Son applied by Dec1st but we have heard nothing. Should I worry?
My D got the email that she was not selected for one of the scholarships but nothing ever updated on her portal. Not even sure where we would see an update on the portal?
I don’t think there is any changes on the portal if you are not selected for the scholarship but only an email.
Just fyi for those still curious, for those that received scholarship, the portal change is on the very first screen and is dramatic, so it is certainly noticed. In the past the updated portal shows this:
Admission
Admission Decision
Enrollment Commitment Deposit
Withdraw Your Application
Submit Documents
Financial Aid
Apply for Financial Aid
Financial Aid Summary & Tasks (FAST) page
On-Campus Admitted Student Programs
Explore USC
Preview USC
Admitted Student Day
Campus tours
Off-Campus Admitted Student Programs
Apply for Housing
So it’s obvious, I assume it is the same as it has been over the years, if not, for someone that has it, feel free to update my info. Always trying to stay current. 
It will update in the same manner in March for those accepted then. If admitted the very first screen changes, if not, a letter appears under “check your application status.” And the “Dear John” letter will be in your portal under Admission Decision, and will appear as “Current Message”
@cadreamin Yes, she had everything submitted by December 1. I double checked on her portal.
I just heard from a mom whose daughter applied last year. She had perfect ACT, amazing art and STEM EC, etc. She was National Merit Semifianlist and was not invited to the scholarship interview. She said the full-tuition merit scholarships seem to be reserved for non-national merit kids. Is that true? Any of you invited to the scholarship interview, are you NM finalist?
@mavian yes, some NMF were admitted early and offered an interview for non NM scholarships.
I’m a NM finalist and got invited to the scholarship interview. I don’t think that being NMF is going to hurt you - it’s just that getting an interview is insanely competitive(if I remember correctly it’s only one thousand out of 40,000, or about 2.5%), and a lot of really talented students don’t get one.
Hello! I have been following this thread for a while now, anxiously waiting for the USC decisions to come out. I am a HS senior and I applied for the Music Industry program at Thornton. I have a few questions which I hope some of you can help me with.
As USC is my first choice school, should I email my admissions counselor + the Thornton admissions director and let them know that? I also have some new achievement/updates that are note-worthy that I would like to pass on, would that be the appropriate place to let them know? Would they take note of any updates you send them?
For Thornton, I semi-read on this thread that their decisions are different from other USC programs and that they will notify you of your acceptance at a different time. Based on past experiences, do any of you know when they release their decisions? Will it be the same time, before April 1st, or could it be earlier or later?
Thank you!
An Anxious HS Senior
@ccatthttp405 For your sought major, the decision will come with all of the others in late March. As I have mentioned on this thread before… yes - you can of course tell USC that they are your first choice school (if true) and even that you will commit to attending if admitted (again, if true). And you can update them on anything significant that has occurred since you applied. But… if you do so… I would make it all relatively brief and concise. I would only send one, well-worded email. I would send it to your assigned admissions counselor, copying Thornton admissions email. I would do so relatively soon, but certainly by the end of February… or by early March at the latest.
Good Luck…
@blackcat2 whats anAO?
@Racingfan53 woah, youve to go audition in person?
@Doodlesack I suspect that an AO is an Admission Officer or Counselor.
@Doodlesack yes I did, thankfully I live very close but it was really a great experience! I’m glad I got to visit and audition in person.
Just received from USC President Re: Major Financial Aid Expansion
Dear USC Community,
Today I am writing to share exciting news about steps we are taking to make a USC undergraduate education more affordable. Our priority was to find a way to increase support for families all across the country who are faced with the high costs of paying for a college education.
Beginning in Fall 2020 and Spring 2021, all entering first-year undergraduate students whose family’s annual income is $80,000 or below will attend USC tuition-free. In addition, we will eliminate consideration of home equity in determining all students’ financial need. This means that about one-third of next year’s entering class will receive an even more generous aid package than they have in the past.
To implement this plan at one of the largest private research universities in the country, USC will commit over $30 million in additional annual aid. Once fully implemented, more than 4,000 students from low- and middle-income families each year will receive up to $45,000 more aid over the course of their undergraduate studies.
Today’s announcement builds on USC’s longstanding success in pushing the boundaries of access and affordability. With what is already recognized as one of the most generous financial aid pools in the country, and through access programs like our McMorrow Neighborhood Academic Initiative, USC is a nationally recognized leader in recruiting and enrolling low-income students. Consider that currently 31 percent of our undergraduate students come from families in the bottom 60 percent of income earners nationwide, compared to 19 percent at our peer institutions. In addition, around two-thirds of our undergraduates already receive some form of financial aid.
There is a great deal more we can do. Many of you have shared your passion that access and affordability should be at the top of the list of our university’s priorities. The quality and diversity of our students is a core strength of USC. By making a USC education more affordable, we will build on this strength and become even better at attracting talented and diverse undergraduates.
Today’s announcement is just a first step in our commitment to provide a more affordable education to all of our students. We will continue to work towards making an even greater impact, and I look forward to hearing from our Trojan community about how best to approach this task in the months ahead.
Finally, I want to take this opportunity to thank our provost, Chip Zukoski, and our vice president for admissions and planning, Katharine Harrington and her team, all of whom put their passion for access and affordability to work in order to see this plan through. We are also grateful for the input and support this process received from student and alumni leadership and all of USC’s academic deans.
I look forward to continuing this conversation with all of you. In the meantime, I invite you to review the announcement and visit https://affordability.usc.edu/ for full details.
Sincerely,
Carol L. Folt
President
WWWard or CADreamin or anyone else: I applaud USC for this announcement, which should dramatically increase apps, selectivity, and hopefully racial and economic diversity. What do you think the new financial affordability announcement means for merit scholarships going forward? Is this the last year of Explore USC as we have known it?
This is huge for Californians.
That’s very cool - thanks for sharing @WWWard
@WWWard we received the same email and quickly called the FA office to ask if the tuition-free qualification would apply to our 2020 Spring Admit for Fall.
The answer is no, it only applies to incoming students (for now).
@CollegeOdyssey2001 I don’t think there will be changes, in terms of elimination, for merit. It would be odd for them to say, “Hey we are giving people more financial aid” followed up by “but we are gonna take away merit.” What a PR nightmare they would create, ha. So I don’t see that happening.
The home equity thing has always been maddening and yes, eliminated a majority of CA applicants (and others) from ever getting a little somethin’ somethin’. Not sure if this means they will elimate the CSS profile or not, I always figured home equity was the main purpose of that…