I feel pretty devastated. I needed the presidential/trustee to be able to attend, and now have to remove USC from my list. I missed NMS cutoff by a couple questions, but since then did everything in my power to strengthen my app so I could get the presidential regardless, like getting 2330 SAT, 800s on subject tests, 3.95 uw gpa. Plus I had some very exciting ECs, like international film awards, interning for a major production company (on a film you might have seen 
), being featured in 20+ film festivals, working on advisory board for important museum, curating a national traveling exhibit, starting new program at museum, securing government funding for said program, winning âTeen Innovator Awardâ by national organization, 4 years on varsity sport (regional champions every year). Guess it wasnât enough, and Iâm very sad that I wonât be a trojan after all. Congrats to everybody that made it!
Please replace the â[aâ below with just â[â before posting.
[asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted w/ Presidential Scholarship [/color][/size]
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FFA500]Decision: Deferred [/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FF0000]Decision: Rejected [/color][/size]**
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1570 (800M 770EBRW)
ACT (breakdown): 35 (36 M 36 S 34 R 35 E)
SAT II: 800s on Math II and Physics 790 on Chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/363
AP (place score in parenthesis): 7 5s and a 4 (APUSH, AP Euro, AP Lang, AP Calc BC, AP Chem, AP Spanish Lit, AP Spanish lang, AP physics 2)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, AP Physics C, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, AP Stats, AP Lit, Honors Engineering
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): lol
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): soccer (captain) basketball (captain) Chem club (president) NHS
Job/Work Experience: Referee for Soccer
Volunteer/Community service: about 200 hours in last 2 years
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details): three were like 9s, my major was like a 4 lol
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 10
Teacher Rec #1: 10
Teacher Rec #2:10
Counselor Rec: 10
Additional Rec:
Interview:
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: yep
Intended Major: Aero
State (if domestic applicant): CO
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:Public
Ethnicity: Dominican
Gender:M
Income Bracket: ~150k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM
Reflection
A little surprised that I got it, but not like the biggest shock. Iâm hoping that I interview well enough for full tuition because MIT is hella expensive.
Strengths: Lots of stuff (academics, personality, athlethics)
Weaknesses: organization, procrastination, the usual
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: grades and essays
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: UIUC, Purdue, Illinois, CU Boulder, MIT (!), CO School of Mines
General Comments :
Congrats to everyone who got in already! For those who havenât, donât hang your heads. Scholarships were hyper-competitive this year, and you still have a shot at admission. The fact that you applied to USC hoping for a scholarship means you are a great student who will find success.
Ironically⊠the tide will soon turn, and all admitted applicants will be the ones reviewing and deciding. Soon⊠they will have all the power, and USC Admission, along with other admission offices across the country, will be trying to convince admitted applicants to actually enroll.
Historically, 66-67% of all admits this week (1200) and admits overall (around 9000) will ultimately decide on a college or university not named USC. Last year, 9023 were admitted, but only 3068 (or 34%) actually ended up enrolling.
USC is a great university, and my daughter is 100% committed to attending if eventually admitted in March⊠but its traditional Yield Rate is only 33-34%.
It is a shame that USC does not offer a more traditional EA/ED admissions cycle. If so, they could more easily identify those who truly favor USC and get that yield rate up significantly.
So, if you are invited to interview for the full-tuition scholarship, does that mean that you are guaranteed the half-tuition scholarship if you do not get the full? Is it an all-or-nothing sort of deal or is it an all-or half thing?
@Alia01 do you think i can get in with a C+ on my mid year report in AP Cal? Iâm not going to be a STEM major
Am I the only one who didnât get anything?
@WWWard Agreed. I really wanted to get in, more than a lot of people who actually did. I know countless people who applied, received a scholarship, but went to ivy league schools instead. I really wish that USC had EA/ED so that they can see who would actually commit to going. Do you know why they donât have a waitlist? If that many people donât end up attending, maybe some people who would potentially be waitlisted could actually goâŠ
@lccn22 Still nothing.
@lccn22 nothing for me either
My portal hasnât updated yet either
deferred- but I already got into SCU with a small grant and Chapman with a presidential scholarship so i guess I have to weigh out my options in March- good luck guys
I recieved the letter telling me I did not receive merit aid but I am still being considered for admission. Half tuition would have been nice
DD2 got in to Viterbi and is a finalist for full tuition scholarship! No white box received - we live in los angeles (San Fernando Valley) about 30 minutes from sc (or over an hour depending on traffic). 35 act, high Gpa, captain of varsity sports team, lots of other ecs. Good luck everyone!
USC ya later 
Anyone applying to SCA get a white box or admissions email? I saw one in a separate SCA forum but thought Iâd check here. If you did, please post your major - thanks & congrats!
@perpetuallystressed I am not sure why they have established and maintained this admission methodology. USC keeps climbing the ranks of elite universities and seems to mirror other aspects or traits of such schools, but they also continue to cling to this unusual admission approach. Almost every other elite university offers some form of early admission and a wait list as well, so I do not understand why USC doesnât. But oh well⊠even if they change eventually, it will not alter the reality of the current admission cycle anyâŠ
Still no update on my portal. I just checked my common app and it says my documents downloaded on dec 2nd ET, but that they were submitted by dec 1st. Does this mean I donât even qualify?
[asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted [/color][/size]
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):1460 760 Writing 700 Math
ACT (breakdown): n/a
SAT II: n/a
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): not available
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/431
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 APUSH 3 APLANG 3 APPhysics1 (lang and physics were first year classes)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Pysch,Lit, and Calc BC
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS (Treasurer), Newspaper Club (Editor), XC (Captain)
Job/Work Experience:Worked in parents restaurant since 7 years old, got myself an internship for New York Fashion Week this September with ADEAM
Volunteer/Community service: 100+ hours, local hospital and Asian Americans United Coordinator
Summer Activities: AAU, Working in restaurant
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: 8 good but not great
USC supplements: 10, tried really hard on these
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1:7/10
Teacher Rec #2:8/10
Counselor Rec: didnât read
Additional Rec: 10/10
Interview: n/a
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: Business Admin
State (if domestic applicant): New Jersey
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:Public
Ethnicity:Asian
Gender:Female
Income Bracket: >30,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First Generation
Reflection
Strengths: Rank, extracurriculars, first generation
Weaknesses: SAT scores
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Made it very clear that I was driven and USC was my top choice in my application. Tried a more creative approach in my supplements which thankfully went over well.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
accepted by UMich, Temple, Fordham waiting to hear from Columbia, NYU, Emory, Syracuse
General Comments : SO THANKFUL! congrats to everyone that also got in and good luck to those still in the admissions process
@abanana21 check your junk email - my email was there and my portal was not updated