In the next few days, likely over 28K of those who applied by Dec 1st, will not be moving forward in the merit scholarship process. Many applicants (& their families) will of course be astonished that they did not gain such an offering. But before you lash out in astonishment, if that comes your way, just think carefully about the #s and what USC itself faces when judging and evaluating 30K or so distinct applicants… all vying for just 800-1200 spots open right now.
By March, more than 46K of those who applied in total will not even have been admitted. Rejection in any form is hard to cope with, but it is a part of growing up and transitioning into the real world beyond high school. My family faced it twice already, in 2014 and last year. My daughters collectively dealt with 19 rejections. My advice is to focus on the continuing opportunities and not the rejections.
In terms of the merit decisions, it is not all about the #s. USC does recalculate GPAs. They judge the level of difficulty based on what you could have taken at your specific high school. They make their own determinations, as different school districts weight and rank differently. They also consider AP and IB test results. And of course they consider SAT and ACT test results. But USC does dig much deeper… as they prefer applicants that demonstrate depth and passion. ECs and Essays matter greatly. But your designated first choice major also matters greatly. Some who may have been offered merit are not simply because they were not also granted admission by the school housing that first choice major. For example, IYA and SCA accept far less than the norm for the university overall (around 15-16%). Those such applicants may be admitted later, but only as Undeclared.
But it is primarily now a #s game driven by huge #s of applicants at all of America’s elite colleges and universities. The Common Application has made it fairly simple to apply to many schools. Many high school seniors now apply to 10+ or even 15+ colleges. Both of mine applied to at least 15. This of course skews the #s even more… making it even harder on colleges to decide among so many qualified applicants.
Neither of my daughters advanced in the merit process when they applied to USC, but they are both there now. For some families, not being offered merit or enough money in terms of merit dollars will itself eliminate USC from their consideration. This is a partial reason why USC’s yield rate is still in the mid 30s.
Things will turn soon enough in favor of the applicants deciding. By late March, most high school seniors will then themselves have their turn to evaluate and reject colleges that have already accepted them. Those decisions will be tough too.
Good luck to those waiting to hear the news this week. If you are among the fortunate 3-4%, be thankful and a little gracious. And if you are among the 96-97% disappointed, just take it all in stride. It is far from the end of the world 