Spend $300 for scholarship interview or not???

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
1

<p>I received a Presidential scholarship candidate letter from USC but I don't think I can fly to California (from Hawaii) for the interviews because of financial reasons. The $200 waiver is not enough to cover the $500 round trip flight. </p>

<p>I hope I can still qualify for the Dean's Scholarship (which doesn't require interviews) though. </p>

<p>I'm thinking that it's worth it to spend ~$300 to possibly get an $80,000 scholarship BUT since USC is extremely generous in its need-based aid and my family income is ~20K, I can expect a pretty big financial aid package from them anyway. But need-based aid are unpredictable. They may or may not cover ALL of the expenses. </p>

<p>Any thoughts on this?</p>

2

<p>If you plan on going to USC, it’s in your best interest to take the flight. It’ll more than likely save you much more money in the longrun (you also have a chance at being upgraded to trustee)</p>

<p>If you still have other options available to choose and pick from, only you can really make that choice.</p>

3

<p>where are you finding those fares? I went to kayak found round trip airfare from Honululu for $366 on United. That’s slightly more reasonable.</p>

4

<p>banmaisen… A presidential scholarship offers some certainty for the next four years. Financial aid doesn’t though it’s highly likely that you will receive good aid if your family’s circumstances remain the same.
I’m also not so sure you would get the Dean’s if you don’t show up.</p>

<p>However, if the cost of the flight causes hardship which it sounds as though it does, can you send an email to your admissions representative to explain the situation, perhaps he/she can offer some advice. Hawaii students I believe have their own rep, given the # of students who apply from there. The reps are listed in the USC site somewhere, with email addresses. </p>

<p>Congratulations and best of luck!</p>

5

<p>"If you still have other options available to choose and pick from, only you can really make that choice. "</p>

<p>I was afraid of that…USC is ONE of my top schools but not THE top…still waiting on some of my Ivy Leagues… :(</p>

<hr>

<p>"where are you finding those fares? I went to kayak found round trip airfare from Honululu for $366 on United. That’s slightly more reasonable. "</p>

<p>I live on another island…so I would have to fly from Lihue to Honolulu to LAX. :(</p>

6

<p>oh wow that’s ridiculous that it costs that much more coming from Kauai. I can’t believe airlines can jack up the prices that much!</p>

7

<p>call usc. you never know, they might help you out.</p>

8

<p>simple. get a one-way ticket. never go home.</p>

<p>LA life baby</p>

9

<p>One of the international students posted here that he is doing a phone interview. When contacting your admissions officer about the flight cost, ask if you could do that. If you have already visited USC, that would be a reasonable approach. If you haven’t visited yet, it would be well worth the cost to take a look before you decide on a college.</p>

10

<p>I am surprised that in this day and age it is not feasible to do webcam teleconference interviews.</p>

11

<p>Let us know how it goes if you decide to contact them</p>

12

<p>Kulakai, one of my friends video-Skyped with NYU as a part of her application to the Recorded Music department at Tisch. I don’t know why other schools don’t seem to have adopted that technology.</p>

13

<p>Banmaisen,
This is just a suggestion. USC has a very active and large alumni club of Hawaii. How about contacting the president and seeing if they have any funds which you might be able to use toward your flight?</p>

<pre><code>You can find information about the club on the USC website. Check out Alumni Clubs.
</code></pre>

14

<p>Remember, to get the two hundred dollar travel voucher, you
have to have STA Travel book the flight.</p>

15

<p>Whats the point of the travel voucher if it costs $50 per person?</p>

16

<p>Don’t forget you will have to fly in a day early (the program starts in the morning) and pay for one night in a hotel. STA quoted $147/night for the Radisson. Too bad we can’t pair up some of these kids and have them split the cost of a room.</p>

17

<p>^the guy said 147 for the radisson too, but also said there was a motel 5 blocks from usc for 89. shouldn’t be that bad of a walk, right?</p>

18

<p>My S and I are arriving in the morning on the day that Explore begins. We didn’t want to do that but a great opportunity came along at home (for the evening before Explore). I called the admissions office to ask them about arriving a little later in the morning and they said that it was perfectly fine. We will arrive at LAX around 10:00 that morning and will miss an hour or so of touring, but we will save $$ and will get to participate in our great event the night before.</p>

19

<p>Neon,
For an additional 50 bucks you should stay at the Radisson, where you will be able to meet a lot of other accepted students. It will be a lot more fun, and will give you a much better chance to get the 'vibe" of USC. Don’t isolate yourself during this important visit. Just my 2 cents…</p>

20

<p>yeah, but man, i’d be hitting close to 400 for this visit, and i’m not even sure about attending usc.
i have ~$120 for my plane ticket (i live on the east coast), 30 sta service fee?, 90-150 hotel, 40 shuttle bus, and then 50 for explore usc. that’s 330-390 right there, not including tax…
does that sound about right for everyone else?</p>