<p>I know that this year may be more competitive because of the common app, but does anyone have an idea of how many Presidential & Trustee scholarships are offered thru Viterbi? Also, any idea of average SAT scores & GPA? USC is my son's first choice school, but we won't be able to swing it w/o one of the big scholarships since I doubt we are eligible for financial aid. He has a 2250 on the SATs (750, 760,740), SAT IIs got 800 Math Level 2, 800 Chemistry, 790 US History. Unweighted GPA 3.98, weighted GPA 4.40, top 1% of class, National merit commended scholar, AP Scholar w/Distinction, NHS, CSF, Eagle Scout, multiple leadership positions in scouting (currently Asst Scout Master), Marching band, jazz band, trombone section leader, band council, multiple band awards, multiple high school academic awards, First chair in top jazz band & wind ensemble, >300 hrs of community service & more. 11 AP classes by the time he graduates. He would love to be in the USC Marching band! Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Your son has a great application! Certainly he is as qualified as many of the scholarship awardeees, but as you mention there are so many wonderfully qualified applicants it is difficult to say who will be selected for interviews.</p>
<p>You can take a look at the <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/1074764-usc-fall-2011-stats-only-decisions.html?highlight=usc+fall+2011+decisions[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/1074764-usc-fall-2011-stats-only-decisions.html?highlight=usc+fall+2011+decisions</a> . Most of those posting acceptances the last week of January and first week of February were interviewed for the Presidential or Trustee (and this year we expect Mork candidates to be in that group). Most of the posters listed the school to which they were accepted, so you can look for Viterbi entries.</p>
<p>You might want to send a private message to **Hawkwings<a href=“if%20he%20doesn’t%20see%20your%20post”>/B</a> for info about USC/Viterbi/Spirit of Troy. He is a senior engineering student and regular poster who has loved being in the marching band and might be able to offer very useful info.</p>
<p>I always encourage those who are not certain if they will/won’t qualify for financial aid to submit complete and carefully done applications for financial aid, and to wait until the packages are presented before making a final decision. Order the book *“Paying for College Without Going Broke”<a href=“about%20$12%20on%20Amazon”>/I</a> today and follow the advice there in preparing your financial aid applications.</p>
<p>Best of luck!!!</p>
<p>Thanks a lot, Alamemom! I appreciate all your advice. We actually have already filled out the FAFSA and CSS profile and have submitted them to USC and other schools, just in case. We are fairly sure that we won’t be eligible for financial aid since we contacted an expert in the F/A field 
Will keep our fingers crossed!</p>
<p>Hi there!</p>
<p>Take a quick look at the 2011 Freshman Profile: <a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/private/1112/USCFreshmanProfile2011v3.pdf[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/private/1112/USCFreshmanProfile2011v3.pdf</a></p>
<p>It lists how many of each type of the big scholarships were given out to freshmen in 2011. There is no breakdown by school, but I would expect it to be roughly proportional to student number, or perhaps a little higher. Say 3,000 in Viterbi out of 17,000 undergrads total, so roughly 25 Trustee scholarships, 61 Presidential, and so on.</p>
<p>As for the band, well, joining the band here at USC was the best decision I made. It’s not for everyone, but if you really like it, then it has so much to offer. We play at all the home football games, travel to the Weekender every year, do cool gigs on TV, and get hired out to play at parties, weddings, and other events. If you have specific questions, feel free to ask me or email the recruitment manager: tmbrecruit (at) (gmail)</p>
<p>One thing that may slightly skew the % getting scholarships in engineering is that A LOT of them were NMFs & got their presidential awards because of that (S was one of them & knew a lot of other peers in similar situation). D had quite a few friends in other fields who got significant merit awards in other fields at USC.</p>
<p>Good luck! Several friends were pleasantly surprised by how much merit & FAid USC offered their kids & it ended up being one of the family’s CHEAPEST options after their awards.</p>