it was downloaded on the 3rd according to commonapp but I submitted on the 1st…
@ploince Yes, that is always an issue on CC - there is always a lot of overconfidence. Being a rockstar in their little neighborhood does not always translate to a competitive and much sought after university when the competition is the entire world (remember about 30% is international at USC). Many don’t understand that over 30,000 that applied by December 1st will not be getting packages while only around 1000-1200 will. That is less than 4%, but add in regular applicants and it ends up being about 2% that get merit.
However, it is amazing how many that get packages actually do post on CC - it will seem like everyone else is getting the merit box! That’s a good thing though, because it is the beginning of a community at USC, long before the first day.
But another reality check is that 3000 students with grades and scores in the 99th percentile aren’t even accepted, yet get merit. There’s a lot of 4.5+ 33-34 ACT students with tons of ECs and leadership that aren’t accepted in March - it is good to keep in mind how competitive it is. USC strives and gets an incredibly well round class - it is like a big diverse melting pot there, very cool. Good to be hopeful, but better to be real/even and be elated when the package comes, and ok if it doesn’t come.
I would take the advice of @“Georgia Girl” who has been a key contributor on this site much longer than I have - if you aren’t fried from applications, search out other scholarships - even at USC, there are some special interests groups taking applications, check your community and good ol’ Google. There are scholarships out there than very few or even no one applies to! Also, there is terrific financial aid from USC that many will benefit from.
https://admission.usc.edu/docs/Scholarships.pdf
The worst part of this site is the broken hearts, but there are always some, it’s life in college admissions these days at many many schools. But you all will end up exactly where you are supposed to be! Get ready to rumble people and good luck! 
@whathaveidone5 You are absolutely fine, the submission date and time of the common app by you is what USC gets, many are downloaded after that. They can’t do them all in one day! All good, really.
@CADREAMIN I am an international student; I live in Eastern Europe. Packages take long to be delivered to my house from abroad, especially the USA. Will notification of scholarship be done solely through snail mail?
Also, if you are not chosen for merit consideration, do you still get notified about your status?
@chrys1 No… snail mail is their preferred method, but your USC admission portal also updates within a few days of them being mailed out. And yes… you are updated either way. Good Luck.
@WWWard thank you!!
@chrys1 you’re welcome.
And my guess, based on the portals being temporarily down this weekend, is that they will be going out via that snail mail today… with portal updates likely in the overnight hours between Tuesday and Wednesday. Of course, they could also go out Monday. In the past, they have gone out on both Fridays and Mondays as I recall. Good luck to all those waiting…
Just asked USC admissions on Snapchat. Letters go out tuesday the 23rd, and you’ll be able to check online on Friday!
what are typically the stats of merit scholarship receivers?
@billybobby54 Read the first post in this thread.
On USC Admission twitter page, they just posted “Students who applied by our December 1st deadline (to all majors), will get a scholarship consideration update by February 1st.”
Sandbagging?
^^^^ Probably just a reaction from everyone calling the admissions office!
@billybobby54 For the 2014-2016 admission classes, over 160 applicants who received scholarship interviews posted their stats on this site. The average unweighted GPA was around 3.92 and the average SAT score was around 1480/1600 (SAT2400 scores and ACT scores converted to SAT1600 scale). There wasn’t a significant difference between Trustee and Presidential candidates’ average GPAs and SATs. Of course, there are many other subjective factors and it is a small sample size, but interesting anyway.
Does anyone know if USC admission/scholarship decision is determined by admission office along or it’s a joint decision between admission office and departments of intended majors?
Joint decision.
I have a quick question. I applied by the Dec. 1 deadline (was a QuestBridge Finalist, not matched so application rolled over and they said they would consider me for regular decision and merit scholarship). However, I’ve had to do financial verification twice for USC, the earliest being this morning when I had to verify my parent’s income and earnings (I’m poor af tho so idk). Is this a good or bad sign? Especially since the request for verification came so close to when letters and decisions are being made?
Shimainu - those stats are a good illustration of why people need to stop obsessing about test scores. 1480 SAT is barely above average for USC students, and well below the 75th percentile of 1525. Merit scholarships are granted based on a holistic evaluation, and test scores are one small portion of that. True, low scores will keep a student from being considered, but once someone is in the top 2% ballpark (1480 ish), there is no predictive statistical difference in future success. Colleges are well aware of this, so they give points for score ranges, not individual scores (like anything over 1500 may count as the same in their rubric). I’ve seen people downright angry that someone with a 1490 got a scholarship, while they did not with a 1580+. What we don’t see on forums like this is that the 1490 SAT student was a published author, or a nationally recognized musician, etc… It’s a pointless stressor to obsess over mere test scores.
Didn’t know 1480 was barely above average.
A lot of schools use a database called Naviance that shows admitted student history from your school and from all applicants. The average accepted USC student SAT is 1447, 75th percentile is 1525. So out of 8000 or so given admissions offers each year, at least 2000 have an SAT (or equivalent ACT) of 1525 or higher. My point was not that high scores aren’t helpful (they are the first gate you have to pass through), but that other parts of the application are what tip someone over into merit scholarship, not numbers.
@SEArent That was exactly the point of my post. Someone asked for stats of typical interviewees. I summarized the average stats that have been posted on CC, but noted that there is little difference in stats of Trustee, Presidential, etc. It is the subjective factors that make the difference. Didn’t want someone to get the impression that those were the magic numbers to get an interview. In another post, I noted that there were several 4.0 & 1550+ applicants who did not get an invite.