<p>"Ideally, early admits with eventual Dean’s awards should be included up front with admissions so there is no confusion. If this means delaying a week or two for admitting those with Dean’s offers, that would be better than an admit and delay of two weeks . "</p>
<p>I just wanted to point out that the Deans scholarship does not require an interview, but the Trustees and Presidential scholarships do, and any delay in notification of those finalists would create real problems for booking travel arrangements for finalists trying to fly to LA in Feb and March.</p>
<p>There have been many good points raised on this thread, and I sent the Dean a summary of the suggestions, as well as a link yesterday. Hopefully some changes will be made in the way applicants are notified in the future.</p>
<p>"Just because your student didn’t get an invite does not mean they will rejected and just because your student has high test scores does mean that they will admitted. "</p>
<p>I think the second point is a revelation to many parents who perhaps remember how easy it used to be to get into USC. Those days are gone. USC is for numerous reasons, rightfully so in my opinion, becoming as desirable and as selective as many other “elite” private colleges such as Wash U, JHU, Duke, etc where no student with top stats has a “guarantee” of acceptance. This will be a bitter pill to swallow for some students and parents, but the times they are a changing…</p>
<p>Our son is very aware of how competetive and desirable USC has become. No question: it is a fabulous, world class university!<br>
For our family, the present discussion is about the <em>notification process</em> and nothing else (not scholarship chances or admission/denial). Our son knows how tough it is and he will accept any outcome with equanimity.<br>
Thanks for the various clarifications.</p>
<p>There is a thread in another forum in which a student worries that someone who really hates him could send letters addressed to schools he has applied to, and either withdraw his application or sabotage it with an arrogant tone under the pretext of supplying additional information. I recall that the consensus on the thread was that it could happen. It is a scary thought, and one reason why someone might like to know that schools check and confirm the withdrawal of an application.</p>
<p>Disclaimer: I am a self-admitted pro-USC poster posting about USC on the USC forum, so there is no need to “accuse” me of being such.</p>
<p>An interesting bit of history is that four years ago there was not letter, and those not selected for the January/February waves (there used to be multiple waves starting in January and flowing approximately bi-weekly through March) complained that they would like to be notified that they had not yet been selected to avoid the worry that their package might have been mis-directed in the mail. So when USC did not notify, there were complaints, and now that USC notifies, there are complaints.</p>
<p>It seems an email admittance notification plus a mass email stating that all early admits had been notified and the remainder of decisions can be expected in March would cover the bases.</p>
<p>But email notification is not foolproof - there have been multiple instances over the last few years of OTHER schools mistakenly sending out mass “Congratulations” emails to their rejected students… That seems like it would cause much more in the way of upset parents* than USC’s current system.</p>
<p>*I was noticing that the majority of complaints about receipt of the scholarship letter/lack of receipt of the scholarship letter have been from the parents and not the students.</p>
<p>^I noticed that too, Alamemom! In fact, I think ours was the first year of the “no scholarship letter,” and all I remember reading on cc was a bunch of students gathering statistics (GPA/SAT/USConnect status/major/whether or not they got the letter) trying to figure out if not getting the letter meant anything - it soon became clear it it just meant… they didn’t get the letter. </p>
<p>This year does seem rife with strife, mostly from parents. Leave it to the students to keep their senses of humor. We can learn from them.</p>
<p>Yes, unlike other college forums, parents submit a very large proportion of posts on the USC forum. And it is true that the students seem fabulous. I don’t recall one student on this forum sounding smug, superior, infallible, patronizing, or disingenuous. One thing is clear to me: nobody is an expert on USC admissions, no matter how many “cycles” he or she has been through. Every year the process changes, and not just because of the adoption of the common application. For example, this year, “waves” of admissions did not follow the first round, perhaps causing some confusion since such waves had been forecast. And some scholarship winners were not immediately able to rsvp to the Explore event, as some posters claimed would be possible. Certainly, students speculating about the meaning of letters requesting mid-term grades should not be smacked down. Their discussion is absolutely harmless, and happens on every forum. It is really only when people hold themselves out as experts that damage seems to occur.</p>
<p>I think it is important to remember that individuals who are concerned because they have not received the promised letter are not upset because they weren’t notified about their status (that information is available elsewhere), but because they were told that everyone would receive a letter, but they did not. Something went wrong. It is normal and natural to wonder what happened, and to make sure that your application still exists and is viable.</p>
<p>Prodigyy11 reported these three calls last week:</p>
<p>So I called USC and my adviser told me that they did indeed send me a letter on the 26th and that I should have received it by now obviously (I live 20 minutes from campus). I hope it didn’t get lost in the mail or delivered to the wrong person…</p>
<p>Just called again and talked to a different person and they told me that not all letters have been sent yet and to call back in a week or two if you haven’t received it yet.</p>
<p>Just called USC AGAIN after receiving an EXACT copy of the application acknowledgement letter that you get a couple days after you first submit the app. I was told that a LOT of people haven’t received their letters notifying them if they received a scholarship or not and that they are in the process of re-generating them. He told me that if you haven’t received a letter by this coming Tuesday, to call them directly.</p>
<p>This student was told three different things in two days. And he received a second copy of the application acknowledgement – long after both application deadlines. It seems that something unusual happened to his application, and as of yesterday he still did not have an answer or an official communication. Processing applications is hard and complicated work, and some errors are to be expected and forgiven. Similarly, people attempting to understand and solve these inevitable problems should not be called “whiners” or other names.</p>
