<p>Does anyone know if they will still offer to award someone the Trustee scholarship even if they already have the 1/2 tuition through National Merit?<br>
in other words, would they just pass you up for the Trustee since they feel that you already have the 1/2 anyway.</p>
<p>Anyone??</p>
<p>Why would a NMF be bumped up to Trustee?
I've never heard of this happen before.
I thought Trustee notifications were sent out awhile ago so that interviews could all be conducted in February?</p>
<p>I did interview already for the Trustee. I was just curious if they would not give it to me because they would just say that I already have the 1/2 so why give out the trustee to me.</p>
<p>My sister interviewed for the national merit.. and she got the trustee..</p>
<p>You don't have to interview for the national merit, it's automatic through NM. Do you mean she went to interview for the Presidential which is 1/2 tuition and then they bumped her up to Trustee?</p>
<p>guitars: whether you have the NMF status or not has no bearing on the possibility of getting the Trustees. Lots of Trustee finalists are NM finalists anyway.</p>
<p>I understand that lot's of trustee finalists are NMF also. Since they can only give out a certain number of trustee awards, I wonder if they end up not giving the awards out to the NMF since they already have the 1/2 tuition. Just a thought.</p>
<p>No, I don't think they consider that, otherwise why would they bother inviting you to interview?</p>
<p>^ I don't know either, but it seems a little unfair to give out the Trustees only to the non NMFs. In fact one could argue that they'd be more inclined to give the non NMFs the Pres 1/2 tuition, since they'd have something, and the NMFs the extra award amount. I've wondered about this too. What is the point of the NMFs even participating in the Pres Explore days since they already know they have the award? Particularly those who must travel from across the country. The chance of being bumped up to Trustee is not that big(though I realize the invitation is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about USC).
I wonder really how they determine these awards, since the whole pool of finalists must be strong. I doubt that there are many who may give a poor impression during the interviews, certainly not 50% of them. I also wonder how many Trustees they offer knowing that many will have options elsewhere. Maybe they offer a lot more Trustees based on previous years' patterns on how many awardees actually matriculate? I hope so, since a 50/50 chance is like tossing a coin.</p>
<p>It could be a marketing tool. USC uses it as a way to entice top students to come out and explore USC before other offers come in.</p>
<p>Sequoia - I don't know how many actually attended Trustee interviews, but don't forget to factor in yield expectations when you're calculating the odds. USC has to offer far more than 100 of the scholarships to yield 100 who actually attend. I would not be surprised if half the kids turn down the Trustee scholarship, because so many of them will have great options elsewhere. I think there are a lot of kids who use USC as a safety, including the one student at my S's school who got a Trustee scholarship invitation. I can't see any way that kid will be going to USC. Now that the Ivies are offering more aid to middle-class families, there will be fewer Ivy admits who seriously consider USC just for the money. </p>
<p>guitars - I see no reason for USC to withhold a Trustee scholarship for a NMF. They know they have to discount this student's tuition by 50% regardless, so why not go for 100%? It's cheaper than offering someone else the Trustee's and still giving your son NMF money. (Okay, probably not the way USC thinks about it, really, but it's a thought :))</p>
<p>^ Thanks rainmama. Yes, I had thought about that, the fact that they are very well aware that many will choose other universities. I'm hoping this is the case. It gives us a bit more hope for the Trustee award. We also know a couple of kids who were there, who are looking at other options, including a 2400 SAT math/ physics whiz who is very likely to go to Cal Tech. I'm sure there are many like him. And your point about the new financial aid policies at Ivies is very true as well.
Rainmama, any news for SCA? Wish the best for your son.</p>
<p>This year, 320 students were invited to interview for the Trustee (don't have numbers for Presidential), and only 300 actually agreed to come! I mean, it boggles my mind, but clearly there are kids out there to whom the potential for a full scholarship was not enticing enough. And at Explore, I was surprised that while some families came in very enthusiastic about USC, there were quite a few who talked about Ivies, et al. Don't know what to make of it, but my S loves USC and getting the Trustee would make a huge difference to us so I took a little (misguided?) hope in the idea that not all those top kids will ultimately take the $$ even if it is offered--perhaps more $ left for the rest of us?</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for your input. Everyone brought up great points, but I'm still at square one. It's just that my son also loves USC and without the trustee, I'm not sure we can afford to have him go there. 1/2 is wonderful, but it's still a lot of $.</p>
<p>Trustee would make all the difference to us as well, financially, since my D loves USC too. I wish there was a way that USC could actually determine who would and who wouldn't accept the scholarship, but I guess that's not possible. We'll just have to hope for the best.</p>
<p>Agreed - we would have loved a chance at Trustee, and my S definitely would be attending USC if that had been offered. When USC is one of your top schools, and you have good stats, it's a little frustrating to see the interviews go to kids who are only mildly interested in the school. Fortunately there's NMF $ for my S, but the balance still is a load of money! At this point, though, he'd just like to be admitted. Still no status change since 12/13....</p>
<p>Trustee would also seal the deal for our family financially and douse any lingering feelings of affection our child has for other (less expensive) schools, which we have been careful not to extinguish too early since the cost of attendance will likely determine our course of action. However, the results are unpredictable and 100% out of our control so we will just have to wait and see. Good luck everyone, esp. those waiting on admission results!</p>
<p>Bessie,</p>
<p>when did your child attend ExploreUSC? my s attended monday and tuesday this week. best of luck!</p>
<p>Went to the first session, whenever that was.</p>
<p>The suspense is killing me.</p>