<p>My daughter has chosen USC as her first choice. Accordingly I was wondering if anyone here has experience with how accurate the NPC for USC is? In other words do the estimates they show differ markedly from what the actual award letters are? I would hate to go into this with some expectation only to find out that the merit aid has been overstated.
Appreciate any feedback - thanks.</p>
<p>I can’t give a great answer since never used it, but a couple of things stand out. You seem to be interested in merit aid. In the money matters page of admissions it gives a breakdown of merit scholarships and the stats associated with them in the past. I don’t think you can take these as hard and fast rules since I think the numbers change with the quality of applying class. I would guess that the calculator will be more accurate if you scores/stats put you clearly above the numbers cited. For instance if the ave sat in 2011 for scholarship A was 1300, I think the calculator would be more acurate if your scores are 1370 than if they were 1300 because better chance that you’ve beaten any increase.</p>
<p>USC is generous with aid and they will stack merit scholarships. The only sure thing this early is the Leiber, given to NMF. If your student is NMF you can count on this one, $10000/year instate, $6000 OOS plus computer. </p>
<p>I’ve heard mixed reviews overall from NPC so I’d be interested also in what people who have used USC’s say. Good luck.</p>
<p>scmom12…you are absolutely correct. The NPC is only a rough estimate. I was told by department/admissions that it does not guarantee you merit aid. I wish it was 100% accurate because it says I can go to USC for almost nothing.</p>
<p>Thanks to all for the information. Guess we will just have to wait and see. D is right on the cusp for some of the scholarships so I am anxious to see how this plays out. While I understand the position that it is not a guarantee; to present the information and then pull back (in a significant way) seems a bit misleading since we are making selection decisions based on the numbers presented. Thanks again and good luck to all.</p>
<p>Frankly, this is where I’d go talk to FA or admissions. Some schools give guaranteed scholarships based on scores (you get SAT 1250, you get money). I don’t THINK USC’s are that way (maybe done by percentage), but I could be wrong and the only real answer will be from university officials.</p>
<p>Thanks. I agree best bet at this point will be to talk to the school itself. Before doing so though was wondering if folks had some specific experiences to share. I also agree that it appears that USC isn’t going by a hard and fast rule but has some subjectivity built in as long as the credentials are in the range.</p>