>
<p>Like Boomom, I was neither surprised nor upset that my child was not invited to interview for a top scholarship. Money will not be a factor in my student’s matriculation decision. It would have been very difficult or impossible for my son to attend an Explore event because of sports, work, and other commitments. I simply wish to protect my child from unnecessary anxiety, and to prevent him from thinking less of his top choice school because of arguably poor decisions and communications from one department of the school. It is not helpful to dismiss sincere concerns as sour grapes.</p>
<p>I feel sure that Boomom knows what the various tabs in USConnect signify, and when USC decisions are scheduled to be mailed. She does not know why her child has not received a letter. Was her application mistakenly placed with applications filed after December 1? Is something missing from her application that is not reflected on USConnect? Did one of the students who helps out in the office lose or misplace her file? I would feel anxious, too. And it would have nothing to do with not being invited for an interview.</p>