Yes, if you get the white box with no scholarship mention, you are admitted but with 1/4. They have given additional Dean’s out in March - from following last several years, the Dean’s given out in March are not that many, but there are some. Always a great surprise because they are unexpected then. But I recall years with no one mentioning Dean’s in March (but that is just the cc sample). You do see more posts about them in January. They have given 80-120 in total. There really isn’t any clue. Since they didn’t even admit 3,000 applicants with scores/grades in the 99 percentile, it is too hard to guess anything or see clues from USC. I personally know students with 4.67/34ACT and plenty of leadership/ECs not admitted. Go figure. They are putting together what they feel is a well rounded class and in so doing, it is hard to predict.
Quick question: as I am applying to the Cinematic School for my first choice major (which has a much lower acceptance rate), is it possible to get a scholarship for your 2nd choice major while the decision for your first choice is pending?
Highly unlikely would be my guess. While second choices are considered, and certainly some get into second choice major, the first choice reigns premier. There are too many people applying with high stats in in any major and choosing one first shows the commitment to it necessary to be one of the very few that gets scholarships.
While seniors wait to discover if selected for a top merit scholarship consider applying for local scholarships. These could be from civic, fraternal, patriotic, religious, business or political organizations. One student I met from Georgia had won four local scholarships before she entered SC.
Sometimes there are few applicants for these scholarships. A search may help find local sources for needed funds.
@CADREAMIN, thanks for posting this. I just read through the 2021 USC Discussion/Results thread (yes, over 5000 posts!) and really found so much of it to be helpful info, including many of your posts since you are clearly somewhat of an expert after going through this four times now. Wow!
First, let me say thanks for sticking around, if indeed you will for this thread. The other USC Class of 2022 thread is already off to a start as well as we enter the results season.
I have a couple comments to make on the Presidential vs. Dean’s Scholarships. Of course, Trustee would be the best (full tuition). Being asked to interview for Presidential gives the opportunity for a bump up (or bump down) based on how it goes, which I view as more of a positive to have a shot at being bumped up.
Re the Deans, it seems strange that they would send a box to notify admission (great news of course) but with no mention that one got the Deans, which is 1/4 tuition (approx $13,000). Seems puzzling to leave so many in the dark. Hopefully they will mention it this year in the letter, if any of us (parents/students) are lucky enough.
The other comment that I have re Deans is that although it is nice to be offered over $10,000, it is not nearly enough for many to make attending USC (which is 70k or more per year when factoring in all costs) possible. Half off tuition, even if awarded Presidential at around $27,000, seems generous. However, one might consider that USC is not offering half off room and board and the other costs. Not to take anything away from the awards, which are still fabulous.That being said, some would likely need financial aid too. The potential problem (if my understanding is correct) is that any financial aid one gets later, would be subtracted from the merit. Is that right, CAdreamin? So you could get $27,000 off tuition via Presidential, but if Financial Aid determines later that you might “deserve” $25,000, it essentially cancels out and you are still left with having to come up with about $45,000 per year after the merit award (even if given another $25,000 in financial aid). I suppose it might be possible to be given $40,000 in financial aid, in which case it would amount to $13,000 more to add to a $27,000 Presidential half off tuition award. Not to take anything away from any award, only that one should keep one’s eyes open about what it realistically may mean.
On a positive note, based on the above, being given the Deans award at $13,000 and if lucky to be offered another $30,000 in financial aid, after canceling out the $13,000 Deans award, might add another $17,000 off the annual cost of attending. Essentially, being offered the Deans plus a reasonable aid package could net the same remaining cost to attend, as getting the Presidential. My point is that the Deans may be better than one thought, (assuming one can get more financial aid) and less of a “disappointment” if not offered a Presidential. The caveat being that being offered a Presidential with an invite to interview, could lead to a bump up to a Trustee.
Being realistic, most will not be offered anything, based on the stats. Not to be a downer, but as @CADREAMIN referenced, about 97% of 30,000 Dec 1 applicants will not be offered an award next week. Even if GPA and standardized tests are stellar, it appears to be a very holistic process that factors in so many things, including (not saying it’s not a good thing) gender, race, geography, essays, personal story, major applied to, accomplishments, hardship, ECs, possibly legacy, and more. I think it is a good thing that USC is trying to assemble a diverse broad student body and very generous to offer any merit awards at all. Many with very high standardized scores will be denied a scholarship and some may also be denied admission. Nevertheless, being an optimist, there is always hope and a chance at being the lucky one of a small number to be offered an award. In no way should anyone take it personally or against USC if not offered one. Many who are not offered one will be admitted to other great schools, some may even be Ivies or higher ranked than USC. Ranking is subjective and not an end all, some place a higher value on it than others. Nevertheless, it is true that many will get into many other top schools, including or excluding USC. Fit matters and so many feel that USC is a great fit for them. Good luck to everyone!
@CADREAMIN Thanks for posting this! I have a similar question as @astute12 . My son is applying for dance and hiss audition is end of this month. Well rounded with 4.67GPA/1540SAT. Do you know if kids applying for schools that require audition get scholarship packages in Jan?
As stated above, even a full tuition scholarship will leave a lot of expenses on the table for a family considering sending their admitted applicant to USC… room/board, travel, etc. Some will get merit scholarships and still be unable or unwilling to attend, simply based on the remaining financial cost versus the net price elsewhere. By April 1, 98% of all applicants will be in the position of not receiving a merit scholarship offering… and even 86% of those admitted (only 16% or roughly 9000 or so of the 55K+ applying) will have been admitted without a merit scholarship being offered as well.
