<p>Yes, you have to list USC as your 1st choice school at some point before the deadline in later May (not initially). My S listed "undecided" as his choice & didn't designate USC until after he had received all his acceptances & weighed the pros & cons of attending each. At least in 2006, USC said it was no problem waiting for him to list USC as #1 until later in April. He still got 1/2 tuition + $1000/year as a NMF + an annual merit award from engineering.</p>
<p>Some schools (I believe Boston U is one), will NOT give you merit aid if you don't designate them as 1st choice very early on in the year. They didn't offer S any merit $, tho they gave merit awards to many with lower stats because they said he didn't designate them as #1 earlier.</p>
<p>My son last year waited until May to designate USC as his first choice, and he got the scholarship. </p>
<p>This is a bit OT, but I think those who designate early could have a very slight advantage in admissions - just a theory, but when my S was initially admitted for Spring, a followup call with an admissions officer revealed that USC didn't know he was a National Merit Finalist. The guy seemed very surprised that this didn't just leap off the page when he opened the file. It seemed to have been overlooked, even though S included NMSF on the app, and sent updates to his admissions officer by email when he was named finalist. (He was later moved up to fall admission, BTW, but would have gotten the scholarship even as a spring admit)</p>
<p>I'd say you will definitely get either the presidential or trustee. My ap bio partner (from last year, i was a jr she was a sr) got a 34 ACT, but her average probably wasn't even top 10% (my school doesn't rank, but its pretty competitive so top 10 is great) and she got a full ride. (I have the same ACT and a slightly higher average so fingers crossed! haha) Good luck!</p>
<p>i know i could find this in other threads and receive a variety of answers, but is it true that if we are to be interviewed for trustee or presidential that we will be notified in january??</p>
<p>Yes, students who were invited to interview for Trustee and Presidential received acceptances at the end of January (which is why they were able to post that information in late January), a scholarship letter a few days later, and the interviews were held in February and March - before most other students received their acceptances/rejections.</p>
<p>That is how it worked last year - I am just assuming it will be similar this year.</p>
<p>This isn't a chancing thread, it's a "I haven't gotten in but I'm arrogant enough to assume I will" thread. And you don't seem to know what you're talking about.</p>
<p>feel free to tell me ill be rejected if thats what u think. but yes, based on the freshmen profile, my conversations with a usc rep, people i know who have been admitted, and the fact that i got into a college generally considered more exclusive than usc already, have given me the arrogant, albeit informed, idea that i have a good chance of getting in. accepting this, i would like opinions on whether i would get a scholarship or not.</p>
<p>There is a long list of scholarships at USC in the application brochure (at least that was the case last year). I suggest you look at the long list and see if you think you match any of the criteria for what the scholarships are known for. It is really hard for anyone to really predict what will happen with scholarships because each application will be compared to all of the other applications.</p>
<p>codini, you have an excellent chance of being accepted. I hesitate to ever suggest anyone is a sure thing because we can't possibly see the letters of rec or read the essays--but barring something weird, you should get accepted. </p>
<p>I understand your interest in chancing for a merit scholarship and that is a little beyond the reach of most of us on cc since we can only look at the stats of winners in the past and try to read the tea leaves. My son was invited to interview for the Trustee last year, went to Explore USC for the interview and was ultimately awarded the Trustee Scholarship. That's about $160,000, after taxes. This made attending USC possible for my S and we're even more delighted that he has had a fabulous first semester with amazing professors (he's in TO and found the coursework challenging, and the SCA which has been great), and a group of smart, talented, and hilarious friends. So basically, all good. </p>
<p>From what we have observed, your chances to be invited for a merit scholarship interview is dependent on the level of applicants in your own major. Some majors/school (like Viterbi engineering, or pre-med) attract a large number of extremely high-stat applicants fishing for a full-tuition scholarship to compare against any future ivy acceptances. USC knows this and most likely uses these merit awards to lure away the very top students to whom the huge merit award will trump paying for an ivy. In fact, a great student from a lower-income household may be able to get almost the same deal or close to in in financial aid from a well-endowed ivy, but the kids from middle income homes are often caught in the middle.</p>