<p>Cholla - “problems should not be called “whiners” or other names” - only parents who suggest anything are classified under this. </p>
<p>Snide remarks about parents who are concerned is not helping the good name of USC. </p>
<p>It would be nice to have more parents here follow the example of madbean and MPM rather than those who want to shoot the messenger. There is a throng of messengers who can run over the shooters.</p>
<p>I don’t have an issue with USC’s notification process. I do look for info and I follow this and other USC threads. I find it ironic that a thread titled “Complaint Box! What’s wrong, and how would YOU fix it?” where issues/complaints/suggestions are solicited would cause a poster (not OP) to be “shocked by the whining tone”. Posters were asked to provide feedback and then there was criticism for doing so. If you ask for something, don’t be surprised when you get it.</p>
<p>I would like to add that when I called the USC Admissions Office almost one year ago, I spoke with a student who could not have been more professional and helpful, in contrast to some other schools I contacted. I was very impressed with that student as well as the student who gave us our USC tour.</p>
<p>I’m sure that any college admissions office that receives 45000 [!!] applications- 29000[!!] of them “early”-will have some issues. The sheer number of applications and documents the admissions office must process means that some mistakes will inevitably happen [ the process is handled mostly by humans, after all, and some of them are college students,.]</p>
<p>Anyone is always welcome to post on any college confidential thread - that’s the way it works, but when I started this thread, I was thinking it would be a way for the kids to post the things that bothered them in the application process - and some of the current applicants offered some great points on the first page. I did not anticipate it would end up being page after page of parents focused on a single issue - I don’t think any of the kids would post on this thread at this point, they seem to be steering clear. And I am not as sure as others seem to be that this thread will be of use to USC admissions, because parents are saying that both receiving notification and not receiving notification is their major issue - that doesn’t offer a clear course of action.</p>
<p>Those of us who have observed the admissions process over several years - and yep, that is all I have ever claimed, I have no connection to the admission office whatsoever (other than talking to several of them at social occasions over the years as a parent of a student) - have heard for years that callers to the admission office get varying answers to their questions, which is why it is a good idea to only deal with your designated admissions counselor, and email has typically been the best way to do that.</p>
<p>As I said, I have no connection with the admission office, and when I stopped to think about it, I never once have called USC admissions - either when lamedaughter was applying or since. Neither did I check her documents or status except for the one look at the “backdoor” link mentioned on college confidential - it wasn’t my application, it was hers, and as far as I know she never checked any of that either - she figured if anything was missing they would ask for it. I recall that as she was making her college decision I had difficulty in exchanges with the UC Berkeley financial aid office in terms of information about how her outside scholarships would be applied (as the ones paying for college, her dad and I did follow the financial aid process very closely) but lamedaughter was unconcerned with my plight and it did not affect her decision-making process at all. I have always been surprised to hear from applicants and parents who make regular calls to admission offices.</p>
<p>I am hoping one of the kids might start a new thread where the kids can add their suggestions - this one belongs to the parents now.</p>
<p>Wait - did someone back there say they were going to run over me??? What in the world is meant by that? I cannot wait to see!!! :)</p>
<p>Nor would it occur to me in a million years to call an admissions officer and ask for a status update on my child’s application.</p>
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<p>Not sure the kids are doing any better at waiting than the parents. The kids’ thread is the one where they suggest how to register for housing prior to being admitted ;)</p>
<p>A quick call to USC Housing will confirm that it is entirely permissible to register for housing before being admitted. Strangely, you do not have to be admitted in order to register for housing. Actually, many schools permit this. A bit strange, but ok.</p>
<p>Late to the discussion, but I think there is a third group of students. Those that were accepted to USC in January, but not invited to interview for Trustee or Presidential scholarships. My daughter received her acceptance package on Jan. 21 with no indication of a scholarship; then a week later received notification that she will receive a Dean’s scholarship. She never goes on CC and I am a newbie. Neither of us had any idea that she could be notified earlier than March of an acceptance if she was not in the running for Trustee or Presidential. Sometimes I think reading CC can be bad for you, though I must admit I have gotten some good information here.</p>
<p>CONGRATULATIONS! Yes, there was a group of students admitted in the first wave who did not receive a scholarship invite, and had a choice of April Explore dates - as far as I know, all of them have since received their Dean’s letters and I am very glad to hear your daughter is among them!</p>
<p>I often agree with your last point - like you and your daughter, my daughter had no idea she would hear before April 1st. I was browsing College Confidential (I had not yet created a screen name) and saw on the USC forum that packages were arriving. I tried the “backdoor link” (which does not exist this year) and discovered that she had been admitted… walked out to the mailbox and found the package (which I locked back up in the mailbox and then I pretended I needed lamedaughter to grab the mail for me when she got home from school )! </p>
<p>Congrats again, and welcome to the Trojan Family!</p>
<p>Just an update. D’s admissions counselor called her this evening. She said he was extremely nice and helpful. He verified the address on file which was correct and said that a letter was sent. Said letter still has not arrived. He affirmed what the general admissions office told her last week which was that she is still being considered for admission as well as other scholarships. It was very nice to get a personal call in lieu of the missing letter. Is it March yet? LOL</p>
<p>I agree, my son applied by the Dec. 1 deadline and is waiting in no-man’s land. However, the financial aid office has been VERY diligent about sending emails and postcards about financial aid deadlines.</p>
)! </p>