For many admitted, the financial aid offering can be worth more than what is or could have been offered via merit scholarships. And since the # of merit offerings are limited… I have always wondered if USC may or may not even consider whether an applicant is applying for financial aid. In other words, if USC plans to admit you and make it affordable via financial aid, do they also need to offer such an applicant a merit scholarship as well? or would they be better served offering merit scholarships to those who may need that extra attraction to commit to USC - and not necessarily those who would be gaining a large university grant equivalent to such a merit offering? I am not sure of that answer.
But the remaining cost… after any and all scholarships and financial aid… is a huge eventual factor, one which also helps explain why USC’s yield rate - even related to only those offered merit scholarships - still is around 34%.
Other mid size private schools such as Emory and Washington University, St. Louis, to name a couple, appear to have yields in the 35% range similar to USC. USC has significantly more applicants and seems to be on an upward trend, as is WashU in St. Louis, whereas maybe Emory has fallen some in the last couple of years. Georgetown seems to be steady at around 47%, and Duke is fairly low at around 42%.
Many students who apply to USC are also applying to Ivies or other top 20 schools, of which they often (not always) prefer universities like Penn, Stanford, Columbia, Yale, Harvard, Duke… and might prefer schools like Northwestern, Brown, or Cornel…l. I personally like USC over many of them, but some are more concerned with rankings than others. I was surprised to read that Northwestern is only about a 44% yield rate. Many colleges are struggling with this issue, maybe due to the sheer number of colleges that super bright students are applying to?
In any case, agree with @WWWard that costs of attending for most of these schools are unattainable for many families, without merit and/or financial aid. I think it would be tricky to not offer merit to students who qualify for financial aid. For one, financial circumstances can change, which might penalize the student by then not having the merit award. If a student has done the work and accomplished impressive things in addition to GPA and standardized tests, I think they should be considered for merit, regardless of other financial aid applied for.
@CADREAMIN Thank you so much for this thread!! Super helpful stuff my friend. Fingers Crossed!!
@CADREAMIN ah okay. Thanks for the reply!
Thanks for all the carefully researched info. Unfortunately, even good info can be stressful to anxious kids and parents, so I thought I’d throw out this anecdotal experience. My child was interviewed for, and ultimately received, a Trustee scholarship a couple years ago. My parental obsession had me reading too many of these CC threads, which isn’t always a good idea. When my child did not receive a white box 4, 5, 6 days after many had posted receipt, I thought that a USC merit scholarship wasn’t in the cards. My child received the white box about a week after the first few posts, and we live on the west coast. The mysteries of mail delivery are as obtuse as merit scholarship decisions. So don’t take any speculation about dates too seriously, and, well… don’t take anything you read here too seriously, or you’ll blow a gasket. Also, holistic means holistic. As others have stated, it is pointless to wring your hands because your 1600 SAT child did not get a merit scholarship at USC. Those dissappointed “perfect” kids will all have multiple great opportunities that will end up being amazing.
Hey! I have a question. I submitted my application before the Dec. 1 deadline. However, they just received my SAT scores 2 weeks ago. Was I still considered for merit scholarships?
I’ve noticed that you say only about 100 people will get the Dean’s scholarship. Although, on this PDF about USC’s scholarships, it says there are 250 Dean’s awards available. Do you think they’re increasing the amount given out this year? https://admission.usc.edu/docs/Scholarships.pdf
@NEC2022 My understanding is that applicants can submit their SAT scores after the December 1 deadline and still be considered for merit scholarships. However, the application won’t be considered complete for review until the scores are received. USC Admissions advises that scores be provided as close to the December 1 deadline as possible. You may have gotten the scores in on time for review, but there is no guarantee.
The 100 number being use here is what they have actually given out - meaning people that accepted the scholarship and attended USC. That number has ranged between 80-138 in last few years. So 250 given out is the usual figure, because many students will attend elsewhere for various reasons.
Called USC Admissions yesterday and they would not confirm that they are mailing merit awards on Friday. Would only say that students will be notified by end of January or Feb 1st. Guess we will know if anyone in the L.A. area gets something on Saturday, which is the day after tomorrow! On the other hand, the 19th sounds early and it may be that they mail them on Monday, January 22, in which case the first notifications could be Tuesday, 23rd. That being said, I agree with @PNWProduction whose son got the package many days late and perhaps confirms that USPS is unreliable and will likely lose some or deliver to the wrong house some of those awards (I think I read on another thread that the post office only guarantees about 95% delivery accuracy) so not getting a letter or packet is not a definite rejection. Also, when you type in the USC zip code and look at your state as to whether it is in a 2 or 3 day zone, it is not really helpful, since many reported last year and probably other years that it took an extra day or days to get their delivery.
On the other side of the coin, thinking your package could be late, was delivered to wrong address, etc., really drags out the agony - sitting there day after day assuming it is lost in the mail is horrible if it turns out it just isn’t coming. Before portal updates were so fast, I watched my a friend hanging on to that hope for a few days after they were expected, painfully waiting for the mailman each day, and that can be way worse than letting it go, then being surprised if it comes. The vast majority will get it when expected or within a day or so of that. Besides, the portal updates 3 days (4th since after midnight) after mailed so everyone knows by then if their package is coming or not. There is no wondering for a week anymore, that use to be an issue fixed with technology.
The best thing can be to go on with your life and not follow cc the next few days, but it is addictive, I get that. Some find it super stressful because everyone seems to be getting something, and others enjoy the madness and seeing who gets what. Have to decide which you are!
If an international student has his national school leaving exams - that are necessary for graduation and can’t be taken at a later date - clashing with the interview program and can’t travel to USC, do you think a Skype interview can suffice?
@CADREAMIN Out of curiosity, if you are selected to be interviewed…do you know when those interviews take place?
Good point. To suggest white box may come 5 days later than everyone else and keep checking your mail box is a cruel and unusual punishment :). Portal update 3 days later should be all reliable to tell you if you get it or not, and to move on from there.