@Yert1eTheTurt1e - The previous post was in response to your posting. All the best.
I think everybody got that message @YertleTheTurtle My message says “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.”
Does any particular major find out about decisions at a time different than The general March date?
Hi there! I am an international applicant applying to Annenberg for a graduate program. Does anyone know if the scholarship process is the same as undergrad? I could not find any thread about the grad process.
Goodluck everyone!
Hey everyone, congrats to all admitted students. Is anyone interested in creating/joining a group chat (snapchat, instagram, etc.) prior to heading out to USC for Explore USC?? Just thought it would be nice to connect beforehand.
Does anyone know if the number 37,000 applicants before Dec 1 is down a little? Past years were 40,000 correct? Just curious. Many schools applicant counts are down this year. I am wondering if USC’s total applicant count will reach the last couple of years.
It has been reported on this thread that total number of applicants this year is around 58,000. That is down from last year’s 66,000.
Interesting, thank you! Between the admission scandal, CA wildfires, and overall decrease of International students applying in the US it makes sense. Hopefully that will help everyone who did apply a little. It’s still a lot of applications though!
I did not get a white box but still hoping for March!
But, I have a question.
For the FAST page, it was written that “Program of Study is Ineligible for Financial Aide”. I have applied for the WBB program and I know the program is ineligible for financial aid. I checked back after not receiving a white box since most WBB students get their acceptance in the early round (is that true?) and now the FAST page says “Program of Study is Eligible”. Does this mean I had gotten into WBB and then got swapped out? Or was it just a fluke?
Congrats to all those who got in this week. Welcome (if you now decide to enroll) to the Trojan Family. Being among the 2.75% who applied by December 1st and got in with merit money is a tremendous accomplishment.
But to the 38,900 or so who applied by December 1st and failed to get in during January, please do not lose hope. 80%+ of all past and current USC students were admitted in March, not January. Some admitted in March will still get 50% tuition scholarships via being NMF and many more will be able to live out their dream of attending USC via generous financial aid offerings. That is how both of my daughters were able to attend USC.
For those of you who failed to get in this week, it may again be time for a little bit of perspective… (a re-post from earlier in this thread)
Every late January, many who applied to USC by December 1st, but who fail to get in with merit money during January, look at the decision as tantamount to a rejection. Clearly though, no one is actually eliminated from the admissions process during January, but the cost concerns will mean that many, even though they may be admitted later in March, will still see this as the squashing of their dreams.
In reality, 58,640 of the 66,198 who applied last cycle were ultimately not admitted. I choose to say “not admitted” because in reality that is how USC sees it too. The simple reality is that they are not rejecting applicants. Instead, they are simply faced with the cruel reality of only having room for circa 3K new freshmen each year. With their projected yield rates and the goal of only seeing around 4K enroll, USC thus can only admit 7,000 to 7,500 or so in total. The massive # of new applicants each cycle makes their task extremely hard. They are only able to admit so many.
Unfortunately, disappointment does come along in life. It’s what you do next that matters most. Steven Spielberg desperately wanted to attend USC SCA… so much so that he tried three times to gain admission. He failed to gain admission all three times. But now there is a building bearing his name within the SCA complex, and he did very well despite lacking an SCA education. Bryan Singer also tried and was also not granted admission by either USC or SCA. He tried a second time and got into USC but again failed to get into SCA. He then succeeded as an internal transfer on his third try. Persistence can also pay off.
Many have faced the disappointment of not gaining admission to their dream schools. In my day, for me… it was Harvard… but Harvard saw it differently. Harvard also failed to admit Dr. Harold Varmus twice. He simply went on to win a Nobel Prize in Medicine. Harvard also failed to admit Warren Buffet. They surely would like a do-over on that one.
Every year around this time, it is important to remember that such failed efforts need not control our lives. And with the way that things have evolved… with the Common Application making it far too common for high school seniors to apply to 10+, 15+ or even 20+ schools, those disappointments are bound to add up.
But these letters from admissions offices potentially detailing the bad news are not true assessments of student aptitude or ability or the quality of an application. They are simply the natural evolution of a cruel #s game. USC could clearly admit tens of thousands of quality applicants this year. They are instead stuck with the arduous, unwelcome and nearly impossible task of only picking 7000-7500 or so out of a field of 65-70K. They will even have to reluctantly disappoint 90% of all legacy applicants.
As Warren Buffet says in the article linked below: “The truth is that everything that has happened in my life…that I thought was a crushing defeat at the time, has turned out for the better. A temporary defeat is not a permanent one. In the end it can be an opportunity.”
Here’s a link to an excellent article on the subject of those who went on to great success after facing such a similar set-back as aspirational high school seniors aiming for that dream school scenario…
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704211704575139891390595962
If USC remains your dream school, and if you are fully committed to attending USC if admitted in March, I suggest actually telling them so… one more time… via a brief but well-worded email to your assigned admissions counselor, copying your chosen school’s admissions email. Again, I would only do so once, and I would only say what is actually true. I would do so mid to late February.
To all of you active on CC or just following along without posting… good wishes and the best of luck getting in during March. If you do not get into USC, hopefully you will find your place at another great option. But clearly some will face disappointment. Some will not gain admission into their dream school. I wish it could be otherwise.
Hey, I got into SCA for Interactive Media! It was a big shock, especially with merit, because I don’t believe my scores to be top tier. Guess it goes to show that they do look holistically!
Were everyone’s portals updated? I still see no update on my portal and am now wondering if I was even considered to be considered for the merit scholarships.
I emailed Thornton about the scholarship decisions (I am a Music Industry applicant), and they said that all Thornton decisions would be out on April 1. I’ve received no portal update yet, so this is probably why. And to think I was so stressed about not receiving a package this weekend!
@let0202 I would be so down for that!! I’m going to the February 20th ExploreUSC.
@nerdyaf09 I can’t IM you because I don’t have enough posts 
I signed up for ExploreUSC on the 27th. What media should we use?
You need 15 posts to send a DM, or if someone has 15, they can DM someone with less posts to get it started. Meaning you can have less posts to receive a DM, but must have 15 to send one. Perhaps someone with 15 can get you rolling or post more. 
Thanks to those posting in stats thread, I am always amazed at how amazing and interesting you all are! Your posts are helpful to future Trojans!
All hope to those in the same boat, waiting for March ? love to all of you
@let0202 I don’t have enough posts to send a DM, but I’d be down to join an insta group chat. Still waiting to see which ExploreUSC date is the best. ^ ^
@Zephyrall I’m halfway to the 15 replies so I’ll be able to DM soon I guess lol. But yeah I agree insta would be a good way to go!