<p>My prediction is that the letters are mailed out tomorrow.</p>
<p>Please be sure to post when packets are received. This way everyone can predict when they might be seeing one.</p>
<p>Packets sent to U.S. addresses are by USPS priority mail. It is a large envelope. Enclosed is the letter of admission, a certificate and other information about the university. Applicants with zip codes close to SC who have been selected to interview usually receive packets first.</p>
<p>Last year packets began arriving by US mail on January 24 in Southern California. Take a look at the dates and locations of recipients here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/1451616-fall-2013-usc-decisions-stats-only-thread-congratulations.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/1451616-fall-2013-usc-decisions-stats-only-thread-congratulations.html</a></p>
<p>Maybe it’s the mom in me speaking, but I think the “no scholarship” letters should go out first rather than thousands spending several days waiting for the mail with pure anxiety once they know the scholarship letters are arriving, only to be disappointed. For some of these kids it is just awful. My best friend’s daughter was a wreck by the time she heard she wasn’t getting one because the “no scholarship letter” comes days after the “good news packages.” She kept thinking/hoping a neighbor got her package, it was lost, etc. I didn’t know exactly when they came but from a post on last years thread:
… those who do not receive a scholarship will get a letter about a week later saying they are still under consideration for admission and will hear by April 1st. </p>
<p>That’s a long time for some to be clinging to hope that their mail is just delayed or something after hearing the decisions are out there. I guess it’s supposed to be exciting, but for some it is torture. To end on an upbeat note, I will say USC does do beautiful packages that’s for sure. Good luck everyone!</p>
<p>They should go out at the same time</p>
<p>I wish they’d all go out via email at the same time or through the portal at a specific time so that everyone would know where they stand. There is more than enough uncertainty and stress involved in admissions already. </p>
<p>I do appreciate the beautiful packages and the “magic” of getting one, but both my older kids applied to schools EA and got news via email. This was just as magic for them as getting their USC packets in the mail. The paper packets from email schools still arrive later, but you get the news when expected.</p>
<p>Then again, I don’t like surprises :)</p>
<p>Daughter’s portal won’t load…anyone else having this issue? Might this mean something is happening?</p>
<p>FYI… last year our DS’s mailed packet got lost in the mail. It made it, beat up and torn, at least a week later than other applicants received theirs, inviting him to interview for the Presidential Scholarship. Thanks to the info I got on this site, I checked the portal without telling him, and downloaded the letter which had the good news - a week before he would have heard in the mail. So check the portal! USC was not at the top of the list initially, but the more he learned the better fit it appeared to be. The Pres scholarship helped make the decision. To his surprise, he could not be happier, he LOVES it at USC! Good luck to all…</p>
<p>My D just got FOUR emails telling her she didn’t get the Town & Gown. One probably would have been sufficient. We did check each one to be they were all "no"s, just in case a yes snuck in there, lol. I hope she’s still in the running for a Pres/Trustee etc., but this doesn’t seem to bode well.</p>
<p>^Just to note: The Town and Gown scholarships are selected in an entirely different process and by an entirely different entity - the nonprofit Town and Gown of USC. So (while of course mentioning how very selective the Trustee/Mork/Stamps/Pres are) that doesn’t indicate bad news for the USC scholarships.</p>
<p>Sorry about the regrets from T&G and BEST of luck in the next few days :)</p>
<p>esteemom, where would you find this information on the portal? Which tab would it be under? My D has checked hers and to date there have been no changes/notifications. (She previously had issues logging in but finally got in).</p>
<p>^ It has changed over the years, but I am vaguely recalling that last year they were finding it under the “Events” tab - the scholarship Explore program dates became available.</p>
<p>Does that sound right to others who were here last year?</p>
<p>For reference and just in case 
, here are this year’s scholarship Explore dates:</p>
<p>Monday - Tuesday
February 24 - 25, 2014</p>
<p>Thursday - Friday
February 27 - 28, 2014</p>
<p>Monday - Tuesday
March 3 - 4, 2014</p>
<p>Thursday - Friday
March 6 - 7, 2014</p>
<p>Monday - Tuesday
March 10 - 11, 2014</p>
<p>GREAT story, esteemom! So great to hear that he is loving USC.</p>
<p>Are those Explore dates the interview dates?</p>
<p>Yes. At Explore the students have the interview. As I recall some dates are for Presidential Scholarship interviews and some are for Trustee, Mork or Stamps.</p>
<p>In the past, the first two dates have been Trustee/Mork/Stamps and the last three have been Presidential. Other non-scholarship Explore (one day versions) dates follow in late March and into April.</p>
<p>Does it ever happen that someone who is a NMSF at the time of application is invited to interview for Presidential? Or does that not happen because they see on your application that you are NMSF? </p>
<p>^Yes, some applicants who are later identified to USC as NMF are invited to interview, but that is because they are being considered for the non-NMF scholarships. NMSF or NMF status alone will not result in an interview invitation. NOTE: seeing that your are NMSF on the application is a PLUS and will not prevent them from inviting you to interview! Every year some NMSF receive those interview invitations.</p>
<p>REMEMBER, if you are a NMF, are accepted and name USC as your first-choice by the deadline, you will be offered the NMF 1/2-tuition Presidential regardless of whether you are invited to interview in the next couple of weeks.</p>
<p>So hypothetically a student could be invited in late January to interview for Presidential, and by then the student will know if they are NMF. Is the smart thing to do in that situation to go ahead and interview and hope to be bumped up to a Trustee scholarship?</p>
<p>All comes down to big envelope or small this week = going to USC or not. Merit aid a must. Oh my, the pressure of waiting. </p>