@winjammer I think you are right. Don’t need to worry to all Thornton applicants.
@Laketahoe79 My son got a scholarship and I think a big part of that is that he listed his intended major as Philosophy, I just dont think that there are a lot of prospective high stat applicants for that major.
@wchatar2 my D was going to be a philosophy major too. Then our tour guide told us his major was philosophy, politics and law. She did some research as politics is one of her interests and listed that as her major. She must’ve written a passionate essay as her stats are not as high as a lot of others who didn’t get a box. She is super excited!
@lifebreath and @pdxtigermom Thanks!! I guess it will be March then…since auditions occur throughout Feb. So really no early notification or packages for now. I can relax for short while!
@Marcie123 My son has done a pretty deep dive into philosophy and politics-he writes for the DSA newspaper as well as his high school paper. I think one of the things he really loved about USC was the opportunity to “cross pollinate” all of that. I think that the Thematic Option program blew his mind.
DD got into program she wanted (Biophysics) and finalist for full tuition scholarship. Though the letter was dated the 23rd, it showed up online only today? Expecting packet later today by snail mail.
@CADREAMIN Thanks! Good thing is my son has no idea what’s going on here 
@lifebreath and @pdxtigermom and @winjammer Good luck to your arts kids on their auditions and pre-screening applications and hope for the best outcomes!
The Thematic Option program is an Honors Program that has nothing to do with whether a student receives a merit scholarship or not. In fact, it isn’t clear that most of the merit scholarship recipients even elect Thematic Options (although some do), which is a different pathway to fulfill general education requirements at USC. Many merit scholarship students don’t want Thematic Options, and I would not be surprised if the majority of the Thematic Options students are not merit scholarship winners.
So even if you didn’t receive good news about the merit scholarship, it is absolutely worth looking at the Thematic Options program if you have good news in March. (wchatar2, I know your child is a finalist for a merit scholarship, but posting for others).
@winjammer I understand we won’t get any updates till we finish Live Audition, but I still signed up the informed delivery and check our mailbox faithfully and I even asked my son to check his email and portal to see if there were any updates. He even doesn’t belong to this group since he’s a junior applying RHP.
just got the email - no scholarship
@Laketahoe79 Yes… that does certainly play a potential role. The major being sought, the School housing that major, geographical and demographic considerations, URM or First Gen or QuestBridge or other diversity considerations, etc. are all potential factors.
As @cadreamin mentioned before, there are scores and scores of students at USC currently that have better stats than some of their contemporaries at USC who are there with merit scholarships. There are also scores and scores of students who were outright rejected who had higher stats. I think that it is simply a misnomer to evaluate one’s stats and then to try and compare those to merit recipients… assuming that getting a merit scholarship means a recipient was more worthy or even had better stats. Unless we are privy to all of the factors, there is no way to accurately determine why one applicant was offered a merit offering while others were not.
Clearly the 1200 this week getting them are worthy and deserve it… but that in no way lessens the worthiness of many others not receiving such an offering. The 1200 are in fact divided up by Schools and based on way too many other potential factors to draw any narrow conclusions.
Congrats to your son.
I’m NMSF and got the no-scholarship email for whoever asked earlier on this thread. Guess I’ll have to wait until March!
Just got an email saying I’m being considered for USC merit scholarships.
No acceptance though
hope I can get accepted in March!
@CADREAMIN @WWWard Hey guys! Thank you very much for all of the helpful information and advice you have posted. I have a quick question. I wasn’t selected for any of the top scholarships but I wasn’t expecting anything at all. I noticed in the letter/email that it didn’t mention if any Deans Scholarships were given out this round. Is there still a chance to get the Deans Scholarship in March?
Off of the scholarship decisions a bit (none for me), if we submit our mid-term grades through common app do we have to do it separately on the portal as well because there is a special spot for it
@ugradbiz As I understand it, during this week, ( and per @CADREAMIN ) around 1200 are invited to proceed to the next phase of consideration for the top awards: the Mork Family, Stamps Leadership, Trustee, and Presidential scholarships. About 100 are given Dean’s (1/4) and do not interview for bigger one. Some additional Dean’s have also been given in March, but not the bigger ones.
My son has received his merit package (and he’s signed up for Explore via the portal), but he never received an e-mail regarding the acceptance/merit. On a related note, when should he expect to receive info re housing?
@vhsdad As I recall, each of my daughters received their first info from USC Housing within 2-3 days after committing and paying their enrollment deposit. I doubt that you will actually get housing info sent to you prior to committing. They may though go over such at Explore USC events.
But you can of course explore online at any time… http://housing.usc.edu/ There are online videos, brochures and a wealth of info there.