@marylousquires I’m glad your D was able to make USC aware of the problem. I hope they resolve it quickly and that she gets good news soon! I can’t imagine the stress!
@marylousquires Thanks so much for the good news! At least it’ll be good to know something… Kudos to your D for getting through to them! I tried blogs, and phone calls but unfortunately I was barking up the wrong tree… Fight on!
My child was bumped down from Trustees to directors, and after receiving acceptance early. Whereas USC was at the top of his list, it has now been taken out of consideration, not so much because of the money, but because it feels like he got the big middle finger. Seems like a really odd way to run admissions–they have to know that kids who get bumped down aren’t likely to come. As a UCLA alumni, I can go back to disliking USC!
So glad to hear that USC is now aware of the problem. I was pretty certain this had to be an IT issue. Hope some of you will find out by tomorrow but realistically with the avalanche about to occur after midnight tonight on the portals, you’ll be lucky to find out on Monday!
Some students who do get a lower scholarship than anticipated or even if getting Presidential that they were nominated for may have to wait for financial aid to know for sure whether they can attend USC. We are going to need to wait for additional information on March 27th before we make a final decision. Plus S will be hearing back from Stanford this week. Go Cardinal? Seriously though, strange things can happen in this process. I am re-posting a portion of part of a message I posted earlier this morning on the general USC thread that may be helpful to some:
…Hopefully you all have solid back up choices and/or safeties if you do not get enough scholarship or aid. Some of you will still be waiting on Financial Aid on March 27th to truly know whether your family will be able to make attendance possible. It can be very frustrating not knowing for sure, even if you do get admitted, whether you will be able to attend.
All the anticipation and waiting can put a strain on both students and parents. In my view, the best way to approach this is to not put all of your eggs in one basket. There is no one perfect school. There are pluses and minuses for all choices, including that “dream” choice. I know of several students who thought a school was going to be one thing and ended up transferring to another school sophomore year or who found that the school they thought was a dream ended up not being the case. Some who did not get into their perceived “top choice” can and will end up very happy and do many great things at a school lower on their original list. It may sound cliche, but sometimes things do happen for a reason.
Some of you may end up at the most affordable option for your family, which may be a state public school or a school that offered more merit or financial aid than USC. There are many students who went on to their dream graduate school after working hard wherever they were as an undergrad. Your success will ultimately be not based on the school attended as an undergrad, but what you make of whatever school you will end up attending. If that happens to be USC, so be it. You will be able to “fight on” no matter where you go!
@techinerd , that is really a bummer. Did your student apply to UCLA as well?
For us it’s not so much about the money; more it’s the feeling that the rug’s been pulled out and they really don’t want our child.
@techinerd, did your child feel he/she did well on the interview? Somebody posted a while back on the general thread that her daughter interviewed for Trustee but really preferred an Ivy or some other school and was not very enthusiastic in her interview. Thus, she did not convey a strong interest in USC. Not saying that was the case here. It is possible that your child got a tough panel or interviewer, or something else like an early interview if she/he is not a morning person, or any host of things… Whatever the case, it is a total let down and I can understand your frustration.
@Nomorelurker Do you have any in college?
@marylousquires, I would be very surprised if they don’t have IT people there today. They are about to unleash hell on 55,000 students (or maybe it’'s the students doing the unleashing) who will attacking the portals like vultures in about five hours! I would not be surprised if you hear back this weekend, but if it’s Monday, I guess patience is a virtue :-).
@blueskies2day, S is our eldest so our first go around, but nieces and nephews and close friends have students in college and/or recently went through this process. How about you?
@nomorelurker My child thought the interview went well, and at the time was very excited about the prospects of going to USC. To answer your other question, he received acceptance to UCLA along with UC Berkeley and Caltech so he had lots of options. Again, it just seems like an ass backwards way to do things. Now if they had said you are interviewing for a merit scholarship and you might get everything from X to Y, it might not have been so bad, but getting downgraded leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
@techinerd, I feel your pain. S interviewed for a big scholarship last month at another school and got the next level down, which is still a great opportunity that he is considering, but it doesn’t feel good to not get what you interview for and work so hard for. Glad to read that your son has some great options on the table. I personally do not like that USC bumps down people from such a high offer to less than a quarter. I think they could communicate a lot better about what they are looking for to help prepare for the interview and to know how much one might drop. Some would likely not make the trip out across the country if they knew the likelihood or odds of getting or not getting the scholarship upfront. That being said, they are more generous with merit than many other schools so there is that to consider.
I hope people who are in the same boat as I am can let us know ASAP if the portals update! It’s like 12:30AM here so imma get some shut eye! Goodluck to you all yet to hear about your scholarships!
Oh dear God! They just notified her that it was updated. She was awarded trustee! Fight on
@marylousquires, whooo hoooo. Congrats!!! So happy to hear the great news for your daughter! Fight on!!!
@marylousquires Bumped up?
No she interviewed for trustee
No change to portal. Guess we have to each individually make contact and request an update.
@techinerd I have personal experience with how you are feeling! My son also interviewed for Trustee and got Directors (seriously not even 10% of annual tuition!) and his response: Ouch. On top of that, we spent a thousand plus on plane fare as we are not in the continental US. I’m trying to be optimistic and hope USC will pull through with need-based aid, so it’s more waiting for us. Best wishes to your child.