My Chances at USC for Merit Scholarships/Merit Aid

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Hey guys, I wanted to ask you all a bit about my chances of getting some merit aid at one of the most difficult-to-get-aid-at schools around (and my dream school), the University of Southern California. I have enough money to go there if I get any of their scholarships, not necessarily the "big-ticket" ones, so maybe that will help.</p>

<p>Quick Overview:
White/Asian Mixed Race
5.0 Gpa Weighted
3.8 Gpa Unweighted
2200 SAT
210 PSAT
Ten AP classes taken, 4-5's on them all.
Top Quartile at my High School</p>

<p>Extremely dedicated varsity marching band member, well over 2000 hours logged outside of school
Member of school Concert Band
Member of school Full Orchestra
Member of several school clubs</p>

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<p>Im attempting to bump this back up</p>

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<p>This thread sure moves fast</p>

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<p>Should be good enough to get in, but not quite stellar enough for a merit scholarship. GL</p>

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<p>Guessing whether you’ll get in is tough enough, how can we possibly have any insight to the financial aid package you’ll receive? </p>

<p>Many students at USC get scholarships; the “big” scholarships (Presidential etc) involve interviews after you’ve been admitted. If your 210 PSAT is good enough to be a NMSF or NMF and you designate USC as your first choice, then your likely to get a substantial merit scholarship. A 3.8 UW GPA is the average UWGPA for the last two classes so that doesn’t stand out. A 2200 is around the 75th%-tile which, while very good, may not be enough to move the merit financial aid meter very much.</p>

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<p>Why is a 3.8 considered mediocre? It’s so close to a 4.0…</p>

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<p><a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/private/1213/USCFreshmanProfile2012.pdf[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/private/1213/USCFreshmanProfile2012.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>[USC</a> News](<a href=“USC News - University of Southern California News”>USC News - University of Southern California News)</p>

<p>3.8 is not “mediocre”, but as the above links show, 3.8 is the “average” UW GPA for USC admits.</p>

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<p>Same for most top schools, GPA 3.8 is the admission average. The bottom 25% is at around 3.7.</p>