@bogeyorpar The big merit awards come out in late January. If you do not get one of the Deans, Presidential, Stamps or Mork (only a few of the last two) then you will not know if you are admitted until mid/late March. At that time, if admitted and you are and NMF, then you will get 1/2 tuition if you designate USC as your first choice with NM foundation by May 1st.
The only people that get 1/2 tuition in January are those receiving the Presidential scholarship. That is separate from the NMF scholarship, although they are the same amount, both 1/2 tuition. Also, some Presidential recipients are given the opportunity to interview to bump up the scholarship.
As a reminder to all, please look at the total COA at USC, it is more than tuition - a student needs to add room and board plus other expenses, putting it at around 70K per year. 1/2 tuition is 26K, so you/parents/caregivers have to come up with the difference either from aid, cash, or loans. Many don’t realize the overall expense going in and are disappointed when they realize they got in, but can’t afford it. Go in with open eyes on the financial aspects of any college.
I applied Dec 1 and my grades aren’t released until the 25th. I hope that’s not a problem either, but I feel like they would understand that it’s not always in our control.
They do understand. USC expects you to self-report your mid-term grades when first available/confirmed and to have your high school GC submit them via the Common Application portal at that time as well. They are also not shy, and your individual assigned admissions counselor may, if need be, directly email you for follow-up and/or to request more info. If that occurs, you can assume a time-sensitive pending decision… and you may want to make sure you do self-report those scores asap.
@KAMmom Yes… as suggested, it is a link within your admissions portal. They still want them submitted officially, but USC is among the few who also request that applicants self-report grades.
My daughter (who applied to Viterbi Dec. 1) and I will be visiting Los Angeles in February and plan to visit USC for the second time (last visit was 2 years ago). Does anyone have recommendations for what we should try to accomplish during this visit? Should she request an interview? Thanks.
@CADREAMIN - slight correction. As I understand it, the January notification is that students are being considered for Presidential, Stamps or Mork. They will be invited to USC to interview for those scholarships. It is NOT notification of the scholarships. Fully agree with the advice to consider the complete financial picture. 1/2 tuition will not cut it for my S18.
@CADREAMIN - just some earlier posts on the thread by you, my bad. You know a ton more than me. My post #189 was in response to post #180 - more of a clarification.
@bogeyorpar Absent an individual school offering something directly, yes - that is accurate I believe (If an applicant does not get notification in Jan and is not a NMSF). If admitted, USC is committed to meeting 100% of demonstrated financial need through direct USC grants, federal grants, work study and loans… but if you are eventually admitted in March, you will likely not be offered any other form of merit scholarship by the university overall.
This link will take you to a PDF that breaks down all USC Merit Scholarships… and their details related to application / notification dates, etc.:
Actually, they do give a few Dean’s (1/4) in March along with a few smaller scholarships. I think it is after they get an idea of how many are taking (or not taking) the bigger scholarships and if they have funds to spare then. But the big scholarships - 1/2 and full are done in January, never to be had again. Aside from NMF that come out later - when people know if they are admitted in March and if they are NMF.
Also, some people do get their scholarship in Jan, some interview. Not all are given the opportunity to interview.
My daughter was selected to interview for the presidential scholarship last year and ultimately received it - she had to complete the interview to compete. My understanding is that for all presidential and above (1/2 to full) scholarships you do need to complete the interview. They subsidized flight out in early march for 3 days of ‘activities’ including the interview. About 2 weeks after that was done, they notified if they received the scholarship or not.
Is it likely that the applicants chosen for merit scholarships have already been decided upon? I’m asking because first semester grades don’t come out until the end of this week. Do they wait and consider those or have their decisions already been made?
Is there a difference between Presidential scholarship and NMF scholarship? In other words, (1) does NMF require an interview, and (2) will NMF get accepted to McCarthy Honors College and be able to stay in new residence hall in USC Village as a Freshman?
Is filing of financial aid information necessary to be considered for merit scholarship? will it have adverse effect on admission or scholarship if this information is not provided?
@kevbostic My son is an NMF Presidential scholar at USC. He did not get the early acceptance and did not interview. His scholarship and opportunities are identical to his friends who did get the interview. He lives in McCarthy, can apply for exceptional funding, etc. So, (1) NMF presidential does NOT need to interview (but you do have to be accepted, which is not a given). (2) Yes, you live in McCarthy, which is awesome! Some students are both NMF and interviewees. For the others (like my son), the biggest difference is waiting longer to find out if you’re accepted and not having the chance to be bumped up to the full tuition scholarship…
kinda freaking out because I’m applying to Viterbi and DEFINITELY submitted on Dec 1 (not before because you know… procrastination) but I just realized my common app website says “downloaded Dec 3” does this mean I won’t be considered for merit scholarships!!!