<p>USC will be open tomorrow starting at 10 am…</p>
<p>thanks, I just saw that on twitter too so I figured I’d send them a tweet about it. </p>
<p>Ok, I just called and was told by one person that “some of the invites went out last Friday” and they’re sending them in phases, but then another person (transferred me to a counselor) told me that “all of the invites went out last Friday.” He seemed unsure of the delivery method or time (overnight, 2 day, etc.) but I think it’s fair to say that if you haven’t heard by now, then you did not get an invite. 
At first they wouldn’t tell me about my d specifically but I pressed a bit and he said he didn’t see any recent communication sent to her so I take that to mean she didn’t get an invite. I actually thought she had a solid chance. </p>
<p>Anyway, so my question now is - is there a chance they could send out others if some of those that were sent don’t accept (i.e. maybe going to other schools, etc.) or is there possibility that some may attend the weekend and still end up going to other schools? - would that leave opening or not? </p>
<p>Thought my S had a chance too… but no letter as of today. He’s already been admitted to the Honors College and been told at the minimum he is receiving in-state tuition and an undisclosed amount of merit money… so we should be grateful and thankful for that. Still makes USC a great choice financially… although I know he’ll be disappointed… he really wanted the McNair.</p>
<p>USC Admissions Twitter just posted an hour ago… “All McNair weekend invitations have been mailed”… I wrote back and asked for time and mailing method.</p>
<p>after the Mcnair invites …when is the next notification for possibly Coopers etc?</p>
<p>Just talked to the admissions office, it sounds like they do not offer any additional McNair slots if students don’t attend the weekend or choose another school</p>
<p>I think mid-February is when the other general scholarships are given out. Not sure about the Departmental ones</p>
<p>My son goes to USC now so I can tell you the rest of the merit scholarships, including Cooper go out the beginning of March- at least that’s what happened last year. They aren’t treated separately in the way McNair and Horseshoe are. </p>
<p>My daughter was also accepted to the honors college in December with the same scholarship guarantee letter so we are thankful for that- and she was excited to see she got into the honors college. In fact, she’s gotten into a few higher ranked schools in terms of engineering (Penn State, Univ. Maryland- as a College Park Scholar, Univ. Pittsburgh, NC State) but she’s leaning towards USC due to the highly regarded honors college … and probably a little because her brother goes there so she’s familiar with the campus already. </p>
<p>The tweet they posted today re: McNair weekend invites was in response to a tweet I sent them last night asking if all the McNair invites have gone out yet. </p>
<p>My son was accepted to UMd Honors too… we’re Maryland residents… He too is leaning to USC…LOVED the campus and Columbia. The McNair would have been nice, but is not a deal breaker for him. I think we’re going to be a Gamecock Family!</p>
<p>As someone mentioned, in years past all scholarship packages go out by mid march - that includes actual final packages for people already accepted and promised “at least” certain merit and those who are just hearing about acceptance. However, for some reason (maybe confirmation from NM) Leiber awards for NMF come out a little later. The only scholarships that get final offers before the march mass mailing are those that come to Carolina or McNair weekends since I seem to remember getting those results the week following interviews.</p>
<p>It’s a good thing that USC’s reputation makes it so attractive, but there are now soooo many qualified kids applying. Only 40 OOS students compete for the McNair. The good news is that for OOS students with the stats/scores to be McNair range…they should qualify for one of scholarships that waives OOS tuition. If you add on at least $2000 (McKissick, more for others) you should be below 10k…and for those that are NMF, the 6k automatic Leiber would give you close to full ride (and computer).</p>
<p>S just got accepted to UNC Chapel Hill and wasnt expecting it. Now we have to compare schools a bit more. Any thoughts on UNC vs USC honors college?</p>
<p>My d just got accepted to UNC as well. Obviously UNC is ranked higher overall than USC - If you look at it statistically, UNC appears to be the better school (nationally ranked 30 vs. 112 in US News rankings)… USC is ranked higher in their Honors College and International Business (# 1 in both), but I think it really depends on what you’re looking for in where you want to attend in terms of location, academic programs, amenities, etc. </p>
<p>We live in NC about 20 minutes from UNC and have been to that campus several times- and have been to USC campus several times b/c my s goes there now. Both are beautiful campuses with big, old trees, lots of azalea bushes, brick walkways and old (nostalgic) buildings. But personally, I like USC campus better. UNC campus seems bigger and more spread out whereas USC seems less spread out, easier to find your way around and get from point A to point B quicker. On the other hand, the Dean Dome, football stadium and the hospital are literally right on the campus at UNC, where you should drive to the football stadium at USC. </p>
<p>Both have diversity but in my opinion, USC has more ‘out of state’ diversity since UNC can only accept approx. 18-20% out of state where USC accepts about half out of state. My son really enjoys meeting so many people from all over the country at USC. Ironically the friends he’s become the closest to are SC residents. </p>
<p>From what I can tell from talking to others from both schools, it seems like UNC is more liberal minded and USC is more conservative. But like any school, I think there is a place for anyone at any school and it is what you make it. It would seem like Columbia is bigger than Chapel Hill but actually there are 2 areas just outside of the campus areas in Columbia (5 points and the vista) that remind me of Franklin St. in Chapel Hill. You really need to visit both if you haven’t get and give both a fair chance. </p>
<p>Both have some of the same academic programs except UNC is not much into the STEM-related programs (i.e. engineering). In NC, NC State is the school for those. </p>
<p>My d has been accepted to both- like your son (UNC and USC Honors College) and she is leaning towards USC because:
- She doesn’t want to go somewhere so close to home,
- Her brother goes to USC and they are close,
- She likes the campus on USC for same reasons I stated- and she “feels comfortable” there, and
- Her major is biomedical engineering. While UNC has a biomedical engineering program, it is literally the only engineering program they have and it is actually a partnership with NC State so I’d say USC has a more robust engineering program as well.</p>
<p>Hope that helps … again, if you’re not sure, visit both and see what you think. Have your s attend the admitted students day sent out by USC… and make a visit to UNC as well. It’s all what you’re looking for. 
</p>
<p>coleman4 Thanks for the response! We have visited both schools , but we are OOS for both so S did not think he would get accepted to UNC. He loved both campuses with a preference to USC. We would have to pay full price for UNC and he is already guaranteed in state tuition for USC. I think he is so excited that he got accepted as an OOS student to UNC that he wants to go back and visit. As a parent I don’t know if its worth the price. He wants to major in Biology for premed. I think we have to take him back to both schools and look at the Honors amenities at USC again. It is so hard to compare schools when you are 9 hours away.</p>
<p>@coleman4 thanks for the information! I got into UNC also, so I’m having to goose between Chapel Hill and Columbia!</p>
<p>^ bandgy and Collegecrazy1996 - No problem - obviously I’m doing the same thing here. I actually made a spreadsheet of each school (and others included in d’s short list) including school rankings, program specifics- in her case, biomedical engineering, student body demographics, dining options (USC has ~ 28 places to eat), campus amenities (ex. USC has a movie theatre right on campus, a VERY NICE gym, and tons of clubs), housing options, and of course… cost of attendance, etc. </p>
<p>I already had this info for USC since my s goes there… I’m updating it to include UNC and a couple others- but honestly d is leaning heavily towards USC, even tho’ dad is alumni of UNC! I think getting into the Honors College really swayed her a lot … previously she was leaning towards the northern schools. While she got accepted to Univ. of Pittsburgh and Penn State right away, they aren’t “showing her the love” that USC is showing and I think that’s making a difference (makes you feel wanted). </p>
<p>Anyway, good luck and let us know how it turns out! </p>