Stats for Merit Scholarships at USC?

<p>Anyone know what kind of stats qualify applicants for scholarships? I'm talking about Presidential, Trustee, or Deans. </p>

<p>Is is it scores only? Or does it take EC's and interviews into consideration?</p>

<p>Any insight would be much appreciated. Thanks :)</p>

<p>oh no, they just invite prospective scholarship recipients to interview on campus and offer to pay half their travel expenses for the hell of it.</p>

<p>wha?</p>

<p>Well, I’m only one student, but my GPA is ~3.6 (though my school doesn’t put a GPA on our transcript or SSR), my ACT composite is 34, 4 year varsity swimmer, loads of ECs (though no leadership positions haha) related to music, writing, and dance, and I applied for astro engineering at Viterbi… I got the scholarship for 1/4 tuition (I think that’s Deans). I didn’t interview or anything. You only have to interview for Presidents or Trustees.</p>

<p>Trustee Scholars are selected from the pool of students who apply by the early deadline for admission and ask to be considered for scholarships. These applicants usually are in the top percentile of applicants. The recipients are determined on an individual basis by each school within the university. Test scores are only part of the selection process. For example, an art student would have submitted an extraordinary portfolio and a compelling essay. A music student would have already been through a rigorous audition process even to be admitted. Talent and accomplishments would be major considerations for a merit scholarship from that school.</p>

<p>My guess is these scholars are selected for a combination of factors such as: grades, scores, talents, leadership, personality, character, accomplishments, essay and desire to attend SC.</p>

<p>Use the search function to find more threads about the merit scholarships. Many parents who post here have students who have been awarded these scholarships. They will be able to give you more insights.</p>

<p>I’m a presidential scholar. The average SAT (superscore, I assume) for my Explore USC session was 2260. High GPA and SAT scores only get you considered. To catch their eye, you need depth and commitment to extracurriculars. My hook was a nicely written essay describing my background, and good mix of community service that caught the attention of one of my student interviewers who was also involved in a similar community service event. I was well rounded in other areas (leadership, sports, church, work), but none of that was ever mentioned during my interview.</p>