<p>@alamemom:
Thanks for the info on scholarship notification by mail. Are the scholarship decisions also posted online.</p>
<p>Thank you @alamemom!! For everyone, First Class is delivered from 3-5 days. 
To add on to BiomedFather’s question, if they are posted online, where would they be?</p>
<p>@dragonflymusic <a href=“http://www.usc.edu/USConnect”>www.usc.edu/USConnect</a></p>
<p>@cantoo, I meant would the final scholarship decisions be posted in the Admissions tab or Financial Aid?</p>
<p>@dragonflymusic Oh sorry, didn’t read the earlier comments. I think it would be in the Financial Aid section but I’m not sure.</p>
<p>@cantooo, thank you! :)</p>
<p>Answering a question from page 12-- you cannot legitimately register for housing until you have been accepted. Students have reported trying this in the past and being dumped from the system if they tried it before being accepted (even if it looked like it worked initially). Just do it right when you get your acceptance letter and you will still be pretty early compared to those who don’t realize it is first come, first served. Many won’t do the housing application until May. Remember, right now, only about 15% of all accepted students can register-- and some of these won’t do it because they are not coming to USC. Of those that can register, many might be registering for Birnkrant honors housing. </p>
<p>To address if the scholarships will be online:</p>
<p>In the past, scholarship notifications have been by mail in the week of March 20th to 24th. The scholarships generally appeared online on the Oasis financial aid summary by the first week of April.</p>
<p>I have seen two posts from scholarship candidates this year who said it was indicated to them at Explore that the scholarship decisions would be available online on the 29th. If that is the case, it is not clear where that notification would be. It remains to be seen if the scholarship decisions will be later this year than in the past or if there was some confusion with the admission decision dates, which are scheduled to be inline on the 29th (mailed the 26th).</p>
<p>Time will tell (and I hope the news is good for all )!</p>
<p>OH! To clarify: I also want to stress that smaller scholarships will continue to be added through April - I know of some appearing on the financial aid tab as late as April 27th! It is the scholarships that required interviews that I expect to appear by the first week of April.</p>
<p>@camomof3 Thats what I thought just figured I should ask.</p>
<p>^ It was a good questions since this housing issue differs from school to school! </p>
<p>Just wondering, has anyone gotten any status changes on USConnect? I’m still at the “we have received your application” stage, and with about a week remaining before decisions come out, that’s making me really nervous… :S</p>
<p>@UniverseCity Your status on USConnect won’t change until 3 days after they mail the acceptances/rejections (those go out on the 26th so your online status should change on the 29th). By the way, your username is clever. Love it. :x </p>
<p>so international students will find out only on the 29th?</p>
<p>My child deferred last year, and this year we had to fill out a new CSS profile plus an expenses form. He was offered a great financial aid package last year when he was accepted, and we turned down other schools that offered scholarships and were willing to let him keep the package he was offered. Unfortunately, we were shocked when USC had us start from scratch. If he doesn’t get the fin aid they awarded last year (things have gotten worse for us this past year), then he won’t be able to afford to go, and he will have no backup. He took a gap year for medical reasons, and on the expenses form, they want to know who gave us money (just names). I’ve not seen that before, and they didn’t ask it last year. Is this something new? </p>
<p>^That is completely normal that you had to file again. You have to refile financial aid forms each and every year based on the current financial situation for financial aid. It is not a one time and you are done thing for anyone. If you are truly worse off financially than last time you filed, you shouldn’t find that your package is worse than before. </p>
<p>Camomof3 thank you for the input. I knew we’d have file every year at USC or any other school that requires the CSS profile, but the other schools that he was accepted to were not going to require that the CSS profile be refiled since he deferred and were honoring the package they offered him as an incoming freshman. They all sent letters confirming this when we inquired about their protocol. Since you can only defer one university, he picked USC. It was a bit odd that they did not send a letter, and when my son contacted them, he had to apply through the grad school portal in order to be reinstated which made no sense since he’s an incoming freshman. Once he got in through the grad school portal, he had to speak to about 7 different people before he was correctly reinstated as a deferred student. For sophomore year, I completely agree, all the paperwork has to be redone. I’m hoping that the package for this year though will be the same. If not, then perhaps he can get in touch with one of the other schools that wanted him to attend and offered scholarships. However, since he declined them he may run into the same issue. Fingers crossed USC will come through. </p>
<p>Hi medavinci,</p>
<p>As Camomof3 says, yes, you must submit all financial aid application materials each year, and students who choose to defer will receive a package based on the current (2013 for this year’s class) financial information just as all other freshmen will. I am curious if you inquired with USC about this as you did with other schools, and what was their response?</p>
<p>Also as Camom mentions, if your financial information from 2013 was actually a bit less than 2012, for you this is GOOD news as your son may qualify for a bit more aid. The expense form is requested for a variety of reasons. The most common I have seen is when the reported income looks as though it would be very difficult to meet all expenses - USC is very interested to see what other sources of income are keeping the family above water. Be sure to list ALL unreimbursed medical expenses, travel and lodging expenses, etc. associated with the medical issues to demonstrate where any additional income (from family or other sources) went.</p>
<p>The issue with being reinstated is most likely because USC has only recently allowed deferment - I think it has only been available for two years. </p>
<p>Good luck. Let us know how it turns out. Financial aid generally posts by mid-April.</p>
<p>Thank you alamemom for the detailed response. It’s been a very difficult time…foreclosure, illness, and we’ve had to rely on extended family (since my parents are deceased). I don’t like that, since I’ve always been the one to help others. I had to undergo two cancer surgeries and my son developed encephalopathy of the brain. I’m praying this year will end on a much brighter note. We had to get medical waivers for electric and water bills, but we still pay. It’s just that the utility companies can’t turn power or water off. A lot of back and forth to doctors and hospitals, but I hadn’t thought about transportation costs. I just put down what I paid for gas. I also had to put the names of people who helped us out. It’s very embarrassing having to share so much information. I’m glad USC has deferrals, thank goodness! I just read that Tufts and quite a few other colleges are encouraging gap years/deferrals and will give aid to those who want to travel to have experiences that will assist in their future majors/endeavors. Wish my son wasn’t out for medical reasons…when you have your health you have all the the blessings you need.</p>
<p>Hi, does anyone know when will the regular decisions come out? It says before 4/1 but then again so did a lot of schools that released results much sooner. Is there an actual date for me to refresh USConnect a million times? Thanks!!!</p>