<p>First of all, congrats to all of you who have been selected as a Trustee, Presidential or Dean's scholarship recipient! You are all very lucky, as I'm sure you realize. Though I was accepted on the Jan. 26th wave, I have not received any information about scholarships. I was quite disappointed about this, but I suppose that's life. And after reading some of the accomplishments of students on this site, I know that the majority of scholarship nominees are well deserved. And I would like to say that I am SO grateful to have been accepted - I just need financial assistance... and am hurt.</p>
<p>There is another student at my school who was accepted on the same date as I was. He has been offered a Presidential scholarship interview. His GPA is significantly lower than mine is, his course load is not as intense, and he does very few ECs. He is not known as a particularly good writer, so his essays could not have been significantly better than mine. But yes, he has legacy. I'm actually shocked at how bothered I am by his candidacy for a scholarship - it makes me feel bad because I should be excited for him... But I just can't get past my disappointment. I can't help but feel he is undeserving of this honor. </p>
<p>For those of you who have children that are scholarship candidates or those of you who are scholarship candidates - do you have legacy? I'm just wondering if this is a factor that could have made him THAT much more appealing as a candidate. Is there any chance for me? I did apply to SCA (he did not) and am wondering if that could also be a factor. I apologize for the ranty quality of this post.</p>
<p>What are his stats. In the world of collegeconfidential, I’ve seen kids say “this kid’s GPA was way lower than mine” about someone with a 3.9 unweighted. It’s all so relative.</p>
<p>hello - I hope you can get off this destructive path of comparing yourself to someone who may have qualities you don’t know about that made him a good scholarship candidate. You probably didn’t read his app, and maybe don’t even know him that well. I seriously doubt legacy made the difference; I’ve heard of many great kids not being even accepted to USC, despite important legacy connections. </p>
<p>What could very well have made the difference is that you applied to SCA. When my son applied, he had a perfect SAT score on the M/CR (which is what counted then), and a decent gpa from a really tough high school. He got excellent recs, had very interesting ec’s, etc. But he was not selected for an interview. Getting into SCA is statistically harder than getting into HYPS, as you must know. And being in the top 1% or so of the group that is admitted to SCA requires a lot more than good grades and test scores. So don’t beat yourself up over this! Just hope for other merit awards, or need based aid, which are still possible without the trustee scholarship. Good luck!</p>
<p>My S was also not granted a scholarship interview, tho he was a NMF. He wasn’t even admitted until late March! He is now a senior in EE & should be graduating in a few months from USC. Fortunately, he did get a NMF USC presidential scholarship, which helped us greatly with his tuition & expenses.</p>
<p>hellothereworld, you are getting good advice from some of the seasoned USC parents here, and I’ll add my compassion for your hurt feelings. It is so hard to be passed over when you really want (and deserve!) recognition. We have never seen legacy be a factor in Trustee/Presidential at USC–in the recent past, in fact, the legacy connection does not even help students gain acceptance anymore.</p>
<p>But I also agree with Faux Nom’s assessment re: SCA. This is the top film school in the country and a student must rise very high in his/her creative portfolio, essays, awards and letters of rec. even to be accepted into the program. At the level of consideration for a top merit award, they look at the supplemental application almost entirely. So stats must be strong–but not killer. The SCA (and other creative schools at USC) are searching for talent, vision, and early outstanding accomplishments. </p>
<p>I want to point out that all of SCA’s admitted students (they accept about 240 out of about 4800 applicants) have all these qualities–but the competition (did someone have a screenplay optioned by Sony already? Did another do an internship on “Avatar”? Did another win a national essay contest and appear on “Oprah”? ) is intense and they want to encourage a balance of “voices” (geographic, male/female, URM, etc) and only through the application, auditions, and/or supplements will SCA be able to put together a diverse and astonishing incoming class.</p>
<p>I wish you great luck in the coming decisions. Anyone who gets accepted to SCA is really amazingly blessed. And don’t forget–Stephen Spielberg was turned down for admission to USC’s film school–twice.</p>
<p>Agree with the other posters – don’t do this to yourself. </p>
<p>As madbean points out, trustee and presidential come through the department. I’m not sure of the stats for all of the SCA majors, but production appears to accept maybe 5% and I have the feeling that screenwriting and interactive might be an even smaller percentage with their tiny entering classes. Please wait until you see what other scholarships might be offered and what kind of an FA package you receive. </p>
