<p>My daughter received an invite to an "exclusive dinner showcasing... the McNair Scholars Award" at Ruth's Chris Steak House near where we live. Does anyone know if this is essentially an information session (albeit an upscale one considering the location) or is this an opportunity for an interview of sorts where you could potentially meet some of those who review and decide on applicants? Not sure how many others will be there but the invitation indicates "you and one parent to be our guests" and space would be limited. </p>
<p>Also, aside from test scores, how do they determine who to send these to? - Is it just based on test scores or transcripts and application essays as well? - I ask because she just sent her honors application in 1 week ago and they already had her transcript, and she received this today - I wasn't sure if it was result of that or just coincidence in timing. </p>
<p>Finally, any advice on what they look for or anything else for the application- which we need to locate online as well. Thanks!</p>
<p>Never mind on the location of the application … duh, I did not realize it was part of the Honors application. As I was looking for it online, I saw this, “The Honors College/Top Scholars application can be accessed online as part of the general application to USC” … I didn’t realize since daughter already sent it in. Hope we’re not too late for any advice!</p>
<p>Our K2 received a similar invitation in the mail (and to the same restaurant chain) and has not applied to the University yet. I’m guessing the invite goes out based on test scores?? We have not visited the school yet, only participated in a local meet & greet.</p>
<p>I think it’s based on test scores and interest in USC. They also do these for instate kids for Carolina scholar. It’s nice to start meeting other potential students. D met her roommate through all the scholarship competitions she did. She did not attend the dinner because she had a tennis match. And she was invited to interview weekend. So I would say it doesn’t seem to be evaluative - just more specific information for highly qualified students.</p>
<p>I can tell you that they read the essays very carefully. It’s the most time consuming application D did. My feel is that essays and ECs are what separate out the students they invite for scholarship weekend from what is an increasingly large group of highly qualified students. D loves the honors college.</p>
<p>Thanks scmom12… as usual, helpful information! I signed her up for the dinner so she’ll learn more about it there. It would be nice for her to go USC considering her brother is there as well but she is still weighing her options at this point. Agree that application was exhaustive and I wasn’t even the one completing it or writing the essays!! (I was the nag).</p>
<p>Thanks scmom12- it certainly is a nice touch by the university. Wish I could attend, but DH jumped at the chance to be the parent invitee. What would Pavlov say about this??? lol.</p>
<p>I agree with scmom12 that the invitation is based on test scores and interest in USC. The dinner is informative and not evaluative. At the dinner that we attended last year, there were a couple of representatives from admissions as well as the parents of a current McNair who spoke about the benefits of the scholarship and the honors college.</p>
<p>Usually the regional representative for your area is also in attendance and even though it is not evaluative, it is always important to give off a good first impression.</p>
<p>I will disagree a little. My DD had visited USC twice her soph/junior year and had a great interest in USC (is a current Honors Cooper Scholar). She was not invited to the local McNair reception but a teammate of hers that went to a different school that had no interest in USC and had lower test scores than DD (by 4 points on the ACT) was invited. I am not sour about this but it was a bit confusing to her (and honestly she was a bit dissapointed). I think that USC asks the guidance offices who to invite (no one from DD’s school was invited). </p>
<p>One of her classmates is a McNair - she was not invited to the reception either and her test scores were lower than DD’s - but…she is a fabulous individual and has some life experiences that my DD does not have (lived abroad) and I am sure wrote GREAT essays too. She deserves to be a McNair. (Not that I don’t think my dd deserved it too :))</p>
<p>Thank you ahsmuoh… very interesting feedback. It clearly doesn’t seem predictable I guess. It would also be interesting to learn who else received the invite and what their stats are…maybe figure out a pattern </p>
<p>My D’s are:
GPA: 3.7 UW / 4.5 W (7-pt grading scale - i.e. A=93-100, B=86-92, ec.)
ACT: 34<br>
SAT: 1420 (CR+MA)
Usual ECs: NHS, Girl Scouts, soccer, tons of community service and leadership mostly through NHS and Girl Scouts.
<p>^^When I mentioned interest, our demonstrated interest was that I always sent one of our free score reports to USC since it is an instate school for us. So at the point the dinner invites went out, USC didn’t have D’s application, but did have SAT and ACT scores from junior year. </p>
<p>coleman, if you’re talking about invites to McNair weekend, I only know that it is holistic in that the whole application is closely read - it’s not just the top 50 kids (or whatever the number is) based on scores alone.</p>
<p>I will try to clarify my previous post. When I referenced test scores and demonstrated interest, I was referring to the invitiation to the Ruth Chris dinner. Last year, when we received an invitation to the Ruth Chris dinner, USC had only received PSAT scores because my S had checked a box releasing his scores when taking the PSAT. In addition, we had contacted the honors college admissions department and had attended a University Day. USC may also invite students based on relationships with schools in particular areas. This is just a guess, because I was not told why we received an invitation.</p>
<p>The invitation to the McNair Scholar Finalist weekend is based on the complete honors college application. All of the students accepted to the honors college have high stats and lots of EC’s. At the finalist weekend, they did mention that students with perfect SAT’s did not make it to the finalist weekend. Therefore, unique essays that demonstrate diverse interests, intellectual curiousity and leadership skills are very important. Somehow, you have to make yourself standout when compared to a lot of qualified applicants. Unfortunately, only 41 students are invited to the finalist weekend. </p>
<p>Resurrecting my old thread with McNair questions … I noticed the date for the McNair-Horseshoe interview weekend is posted- March 1-3, 2014, so I was wondering when these invites go out? Or if anyone has received one yet?</p>
<p>If there are any students who turn down the invitation to the weekend, then admissions might invite an additional student or two to fill in. That might happen in the first two weeks of February as the McNair Committee evaluates their acceptances and their list of other potential candidates. Every student attending the weekend will get a substantial offer – either the McNair or Horseshoe Scholarship.</p>
<p>No I was wondering the same thing … I called the Admissions office yesterday to see if they’ve all been sent out but of course, they were closed due to inclement weather same with today. Considering the weather, I wonder if there is a delay (I hope since we haven’t gotten anything yet!! LOL). If anyone has, please post so we’re not wondering if it’s just one person thus far. </p>
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same with today. Considering the weather, I wonder if there is a delay (I hope since we haven’t gotten anything yet!! LOL). If anyone has, please post so we’re not wondering if it’s just one person thus far.