@SoCalPops you’re welcome. yes.
What time on the 24th should we expect portals to be updated?
Time for portal update has been just after midnight for many years on they day they say they are posted.
HOWEVER, they changed it up for merit this past January and it was mid-day. So time may remain a mystery until our insider confirms, or they just post it which they will likely do. They are being more forthcoming with dates earlier this year, nice trend.
Sorry to belabor the timing point, but is it correct that if you are not admitted, your portal will likely update with the bad news before you receive the rejection letter in the mail?
USPS
@CADREAMIN i know that it is not 100% yet about what time the portal should update, but if they were to update at midnight, would it be PST or the timezone that you are in? So if I’m on the east coast would it update 3:00am or would it update at midnight?
To Recap for the applicants waiting: the mail-out of admissions packages, sent via USPS Priority Mail, has been confirmed by USC as occurring on March 21st, with portal updates for all applicants on March 24th. They have yet to announce the time of day. Last March and before then it was always midnight Pacific time. But in January, they switched it to noon (Pacific time). My bet is that it will be noon on the 24th as well. You can project your likely delivery window via the following link… https://www.usps.com/priority-mail/map/ Simply use 90007 as the originating zip code. Be forewarned however that USPS is far from 100% reliable, and they do too often miss those delivery windows. The portal updates on the 24th will be the definitive answer. Rejection letters arrive via regular mail later… usually received after the portals update - unless you live close enough to USC. While you can of course try Informed Delivery via USPS, as it has worked for some, USC does not enable tracking and historically very few of those actually getting the admission packets were able to gain that same-day advanced notice. The vast majority who have had Informed Delivery, including my own family, were not able to see this particular type of package en route. But there is always a chance. Of course, this out-dated notification method which relies on the U.S. Postal Service is very “Old School” and designed to provide an unique “Mailbox Moment” for those admitted to USC. And it probably is so for 80%+ of all admitted applicants. But many also learn via the portal updates first… as was the case in 2017 for my younger daughter.
Best of luck to all those waiting for good news beginning with the packages roll-out on March 21st…
when approximately would international students receive the packages??
They are usually sent ahead a couple days via DHL but very few get them before portal updates. Some do get them on the second or third day though!
@CADREAMIN I live on the east coast and got my scholarship notification at noon, so it may be 9am pacific.
Yes the scholarship notifications were done at noon EST, they were asking about regular admission next week. For many years, for regular admission in March, they have updated just after midnight the day the say portals would update. Literally something like 12:02 or 12:04 AM. However, they do have a new software system, so behavior may change for March as well.
I expect they will post a time portals will update (or we will get info from insider) once they send out packages.
Either way, it’s soooo soon now - hang in there everyone and good luck to all!
so they’re releasing earlier than expected? well, that’s suuuper scary! i really hope i get in!!! applied as a digital arts and animation major 
good luck, everyone, i’ll be sure to update on the 24th!
Good luck, @niconiconii There is also an SCA specific thread if you are interested…
I’m super nervous. I wonder what they are looking for? My stats aren’t super high but I did work super hard on my essays. Do you think they ar looking hard at stats (more specific sat) is there any chance of someone getting in with a low score around 1000-1140
@Radm02 In terms of getting “Chanced” for USC, it is virtually impossible for others to predict what may or may not occur in your specific case. With an admit rate now projected to be circa 10%, and with 4K+ applicants with 4.0 unweighted GPAs and test scores in the 99th percentile among those not gaining admission, your success will instead likely depend on too many potential factors for anyone to correctly evaluate… making predicting admission nearly impossible. You may want to look at last year’s freshman profile to see how you would have been positioned last cycle…
https://about.usc.edu/files/2018/09/USC-Freshman-Profile-2018-2019.pdf
You will note that not everyone admitted had stellar stats… so they do look at many different factors. It will likely come down to a composite and holistic analysis of your stats coupled with writing ability / essays, ECs, potential leadership roles, potential other unique qualifiers (URM, First Gen, geography, demographics, etc.), your Why USC? explanation/reasoning, etc.
You may also want to read through the following very helpful insider’s guide to USC admissions…
https://tfm.usc.edu/a-guide-to-uscs-college-admissions-process/
It provides a glimpse into how Admissions staffers view the process and what they are looking for generally.
Good luck…
Does anyone know about how many people apply to major in Urban Studies and Planning? Is it a popular major?
Does anyone know when USC mails out Trustee/Presidential scholarship decisions? And are the FA packages included at the same time?
Scholarship decisions typically come the day or day before packages are mailed, so you could be looking at Wednesday this week. Maybe earlier, but shouldn’t be later than that. Of course, they are in charge.Your portal will update. Someone posts on here right away, so we should all know when it happens as some will be portal checking non stop next week, and see it the minute it is up.
Financial aid usually comes within a week of acceptances, but there can be delays, obviously depending if they actually have all the info they need, etc. Would plan on FA around April 1st or soon after, some will get it 3-4 days after acceptances, but just put April 1 as a general target.
Thank you, @CADREAMIN