Is it more difficult for a NMF to get admitted to USC due to half tuition rule?
I’d assume not. USC wants NMF.
They get a lot of NMFs that apply and they also want that NMF to have earned that half-tuition by having a whole package and not just the NMF status. So many aren’t admitted, but if you are, it is a great scholarship.
Being NMF is no guarantee of admission. But if you are admitted, then you will definitely get the scholarship.
It’s been pointed out to me that the acceptance rate among NMFs is higher than the general student rate (which makes sense), but it is also the most difficult school to be admitted to with an automatic scholarship among universities that offer them. So most kids going for an automatic at, say, University of Alabama, will get it, while USC is much more selective. The NMF status puts you into the running, but being top 25 they won’t just blindly let in anyone who tested well that day.
I’m not sure that the acceptance rate is higher, but they take about 150 NMF every year.
“Ultimately, USC hopes to enroll about 140 Trustee scholars and somewhere between 300 and 350 Presidential scholars in the incoming freshman class. One hundred and fifty Presidential scholarships will be given out through the interview process and the rest would be awarded to National Merit finalists who have picked USC as their first choice school.”