@2976rlhe Try logging in using a different browser. The USC portal is very tempermental and things load differently sometimes on different browsers depending on…well, whatever it seems to not be liking that day
For those of you who are not seeing a status change, please keep in mind that if you are being deferred to a March decision, the portal only changes in one small way…
When you click on “Check you application status”, it then adds one new link to click on…
Current Message: Information about the Scholarship Process Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2017
You can then click on the link and see the same letter being emailed to you. Otherwise, the portal looks exactly the same as before.
If you are instead among the 1200 being admitted this week with a scholarship offering, you will see a definitive change in the way it looks even on the first page. It will then reference Admission.
Just wondering, which ExploreUSC dates are u guys planning on registering for???
This may be jumping ahead a bit, but does anyone know what kind of visit days are planned for admitted students who will find out decisions in March?
I just checked my portal but I dont get it. My classmate got the scholarship for merit, but I did not even though I had much higher grades, ACT, and Rank, as well as more committed extra curricular activities. Any reason why?
Does anyone know anything about the admission stats for the undergraduate majors at Keck School of Medicine: Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Studies (BS) and Global Health (BS)?
**Decision: Accepted/Presidential Scholarship Finalist **
Objective:
ACT (breakdown): 34 (Reading 34, English 35, Math 34, Science 32)
SAT II: Math 2 (770), Physics (740)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.72
Weighted GPA: 5.04
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): English Lang (4), Physics 1 (4), BC Calc (4), US History (4), Chinese (3), Computer Science (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): Computer Science SL (5)
Senior Year Course Load: IB-HL Further Math, IB-HL Physics 2, IB-HL English 4, IB-SL Business and Management, IB-SL Chinese 5, Contemporary World Issues (semester elective), American Legal Systems (semester elective)
Major Awards: National Merit Commended Student, app I worked on named Best Communications App of 2015 by a prominent tech website, my team’s app won Best Use of iOS at UPenn hackathon in fall 2015
Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Co-President Light and Sound Club, Theatre Group tech, President of school’s chapter of Chinese National Honor Society
Job/Work Experience: I’ve been an iOS developer for years so lots and lots of work on various projects, experience at hackathons etc.
Volunteer/Community service: Made app for my high school used by local community
Summer Activities: Merit based scholarship to Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference 3x, internships, travelled to China
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Not in the position to rate them but Common App essay was about CS, talked about technical theatre experience in something essential to understanding you, connected my IB extended essay topic and CS passion to what I want to study at USC for the “how will you pursue your academic interests”, and talked about getting lost browsing Wikipedia for the browser history prompt.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): My Chinese teacher of 4 years, Theatre director of 4 years, and IB Computer Science teacher all wrote letters which I thank showed different sides of me.
Interview: I did an off-site interview in NYC this past fall which I thought went only okay-ish because some of the questions were tough and there was time pressure, not to mention being in a room with about a dozen other people also interviewing simultaneously. Need to interview again at USC for potential scholarship.
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Computer Science (accepted into)
State (if domestic applicant): New Jersey
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nope
Reflection
Strengths: Experience already in Computer Science
Weaknesses: Lowish unweighted GPA but I think this was somewhat balanced by course rigor/IB Diploma program
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I spoke with the Viterbi rep a handful of times, went to their information session in NYC, had a decent interview, think I decently demonstrated how I would pursue CS at USC, and have academics in their range
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted to Case w/ half tuition scholarship
Deferred from MIT, Georgia Tech, and University of Michigan, waiting on a lot more decisions from other schools
@ANormalSeniorGuy do you really think you know everything about their extra curricular involvement? They may have had things outside of school. Some schools only use stats, USC isn’t one of them. Were you guys even the same major? Some schools are more competitive.
@CalDreamin , @niki08 I checked their merit scholarship description yesterday, and it says that NMF will be considered for half-price tuition, Nothing about guaranteed. I think my daughter will go for the interview, because we didn’t visit the campus yet, and she needs to know what it is all about before making the final decision.
@actuallysad I personally know a student admitted to WBB.
@Nata11 Obviously you should do what you think best but read the letter that was emailed/posted. If it is the same as my S received it says that if you are accepted in March and are NMF and name USC first you WILL receive the 1/2 tuition.
@HSCounselor2 There are 5 ExploreUSC days in April and Admitted Student Day April 29.
Well, are these like the only scholarships available in USC? USC is my dream school and I can’t attend it without any scholarship! Are there any department based scholarships? Or is this it? Im soooo scared!
@Aishxr there’s also need-based aid? And a few other smaller scholarships I think. They’re on the website!
@ANormalSeniorGuy Try not to take it too hard. When you see all the stats posted here, it’s easy to wonder why they got it and you (with higher stats) didn’t. I think the scholarships are limited to a set number from each school (with some schools being more selective than others). Also, the “holistic” process is code for “we’ll never know what they were looking for”. As for my high-stats son, I think he blew it on the snack question. He admitted that he loves chips and guacamole, and totally forgot that no one in CA has eaten carbs for years now. Big mistake. 
I’m an international student, so not much chance there! Sadly there aren’t any scholarships listed in the website apart from ones that are being announced now! I really hope I can get any departmental scholarship if there are any. That’s the only way I can attend USC. Thanks for your reply!
@mickey2017
can you cut and paste the part of yours sons letter that states this-
" if you are accepted in March and are NMF and name USC first you WILL receive the 1/2 tuition"
That would be very helpful.
It says…
Your application will still be considered for other awards listed on our Scholarships page, and I encourage you to apply for financial aid if you have not already done so. Visit the Financial Aid website for application instructions. Also, if you are admitted, named a National Merit Finalist and select USC as your first-choice institution, you will receive a USC Presidential Scholarship worth one-half tuition.
@mickey2017 She is accepted already, and invited to compete for presidential, but there is no word about NMF. They won’t add it together, will they?
@Nata11 No. It will not stack.