<p>Remember also that your friend might have something going for him that is unrelated to stats – just as you must have to have been accepted by SCA. (Huge congrats, by the way!) For example, if he is an intended music major who did a fantastic violin audition or submitted wonderful compositions, or an artist with an amazing portfolio, or a student journalist whose news stories wowed the admissions folks at Annenberg, this would be significant. </p>
<p>In terms of legacies, faculty kids, etc., times have changed at USC. One of the professors who gave a talk for parents at an admitted students event told us that his son – whose statistics were within the range of accepted students – had just been rejected. At my kids’ high school, legacy kids whose admission might have been a sure thing some years ago are being directed elsewhere. </p>
<p>Many weird, inexplicable, seemingly random things happen in college admissions. Kids are accepted to colleges with much tougher criteria than colleges that reject them. Vals with stellar EC’s are rejected from colleges that accept five other unhooked kids from their high schools. Kids are accepted to college xyz that everyone in their right mind told them they should forget because they just weren’t xyz material, while a URM xyz legacy with great stats and a national award from the same high school is waitlisted. If you let all this get to you, you are not going to be able to relish and enjoy your own victories – such as your early acceptance to USC while others are waiting and going nuts wishing they had what you have!</p>
<p>This is so true and I’m still trying to remember this. I’m a mom who STILL has a (slight!) bitterness about my legacy daughter not even being ACCEPTED to USC although her two brothers got in- all having very good stats. </p>
<p>So I reconcile it by KNOWING what all the posters said above: USC Admissions looks at the whole package and WE don’t know exactly what that means. There are things they see that maybe we will never understand. But it works for USC. No one can deny the upward trend in rankings, academic reputation, and in my eyes- quality of education.</p>
<p>In my humble opinion, I TRULY believe legacy is not a big factor in scholarships or admission. It just doesn’t make sense when you are trying to build a first class institution with the highest reputation. Legacy money is no longer enough to do that. </p>
<p>TRY not to take the scholarship decision personally, hellothereworld. A HUGE congrats on your acceptance!</p>
<p>Thank you all for your wisdom! It certainly still frustrates me, but I will get over it. And perhaps I will be offered money at some point in the process. Yes, it’s hurtful, but I suppose that’s life, I better get used to it, and I should be grateful to be admitted!</p>
<p>hellothereworld-
I totally feel the same way as you do. My D got accepted on the first wave andalso got an invitation to interview for the BA/MD program. She has not heard anything on scholarships, but her friends with much lower stats have gotten trustee/presidential scholarship letters. My D has a 34 ACT, 4.0/4.4 GPA , lots of EC’s, volunteering and research experience. Maybe it is due to the department you are applying to since it is so competitive (like the BA/MD). ALso I went to SC so my D is a legacy. It doesn’t seem to have helped. Did you get the “no” letter for scholarships? Good luck to you!</p>
<p>“Maybe it is due to the department you are applying to since it is so competitive (like the and BA/MD programs).” It is TOTALLY due to the dept one applies to. Merit Scholarships are divvied up by college, and profs and dept heads are the ones who make the decisions about who to award scholarships to. Applicants to the CSA and BA/MD programs have to be truly outstanding to not only qualify for acceptance into these highly competitive programs[ CSA’s acceptance rate is lower than Harvard’s], but to be awarded a merit scholarship as well, as you are competing with incredibly talented students from across the country, and the world.</p>
<p>Hey, hellothereworld. I was just admitted at the Jan. 26th date and found out about my scholarship yesterday. So, if you live on the East Coast, maybe it’s still on its way? Usually they don’t send out just plain old acceptances this early, so I wouldn’t loose all hope. As for the legacy stuff, I am shocked and honored to be under consideration for the Trustee Scholarship and I have no connection whatsoever to the school. I’m the first person from my school to ever even get in to USC, more or less be considered for a merit scholarship. So, I’m not sure legacy plays a huge role in every selection. </p>
<p>hellothereworld ditto lots of all the other moms/parents telling you how lucky you are to be admitted. I know right now it doesn’t feel like you are getting any rewards for all your hard work but getting admitted to USC is a big deal. I know you are waiting to be admitted to SCA though so the wait can be rough. I don’t think the SCA has admitted anyone in to some of their fields yet so maybe they are not handing out scholarships until that is done. I wonder if SCA looks at the kids who were selected for early admissions, like you, first and maybe you will hear soon about whether or not you got in to SCA. In the long run, if money is not an issue for attending USC for you, then being admitted to SCA, even without a scholarship, is a bigger deal than a scholarship. It really will tell you that you are on the right path. Good luck and keep us posted. Lots of us have had children in your situation so we can REALLY relate. My son is still waiting just to be admitted.</p>