We received the email with the 2021 U.S. Presidential Scholars Invitation today. D has declined to apply for it. Since she is not going the competitive school/scholarship route.
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My D21 got no scholarship email from USC and so sad here today although it is expected. 
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Aw, Iām sorry sheās sad! My D21 did not get the invite either. Sheās actually totally ok with it, and Iām glad for that. My heart hurts for the kids who are sad ā big hugs to your daughter!
But itās not the end of the line! Decisions come out at the end of March (I think).
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@anaray Group hug. S21 got the āno trustee, etc scholarship,ā too.
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Same email for S21 too. Letās hang on for some more timeā¦
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Yes! We all need a hug. USC is her dream school and she is crying her head off even after expecting that it is so hard to get the scholarship. I donāt know how to console her.
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Sorry for your S21 too. I am hopeful that we will get the good news come April.
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I am sure you will receive the good news in April too.
@anaray It sucks when itās their dream school. S21 liked USC when we visited but he knew he would only go there if he got substantial merit since I canāt justify full cost when we could get a solid UC.
But he was crushed after Brown deferral. If he doesnāt know the results, itās still a yes. 
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Thank you and same to your son too! Actually S21 is more interested in BU than USC and he is an NMF (not officially yet, as we are waiting for the letter), and he designated BU as his first choice as well. Though he can switch to undecided before 3/1, he is clear that the chance of getting admission to BU is more than USC. But BU has ED1 and ED2, so not sure how many spots will be left for RD. And BU doesnāt guarantee NMF presidential scholarship whereas USC does. Lots of uncertainties. Hoping for the first week of April soon 
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Iām so sorry to those disappointed by USC today. Hang in there. The finish line is so close.
Did anyone read this parentās post linked below? They recently received a FA award letter from a school after theyād been deferred in Dec., only to call the school and be told it was sent in error 
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You are so correct that it doesnāt justify the cost. Right now my D21 canāt see further than todayās result and everything is half empty in her eyes. But I see this as half full with UVA Echols scholar and UMich acceptance. She will realize down the line in 10 years. For now I am trying hard to make her understand.
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It is my daughter who is applying this year. My son will apply in three years. 
She is NMF too. I read that it is harder for NMFs to get admission at USC. I donāt know how true it is, but that is a consolation in itself for me!
This group is like a safe little harbor in a shark-infested website.
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@anaray whoa!!! UVA and UMamong public Ivies. If it makes her feel better, we hire way more people from UVA and UM than USC :). Thatās for Engr, business concentrations, and IT :). Sheās got two great schools in her back pocket!
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Yeah, thatās the way it was for my D. She loved USC, but not at full price.
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Add us to the no scholarship letter at USC groupā¦ at least that combined with being CAPād at UT starts to narrow the field. The 1/2 tuition at USC for NMF would still leave it as the most expensive on her list by a lot. Onward!
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I know right now it is hard for your daughter when she wanted USC and merit but those two admits she got are incredible OOS and there are thousands of kids who would love to have those two as options.
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Oh, big hugs to her. FWIW, I have heard that at my Dās school USC tends to accept very few NMF, and kids with slightly lower stats get in. This is a school with great college placement with a good % of kids getting into Ivies and T-20s.
I think itās so hard for our kiddos, many of whom seem to be very high achieving and hardworking. They see this as the culmination of all of their HS effort. They think a rejection means āIām not good enough,ā rather than āthere arenāt enough seats for everybody who is good enough.ā And then thereās the extra complication of COVID-19, not only for admissions, but also the burden placed on our kids. They are all heroes.
UVA OOS is an amazing result - and Echols is more amazing still! She should be very proud. Michigan routinely places in the top 5 of public universities nationwide and is also internationally ranked. Let her grieve USC, give her lots of hugs, and hopefully by May sheāll be excited about her options.
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I think this is generally true about USC overall. Itās very popular for kids from our school in the Chicago burbs to apply to. Usually about 30 or more apply. In a normal year maybe 5 get in and 1 may get a scholarship. Last year I donāt think any got the scholarship but Iām not sure. Historically though, they tend to pass over the higher ranked kids and take a mixed bag which truly shows theyāre looking for something unique and specific, which is great. Weāve also heard they love community service so often those kids have something unique in that regard but who knows? Siblings as well often tend to get in year after year. My son really liked it when he visited and it was on his list to apply but once he started seeing the massive increases in applications everywhere, knowing the unlikelihood of receiving a scholarship or even acceptance, how they have had to deal with Covid (no one on campus etc) and writing more essays he decided to take a pass. A few of his friends applied but so far he hasnāt heard if they got scholarships. Iām guessing no. Itās a tough year for everyone.
He also has a UVA acceptance but they donāt have a great engineering/cs program so thatās pretty much off the table and Purdue is looking much better and at half the price a steal.
Itās a hard year for all these kids but they will all wind up somewhere and if they donāt like it, as Iāve always said, nothing is permanent. They can always transfer.
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