Has anyone in Texas received the box or portal yet? I’m in the three-day zone so I can just hope the portal isn’t done updating yet.
so are these scholarships only for full or half?
We are on the west coast and no portal update yet. Please share if anyone on west coast had portal updates.
@Laura11 not yet my mail arrives in a few hours
Friend of mine in the PNW got a portal update.
@CADREAMIN
I’m confused, are you saying everyone who got the box was invited to interview for the scholarships? In my daughter’s package, there was an additional letter “Official Admission Conditions and Further Information” that had a section “Scholarship Status” that said “You have been selected as a finalist for a USC merit scholarship. A scholarship interview will be the next step in competing for a full or half tuition award. Please see the enclosed Experience USC booklet to learn more about visiting campus”
The Experience USC booklet has a “Scholarship Finalist” label on the front cover, and says on the first page “Congratulations You have been selected from many thousands of outstanding applicants as a finalist to receive one of USC’s prestigious merit based scholarships. These include the Mork Family and Trustee full tuition scholarships… and the Presidential half tuition scholarship” … “Last year, nearly two-thirds of those interviewed received either a full or half tuition scholarship”
Sorry for the lengthy copy and paste, but I’m trying to gauge her odds on getting a full tuition scholarship, as that is the only way we would be able to afford USC (we would have to decline even a half tuition scholarship, unless they will combine it with financial aid, which I don’t think they will). If the odds are extremely slim (i.e., less than 5%), then it might not even be worth it to fly her in from her school in Massachusetts…
Nothing on the West Coast so far
@pathtotruth @excited16 I’m in Nor Cal. The forms section is gone (where it had the audit form). Everything else is the same.
What do you see on your portals?
@KevinFromOC in prior years, the packet specified which scholarship you were interviewing for. There was a chance you could move up or down but most got the one they interviewed for. This year they changed it so that you don’t know which one you’ll get until after the interview. I don’t know the breakdown but there are very few Mork and more presidential than Trustee.
Perhaps your daughter can try and do a Skype interview if she is unable to fly out. USC will reimburse $200 for her flight. If she is able to attend in person, it is really a wonderful event. There’s a special feeling walking on campus as an admitted vs prospective student.
Nope on west coast
@KevinFromOC, with 1,100 finalists and 110 full tuition scholarships, the odds are 1:10.
Son is facing similar odds as a Stamps semifinalist at Georgia Tech, and I am somewhat conflicted about relegating MIT and Caltech to the safety schools status. We wouldn’t have done that for tuition-only offer from USC (or pretty much any other school at this point), so we weren’t planning to proceed if offered.
However, if USC is near the top of your list, it may be worth pursuing even with those long odds and a less than full ride scholarship. Something you will have to decide.
mine is just like that @egellocnoos
@egellocnoos norcal today… no change in portal either
Here is the breakdown.
http://admission.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/USC-Scholarships.pdf
If I still have the chance of getting in im going to appeal…
So…if you are in SoCal you should have gotten either a portal update or box by now right? Oh well, guess I’m waiting until March 
Im in mn and havent recieved a portal update. Does this mean I wont get any merit?
@TheVulcan
Thanks for the info, but the math doesn’t add up. If they have 110 full tuition scholarships, and 200 presidential half tuition scholarships, that’s 310 full or half tuition awards. But the booklet says last year 2/3 of those interviewed received a half or full tuition scholarship. If there are 1100 finalists and 310 full/half scholarships, that means only 1/4 would receive one. Am I missing something? Where did you get the 1100 number from?
Yeah, is it confirmed that everyone that hasn’t gotten their portal updated in the 3-day zone actually didn’t get one? Or will they still update the portals tonight?
@cadman6 definitely disproven. I have a friend who lives near me (3 day zone by several hundred miles) and they got a portal update several hours ago.
I think it’s safe to assume if you didn’t get a portal update yet you’re SOL.