<p>This is a long answer to your original question. Your stats and grades are impressive, and the major you applied to is ultra-competitive for applicants just like you. Your essay, letters of rec, and any independent leadership-quality research you've been involved with will probably make a big difference in which of these fine students are called in to interview for the Pres or Trustee.</p>
<p>Sorry, ccsbm, I do not. I've seen friends of my s who had really amazing SATs and GPA, who got into Viterbi but no scholarship interview. :( That's why I suspect there are many highly qualified applicants to that school and they only interview a small number. For reference, I think they interviewed around 300-350 kids for Trustee last year out of 36,000 applicants to USC (although I don't know how many of those applied by the early scholarship deadline). So, yeah. That's about the top 1%. </p>
<p>When you have many competitive candidates (all high stats, etc), it's the other aspects of the application that may get you special notice. Music, theater, and other creative/art majors give weight to portfolios and auditions. For other schools/majors, If you are under consideration by the department/school, ECs and special outside of HS activities in your field of study and really focused essays become specially important. So do letters of recommendation. It really helps if you have demonstrated leadership and a passion for your field, because USC's departments are looking for those leaders to strengthen their program. That said, they do offer Trustee and Presidential Scholarships to some undecided majors, so it seems they try to parcel them out in a fair manner across majors. </p>
<p>We knew very little about this process before my son got that cool letter stating he was up for the Trustee, and I was very curious about it all when we went to USC for his Explore interview. A kindly professor and several other parents (who knew much more) passed along some tidbits--but this is just my personal impression of how the scholarships may work.</p>
<p>Anyone have an opinion on whether my son will get accepted to USC and get one of the scholarships and/or financial aid that would cover 80% of the cost of attendance? He applied for Architecture. Stats:</p>
<p>ACT: 31
SAT II: Math--770; Physics--700
GPA unweighted: 4.93 (out of 5)
GPA weighted: 5.33
AP Calc: 5
AP Language Arts: 3
AP Physics this year
Currently taking as senior: diff equ/linear alg
interned at architecture firm for credit (part of talent development program)
among 6 high schools in the district and 9 teams--his team using his floor plan won architecture contest--the winning team had their house built (high school district purchases land every year, the advanced architecture classes enter the contest, the winners house gets built by students in the construction classes, the district sells the house) His winning house is selling for $660,000.</p>
<p>We are in the Chicago suburbs and he goes to a very competitive high school (96% of students go to college)</p>
<p>I helped interview potential Trustee recipients last year, so maybe I can shed some light on the process. :) I can tell you that numbers (GPA, SAT scores) are certainly taken into consideration, but fantastic essays and extracurricular activities put people into the "Trustee interview" category. Interviewees who make good overall impressions are recommended for the Trustee scholarship, though the final decisions are ultimately decided by a separate scholarship committee, not the interviewers themselves.</p>
<p>It's possible to interview for a Presidential scholarship and be bumped up to Trustee, especially if you have a stellar interview. (That's what happened to one of my friends.) However, it is also possible to interview for the Trustee scholarship and be awarded the Presidential or Dean's scholarship (1/4 tuition). I don't know what ultimately bumps someone up/down, but having a good interview certainly doesn't hurt.</p>
<p>The applicants I interviewed had SAT's in the 2150-2300 range, but some things that they all had in common were GREAT essays and unique EC's. As for myself, I had a GPA and SAT scores a little higher than those of the OP, good recs, great essays, and some EC's (nothing too outstanding), and I interviewed for/received the trustee scholarship in the CLAS (arts and sciences). I don't know how the interview process for schools other than CLAS works, but I imagine that it is very similar.</p>
<p>Good luck! If you are chosen as a potential scholarship recipient, you should hear back from USC in late January or early February. If anyone has general questions, I'd be happy to answer them on the board or through PM :)</p>