List of Merit Scholarships for Incoming Freshmen-Competitive

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
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<p>Many of you are applying early to qualify for CONSIDERATION for the many merit scholarships offered by USC. </p>

<p>Trustee-Full tuition
Last year 146 were received</p>

<p>Presidential-Half tuition
Last year 399 were received</p>

<p>Dean's-One fourth tuition
Last year 121 were received</p>

<p>National Merit Scholar-Half tuition plus $1000 per year by the NMS Foundation
Last year 245 were received</p>

<p>USC Associates-$12,500
10 Awarded</p>

<p>Leadership-$10,000
20 Awarded</p>

<p>USC Alumnae-$1,000 to $4,000
60 to 80 Awarded</p>

<p>Local USC Alumni Clubs-Amount varies
Number varies</p>

<p>Asian Pacific Alumni-Amount varies
15 to 27 Awarded</p>

<p>In addition, various schools at SC have scholarships available which are awarded by the particular school. Some of these are endowed and others may be for one year only.</p>

<hr>

<p>Other Scholarships-These may included current students as well as entering freshmen</p>

<p>Black Alumni Association-Amount varies
70 Awarded </p>

<p>Half Century Trojans-$10,000
3-4 Awarded-Certain qualifications necessary</p>

<p>Jewish Leadership
2 Awarded</p>

<p>LGBT Alumni
7 Awarded</p>

<p>Mexican American-$1,000 to $5,000
About 200 awarded</p>

<p>Town & Gown
Number varies</p>

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<p>Add to this list:</p>

<p>ROTC Scholarships
Awarded to students enrolled in ROTC programs</p>

<p>SCions-$6,000 to $10,000
Awarded to legacy students</p>

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<p>I know for the Trustee scholarship they select students to go to USC and they interview them. what happens to the kids who were picked to go interview but don’t receive the scholarship? are they awarded a different scholarship or are they just screwed over?</p>

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<p>broncos,
Please check your PM box. I sent you a message. Thanks.</p>

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<p>What’s the deadline for SCion applications? December 1?</p>

6

<p>Does anyone know how many people apply by the December 1st deadline?</p>

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<p>Kev,
As I recall last year it broke a record at close to 20,000. If this is incorrect, alamemom or madbean please correct the number.</p>

<p>Note that some of these are for certain ethnic groups or have other specifications. Also, it is wise to apply for local scholarships in your own community. These are given by churches, synagogues, Kiwanis, Elks, Optimist Club, service organizations and some businesses. </p>

<p>An enrolled freshmen from Georgia was awarded at least four local scholarships before she ever entered USC. Students near alumni groups should check out local websites for scholarship information. Last fall Atlanta Alumni Club gave five scholarships. The NYC Alumni Club gave $32,000 in scholarships to NY students.</p>

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<p>Georgia Girl, I also remember the 20,000 December 1st applicants figure from last year.</p>

<p>broncos93 - last year we kept track to try to answer that question. What we found was that in our very small sample, no scholarship candidates invited to interview went home empty-handed. Most were awarded the scholarship for which they interviewed, a few were “bumped up” to Trustee from Prsidential, and a similar numner were “bumped down” from Trustee to Presidential or to Director’s ($12,500/year).
Details: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/888905-trustee-presidential-interview-results-3.html?highlight=trustee+presidential+results[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/888905-trustee-presidential-interview-results-3.html?highlight=trustee+presidential+results&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Hi alamemom, I’ve read several of your posts on financial aid at USC but to clear up some matters:</p>

<p>Do merit scholarships lower the amount of need-based financial aid? Or would it be combined? </p>

<p>EX: Can a student receive the presidential scholarship and have the remaining half-tuition replaced with Cal grants, university grants, etc.?</p>

<p>Also, by tuition, does it include room and board? (EX: Trustee scholarship = full ride or only tuition is covered but we would have to pay for the rest?)</p>

<p>Thank you for your help and time. I really appreciate it!</p>

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<p>^^ Trustee scholarship only covers tuition. The exact amount does rise, however, to cover any increases in tuition over the four years.</p>

<p>alamemom will have to give you details about FinAid combined with merit.</p>

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<p>Thanks for posting. These are some of the incredible scholarships from a truly outstanding university I have seen so far. Do any of these scholarships stack up? Are there any ‘free ride’ scholarships from USC?</p>

