@cd2030 and @devon123 Post #1 in this thread:
They fit in our mailbox, depends on the mailbox. They are 9" wide by 11 3/4 tall by 1" thick. I just measured ours from last year.
@ca1543 Congrats! Glad it all worked out so well.
@Nomorelurker I think that the Village is fairly wide open for sophomores, at least based on availability.
@devon123 Thought you had posted your D’s SAT was 1510 on the 2021 USC Discussion Thread. Did she retake it and get 1540 after January 2017? Both great scores although the difference would be an equivalent ACT of 33 vs 34 for Presidential scholar consideration.
@WWWard I also heard that there is a building in the Village for Honor’s students (presumably those who were awarded Presidential or Trustee scholarships.
@1337mom - I cannot emphasize enough to de-emphasize your kid’s stats. Don’t get caught in the stat blame game, it is so much more than that. For every trustree or Presidential with certain stats, 10 applicants with the exact same stats were not admitted. It is overall picture - the entire application, the student’s demographics (race, location, first gen URM etc), and what the school needs at that time, in that major, in that class year. I would love to forbid the humble bragging stat posts unless it is within the entire decision post when all attributes are given - then you can see a little better picture. Just makes kids feel bad if they had higher ones and feel bad if they had lower ones. And the Trustees with lower gpa’s don’t post (well the kids will, the parents won’t). In the end it makes some parents feel their kids didn’t do enough when situations are out of their control (e.g., some kids have 15 APs offered while some schools offer 3). Or other students feel they were screwed. They may not understand the process, but the adults should. Stats are a measure, but one of probably 10-15 that are equally important and come into play decision time.
@nomorelurker sorry - 1510 is not superscored - 1540 superscored.
Having said that I was simply trying to respond to @1337mom’s original question requesting said information. I completely agree though that stats are just a piece of the equation as said by blueskies2day. Having been in this spot as well, I too was curious of stats if even to just use a barometer during the process. No offense was intended or meant - best of luck to all applicants and things really do work out they way they are supposed to I believe. It may not be what you originally thought it would be; but, it will be great for your kids wherever they may end up!
@devon123, no offense taken. That makes sense now about super scoring. Agree that some are hyper focused on stats which can lead to unnecessary concerns, while others are naturally curious, as you mentioned. Did your D end up going to USC? Happy there?
@Nomorelurker There is an honors residential college, McCarthy Honors College, for freshman within the USC Village. They moved it to the Village this year. Previously, the honors dorm was on the main campus.
At first, USC Housing said that the only way to live in the village as a freshman was to be in McCarthy Honors College (and available only to those specific merit scholars)… and they had taken away all apartment options on campus for freshman… but I then heard that due to some unexpected openings, some freshmen got to live in the apartment units designed for upperclassmen. And now, they have designated some of the units in the other village residence halls for incoming freshmen who would prefer to live in an apartment. That was a good move… as having more options is always preferable. Basically, the rules keep evolving. For example, my older daughter had a Webb Tower apartment as a freshman. That option along with all apartment options was initially removed for freshmen this year until they changed course and restored that as an option within the village.
They list four residential colleges within the village that are earmarked for upperclassmen. Each seems to be open to all upperclassmen, based on availability. Ilium Residential College, within the village, is home to the Sophomore Honors program… but that overall structure, Cowlings and Ilium Residential College, is big and has non-honors students within it as well.
Did anyone hear back from the USC town and gown scholarship? I just got rejected?
@nomorelurker, yes she did and she loves it! I really do believe it works out just as it should for the kids. It’s just a very stressful time as things seem to have become hyper competitive. My understanding is with the weighted gpas is that they really are not used - unless they are looking at students from the same school, because as somebody else mentions, you cannot draw parallels between different schools. However, within the same school they can draw some parallels (strength of schedule). I may be wrong on that though. Good luck to all and be proud of your accomplishments - try not to compare yourself and enjoy the ride even when it seems bumpy!
@blueskies2day I whole heartedly agree with the comment about stats! I had a D go through admissions last year and what got her into almost every school was not the 4.8 and 36. It was her passion for her ECs and national awards and recs and essays. It is the whole package. That is why you see on many college threads kids with high stats getting rejected. At top selective schools, it is the entire package. It is not enough anymore for kids to rely on the high stats…too many of those kids out there. And yes, she did get an interview for Trustee (and if she got it would be the only reason she would have gone to USC), but she did not get the full offered to her after the overnight and the interview. USC quickly fell off the list - and she ended up at another highly selective school. The kids she was with for the overnight seemed to be other “doers” that were already accepted to Ivy and Stanford and USC was trying to woo away. Not sure it worked.
i’m not sure if this has already been answered but - if you are invited to interview for trustee or presidential scholarship but are not awarded the scholarship after interviewing, do you get no scholarship at all? or is there some kind of guarantee (for example quarter tuition) for those invited to interview for bigger scholarships who don’t receive them?
Does anybody know if you are not accepted this week, if they mail you a separate letter saying this or if there is an update on the portal telling you this? Or do we just assume this by not receiving anything?
i think they do update the portal by saying that you didnt get the scholarship but your application is still under review for the regular decisions @an1999 not entirely sure tho
@piranhavator - yes, my daughter received an email today inviting her to interview for Town & Gown.
Hey guys! I’m new to CC and I just really want to know your guys’ opinions on my chances at USC (scholarship or not). Here are my stats:
GPA: 4.52 W and 3.98UW
ACT: 34 composite: 34 English, 31 math, 36 reading, 36 science
6 Ap’s including senior year: AP Bio (got a 4 on the exam), AP Psych (5), AP Lang, AP Calc AB, AP Environmental Science, and APUSH
SAT2: 740 Molecular Bio
No class rank at my school since its a small private school
EC’s are pretty good (not a lot total but I stayed in each for multiple years with leadership roles)
Multiple honors awards
Counselor says my essays are great
In-state and planning on majoring in Human Bio
Gender: F. Race: White/Middle Eastern
What do you guys think?
@piranhavator, yes my DS received T&G interview invite. @Veronica02 congrats to your DD!
This is a few days away when portal updates but since people are asking…(I will post again a few times as things move forward)
If you get scholarship package, meaning you are also admitted, when the portals update the very first screen changes with admission and Explore USC info.
Should look something like this if accepted:
Admission
Admission Decision
Enrollment Commitment Deposit
Withdraw Your Application
Submit Documents
Financial Aid
Apply for Financial Aid
Financial Aid Summary & Tasks (FAST) page
On-Campus Admitted Student Programs
Explore USC
Preview USC
Admitted Student Day
Campus tours
Off-Campus Admitted Student Programs
Apply for Housing
Students that didn’t get scholarship package and need to wait until March to hear if they are admitted will get new message in their portal to “check your application status.” This will lead to a letter called 'Information About the Scholarship Process." It starts like this:
Dear (Student),
I am sending this update to first-year candidates who submitted applications by December 1, the deadline for USC merit scholarship consideration.
Scholarship Selection
Nearly 32,000 students applied in time to be considered for USC merit scholarships. We have offered admission to approximately 1,200 students who will proceed to the next phase of consideration for our top awards: the Mork Family, Stamps, Trustee, and Presidential scholarships. (Student), I am sorry to say you were not selected for further consideration for these awards.
Once they update the portals, they also email you. So you really do not need to keep refreshing and trying to check the portal. But everyone does, that’s normal.
It’s the first time I’ve ever heard of Town and Gown, so quickly looked it up. Looks like you have to be a “permanent resident of Southern California. Bakersfield is the northern most boundary.” OOS (or even NorCal) applicants are out of luck.