<p>The FAFSA and CSS/Profile are NOT required for merit aid - only if you wish to be considered for need-based aid.</p>
<p>Bummer about the “commended” thing. You’d think they would see the 2300 SAT score on a first-sitting as more qualifying than a score she rec’d in 9th grade. Argh. </p>
<p>Am now wonderng why she didn’t receive any information re: scholarship either way. Should we just assume that she’s been accepted and will have to pay full-fare?</p>
<p>Here’s a wild question. Hypothetical: Daughter is accepted at an Ivy League School and is notified with the regular decision applicants. It is kosher to use that as a bargaining tool for additional merit-scholarship funding at USC?</p>
<p>Wont help…</p>
<p>So wow, the national merit award is AUTOMATIC? That is awesome! It says “consideration” on the scholarship page.
Also, could I receive another smaller merit scholarship in addition to that possibly, even I don’t get a trustee or presidential scholarship? I absolutely love USC, but I live on the East Coast so I’m going to need to get a lot of money to go, plus my FAFSA came back saying I need no financial aid, pretty much.</p>
<p>also, westside worrier, NMSC bases their decisions on junior year, not freshman year.</p>
<p>xogenxo…the National merit award, and the invitation to interview for the Presidential are two different things.
With NMF, yes it is automatic to receive that if you declare USC as your first choice by the deadline (end March, or May 1)
If you happened to also receive an invitation to be considered for the Pres…yes, you might ask yourself, well what’s the difference? You’re getting it anyway.
When they decide which students are eligible for merit scholarships, they don’t know you are NMF, or don’t consider that.</p>
<p>So you might think, well why go to the Explore date and interview anyway?</p>
<p>Go, because you have a chance you might get a Trustee instead as sometimes they bump up a Pres candidate to a Trustee.</p>
<p>But yes, you have the Pres anyway, automatic, + an extra $1000, if you are NMF and let them know about USC being your first choice.</p>
<p>does anyone have any idea about bacc/md and what my “no acceptance, no pres/trustees” letter means in terms of receiving an interview?</p>
<p>We are on the East Coast, my daughter applied long before Dec. 1, she has good SAT scores and mediocre grades, and she has not received any letter from USC. Maybe today. (She did, however, already submit her mid-year grades.)</p>
<p>same boat as you lenny2 although my scores and grades are pretty high…</p>
<p>is everyone who applied by December 1 but is NOT receiving a scholarship getting a letter that tells them so?</p>
<p>My friend and I both applied by Dec. 1. He got a letter saying he was not receiving either the Presidential or Trustee scholarship but to keep a look out for his decision around march/april.
I have received nothing yet. If I didn’t get a scholarship either should I expect that letter too?? I feel like I’ve been left hanging!!</p>
<p>My S got the same letter today, but we’re in NorCal so it’s possible many will receive them in the days to come if they live farther away. Very generic letter, but it does say to submit first term grades if you haven’t. We already had. </p>
<p>It says USC received 22000 apps by 12/1 and have narrowed that group down to 1000 for the trustee and Presidential scholarships. As stated already, they will be offering admissions to 8400 and have only offered to 15% of those already. So plenty of offers will be coming in the weeks ahead. Good luck to everyone and congrats to those already selected. :)</p>
<p>My D rec’d the same letter as norcalimom’s S today, and we’re in Chicago.</p>
<p>but if i do get a nmf presidential scholarship, is there a possibility to get one of the smaller scholarships on top of that?</p>
<p>The University of Southern California is pleased to offer the ability of students to receive online messages regarding the status of their application. However, all decision notifications are made via postal mail. </p>
<p>Undergraduate Application (Part II, Fall 2011)
We have completed an initial review of your application and would like to see the results of the first term of your senior year (final, not mid-term marks). </p>
<p>Thats what it says on my application online, this means that they will review my app one more time when my midterm grades are sent rite? so i probably wont hear from them until april rite? ■■■</p>
<p>Does this letter mean that we didn’t even qualify for the Dean’s scholarship, which are coming out today?</p>
<p>I’m starting to question if USC just doesn’t like me for some reason. I thought my stats would be enough to at least get me the Dean’s, so I’m wondering if they will even accept me by March.</p>
<p>I received the letter too. Have they sent out any rejections yet??</p>
<p>sydneygoose- Rejections only come out in April</p>
<p>And yeah, I’m wondering the same thing as BigKev. . .</p>
<p>I got the “no scholarship, will send decision in late-March” letter.</p>
<p>Also wondering same thing as Big Kev in terms of the Dean’s scholarship. Seeing the stats that are being posted there is a huge range of numbers and ECS, many seemingly lesser than the app stats of people who have not been offered an interview. For instance, I have a 2340, 3.9 GPA, great ECs and great letters of rec and was offered nada. BigKev, who is also a great candidate, is in the same boat.<br>
I was discussing this with some kids at my school with similarly high stats, etc. and they received nothing also. We found that while none of our parents could actually afford to send us to USC, they also did not apply for FA because they knew they would not qualify. The only kid at our school who did receve an intervew invitation was less “qualifed” based on an obective revew of his stats than the rest of us but had applied and should qualify for FA. So it would be interesting to know what percentage of kids who were offered interviews were also FA applicants. Maybe USC is focusing is scholarship efforts more on that group of kids. Then again, maybe that theory is just plain wrong. The frustrating thing is we will never really know.</p>
<p>Also, our hs counselor said that private schools focus more on admitting to their specific programs and favor some programs over others whereas public universties are more apt to admit “to the universty.” Thus, if the private only has a few spots in a particular program, the competition s even more intense. I applied as an English major and it’s interesting to see that none of the students who have posted on the stat thread were admitted to that program, and that a few of them simply went in undeclared. Trying to assess all of this on a forensic basis is driving me and several of my friends nuts. Again, it’s frustrating to spend 4 years working one’s you know what off in order to present as a complete package only to be told “no” and have absolutely no idea why. And it’s very hard not to take it personally.</p>