@stuart1 My S also applied to SDA.
How are sda applications reviewed? Do they have to go through an initial approval before getting sent to sda?
Good luck, everybody! I am following this year for DD who is applying next year. I wonāt be following next yearās thread; too stressful!!
Does anyone think itās possible USC might be deciding right now to admit more students than they originally planned , worrying that yield might go down because of the scandal?
I am applying to SDA as well. Super nervous!
@collegemom111111 You are one positive thinker! You canāt be from the northeast.
@collegemom111111 No, not one bit, but admire your wishful thinking.
Hello! I recently got notice of a couple national level awards I won and I was wondering if informing the school about it would be of any benefit at this time, or if it is too late?
I would send your advisor an email about them - national awards sound significant. It wontā hurt. Short and to the point.
Iām an SDA Applicant also.
Iād love to have a discussion with other SDA applicants or their parents over on the thread USC SDA Class of 2023 Applicants 
@aliberatori19 I am not aware of that being one of the more in demand majors.
@jstuart1 All majors, including those within SDA, have a dual path to admissionā¦ meaning that all applicants must be first admitted by the university overall. An applicant could ultimately get in with one of three decisionsā¦ 1) admitted to USC, but Undeclared as to Major (meaning that the School or Schools housing major choices one and two both failed to also admit), 2) admitted to USC and to your first choice major, 3) admitted to USC and to your second choice major. Obviously, certain majors within the realms of artistic, creative and performance pursuits have the tendency and especially for BFAs to have the School try and sway USC Admissions when certain applicants are truly sought after. That is likely the case for certain BFA Acting applicants, for example, should their purely academic credentials be lacking in some areas. SDA could lobby admissions on their behalf. I suspect that that they cannot simply do such for everyoneā¦ so they clearly need to pick their battles carefully. That would not though really be the case for BA SDA applicants. A I understand itā¦ they are treated more like Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences applicants. Their ECs or background in dramatics will be considered but not necessarily have the extra leverage that it would for a BFA applicant who had actually auditioned with faculty. Good luckā¦
@barbpz What is says on the Admissions Portal isā¦
First-Year Applicants: Admission decisions will be mailed on March 21. Decisions will be available online March 24 in the USC Applicant Portal.
Hopefully they will update as to time of day on the 24th later.
Iām on the East Coast where it will take three days to receive an acceptance package, if I so fortunate. Day 3 is Sunday, so I will have to wait until Monday. Why would they mail out on a Thursday? Has someone confirmed this. I guess I will find out by checking my computer.
You will get portal update, but a lot of east coast get it second day, particularly if they get them out early on 21st. USC confirmed dates on their admissions page.
For anyone wanting to see the package before it arrives, just google USPS informed delivery and sign up.
Does USC send anything early? I had a friend at my school who says he already got a package this morning (not sure how/if thatās possible), but could USC already be admitting students or is he false?
Athletes, special scholarship winners, questbridge applicants, etc. all typically get their decisions earlier than usual.
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 linkā¦ 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 laterā¦ 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 āOld Schoolā and designed to provide an unique āMailbox Momentā for those admitted to USC. And it probably is so for 80%+ of all admitted applicants. But many also learn via the portal updates firstā¦ 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 21stā¦
Hi @WWWard - Iād like to clarify somethingā¦ if the portal update is at Midnight Pacific Time, do you mean midnight Saturday night/Sunday morning, the night between the 23rd-24th?
Yesā¦ @socalpops That is at least how it was done last March and before. But againā¦ USC is in control, and they could post at any time on the 24th. That is all that they have committed to doing so far. Hopefully they will post a specific time or an insider will let it slip on CCā¦ so that tens of thousands will not be compelled to refresh constantly beginning at 3am Eastern / 12am Pacific and thereafter all dayā¦
Does only those accepted receive a package in the mail or do people who didnāt get in/waitlisted recieve packages too