<p>hey.
I am CA senior and interested in attending SC next year. With a PSAT score of 216, I'm kinda scared I won't be able to get the national merit finalist scholarship (217 was cutoff for the past 2 years i think). Anyways, its hard to pay 30-40 grand a year for schooling. I was wondering, what do they look for in a person to give them a presidential or trustees scholarship, other than SAT/ACT/GPA. I heard there is an interview. What do they usually ask ?</p>
<p>I missed the NMF cutoff by a point as well, but I was really lucky and ended up getting the Trustee scholarship. Doing well on the SAT obviously counts as no college really looks at the PSATs. Having a strong academic record-which does NOT mean having a perfect GPA-and a variety of interests that you pursue in depth seem to be crucial factors. It helps if your interests are on the more obscure side because there are so many varsity team captain newspaper editor honors students who build houses in Nicaragua that you have to distinguish yourself from the crowd. USC really does appreciate diversity and well-roundedness in all senses. </p>
<p>In my interview I got asked about what I talked about on my application and why I was interested in the things I wrote down. It isn't stressful at all.</p>
<p>I believe the CA cut-off this year for NMF is around 219 or 220 from another CC thread, but of course there has been no official cut-off announced yet.</p>
<p>Congrats, Retroactivity on getting Trustee--that's awesome! My S was a NMF & not invited to interview for any merit awards. Fortunately, USC gave him some merit money anyway for being a NMF. USC also awards Leadership Merit Awards, but you have to be nominated by your school & I think there is a limit of one nomination/HS, so ask your college counselor about this.</p>
<p>i've been looking into the whole trustee's thing too (also from CA, 220 psat just barely made it!). the average SAT score is apparently 2200-range. i met someone who got it, she said her arts things helped a lot (ballet/singing/piano), but yeah, deep involvement</p>
<p>I got trustee, but I don't think there's any clear-cut formula to getting a merit scholarship. My SAT scores and GPA were high, but plenty of applicants have that as well, so it's not like they were anything that made me stand out. During my interview, they did focus a lot on what I wrote in my essays... why I picked something as my "most important" activity, my major, my interests, my career interests, the person who I listed as being the most influential, etc. I think they glance over GPA/SAT's/rankings, but also focus a lot on essays and extracurricular activities, so be sure those stand out.</p>
<p>it's all about the passion.</p>