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<p>i dont think USC gives any “full rides”… i’m on trustee, with an additional 2.5k university scholarship. the rest of my package is federal aid and grants as well as the subsidized and unsubsidized loans. I’m paying 5.5k a year if you consider loans, but thats it… closest to a full ride i’ve heard of hehe</p>

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<p>Thanks for your information. I appreciate it.</p>

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<p>@madbean Thank you for the information!</p>

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<p>I know there’s a broad list of qualities that students have that earn them the top scholarships but which qualities in the students’ applications are more typical of the students who get the Trustee or Presidential scholarships?</p>

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<p>Special attributes seem to vary by each specific major and may include outside-of-HS recognition. Among a group of very accomplished applicants it may be that talent and awards, internships and research, work and special accomplishments in your field may be a big tip. Of course, no one really knows. :)</p>

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<p>Hello SwimmingChicken!

Merit scholarships often do change the composition of need-based financial aid packages. All colleges and universities that distribute Federal financial aid (Pell Grants, Stafford and Perkins loans, PLUS loans, etc.) are required to consider merit scholarships as a resource when calculating need.</p>

<p>First, keep in mind that USC will calculate your need, not you, and they will use the CSS/Profile to distribute USC grants - so your FAFSA EFC does NOT apply. Use the institutional Method calculators available at the College Board website to get a rough estimate of how much you will be expected to contribute at a Profile school.</p>

<p>Some examples:</p>

<p>If they determine you can contribute $20,000, that would leave a need of $35,000. Your financial aid package would be calculated with Federal Stafford loans (approx $5,500 for a freshman), Federal work/study, and USC grants for a total package of $35,000. If you are awarded a Presidential scholarship, it is a resource and your need becomes $15,000. Your aid is calculated on that amout and would add up to $15,000. Either way, you end up with $35,000 from USC, so there is no “penalty” for receiving a scholarship.</p>

<p>If in that same scenario a student was awarded a Trustee scholarship, then the loans and work/study would be replaced by the scholarship, and the student would only receive the $40,000 Trustee - $5,000 more than they would have received in need-based aid.</p>

<p>Outside scholarships (non-USC scholarships) can generally be used to replace Federal Stafford loans and/or work/study, but there are a few exeptions.</p>

<p>I strongly recommend a book on financial aid called “Paying for College Without Going Broke” by Kalman Chaney. It is available at Amazon for about $15 and will be the best $15 you ever spend. Be sure to get the 2011 edition and read it before doing your CSS/Profile and FAFSA in January.</p>

<p>For some info from a parent (me) who has gone through the financial aid process specifically at USC, read the first few pages of <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/839970-faq-usc-financial-aid-2010-a.html?highlight=faq+usc+financial+aid+2010[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/839970-faq-usc-financial-aid-2010-a.html?highlight=faq+usc+financial+aid+2010&lt;/a&gt; and then you can search the thread for lots of questions that were asked last year.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>Ah good, I had no chance of getting a scholarship, now I am less worried about not applying by Dec 1st.</p>

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<p>Everyone who applies by December 1st has a “chance” for a scholarship. The only reason you do not have a chance for a scholarship is because you didn’t apply by December 1st.</p>

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<p>@ Alamemom </p>

<p>Thank you for your explanation and the link was definitely really helpful! :)</p>

<p>"If they determine you can contribute $20,000, that would leave a need of $35,000. Your financial aid package would be calculated with Federal Stafford loans (approx $5,500 for a freshman), Federal work/study, and USC grants for a total package of $35,000. If you are awarded a Presidential scholarship, it is a resource and your need becomes $15,000. Your aid is calculated on that amout and would add up to $15,000. Either way, you end up with $35,000 from USC, so there is no “penalty” for receiving a scholarship.</p>

<p>If in that same scenario a student was awarded a Trustee scholarship, then the loans and work/study would be replaced by the scholarship, and the student would only receive the $40,000 Trustee - $5,000 more than they would have received in need-based aid."</p>

<p>Now, I have more specific question. What does USC do with the federal grants (Cal, pell, etc.)? In the example above, you’ve established that the hypothetical family can contribute $20,000, with the remaining $35,000 covered by USC financial aid. However, let’s hypothetically say that the family is low-income, but has high-assets so the Institutional and Federal EFC values would be largely unequal. But the FAFSA does not consider one’s assets so this person could qualify for federal grants. Would that mean that these federal grants would reduce the $20,000 that the family is expected to contribute or would it go towards the $35,000? I apologize if I am asking too many questions. My family is unaware of the financial aid policies. </p>

<p>Once again, thank you so much for you help. I really appreciate it!</p>