My son sent his USC Admission’s Officer an update and copied the department admissions person. NO response at all. He sent a very similar update to other schools and received all positive responses. He had a couple big developments. I think this is surprising. I can tell it’s turned my son off. Thoughts? I asked a friend and she said her son had the same thing happen to him with USC & no others.
@2022soon
I would not assume any correlation between acceptance and this lack of response. It is nothing personal, although I get it can feel that way. There is no busier time than right now at USC (or any school), this next month is like the week before Christmas in retail. And truth is, some of the AO’s are super responsive and some are terrible at it. They get so many applicants (let’s call it 60K) and if even half send in updates (which really could happen) that is 30,000 emails that likely 10-20 people handle (or don’t), when they need to be processing and reading applications, and still be on the road doing roadshows to recruit for next year. Not justifying a lack of response, it would be great it they were always responsive during the process, but they just aren’t. Applicants want like to feel the love from a school, but they aren’t always going to get it.
In this application crazed era with so many applicants and limited spots at virtually every school, the harsh reality is that the school’s have the numbers on their side. A lack of response may certainly influence an applicant’s decision, but in the end that probably depends on the school and how much the applicant really wants to go there.
I can say once in the door, the communication is amazing. Not trying to paint rainbows and butterflies, I certainly have had some great things and not so great things in my decade with having students at USC, but their online systems, communication and response to issues we have had have always been excellent.
Yes… the financial aid policy change is very encouraging and should help many future applicants’ families.
@2022soon I agree with @CADREAMIN , they are really overloaded in terms of the # of applicants in each admission counselors territory. Most other elite colleges or universities likely receive far fewer applicants in total compared to the 60K+ received by USC. Even in my daughters’ cases, while they eventually got replies to such emails, it took many days to receive one. They are just really busy now. And unless the email had an actual question within it, they likely lack the urgency to reply. But I am sure it was read and noted.
@CollegeOdyssey2001 I agree with @CADREAMIN again, I doubt that this will change the merit selection process in any manner.
@CAtransplant you’re welcome.
@romns116 well, that’s unfortunate… especially since the FA decision for next year will be my family’s last (thankfully).
If by “in total” you mean all of them combined, then that would certainly not be the case.
USC is a top 30 USNWR school, but even just the top 5 received 160K+ applications last year: Princeton 30K+ , Harvard 40K+, Yale 35K+, Columbia 40K+, and MIT 20K+.
But if you meant that USC received more applications than most other schools individually, then this is true, USC is one of the most applied to private schools, elite or not.
https://www.theclassroom.com/colleges-with-the-most-applications-data-study.html
But that is largely the function of a larger class and a lower yield.
As a point of comparison, Caltech, a school with a yield similar to USC but higher selectivity, receives 8K+ applications for its 235 freshman slots (MIT fills six times as many slots with three times as many applicants because they have twice the yield).
USC has over 3,000 freshman slots. Assuming its admissions department is proportionally larger, they would have to receive over 100K applications to be as busy as Caltech, whose admissions reps are very responsive.
So, there are many factors in that equation, and yes, USC receives a lot of applications, but not abnormally many considering its class size and yield.
And one of the main reasons USC attracts certain applicants are its merit scholarships offerings. The only school that offers similar number of them that is ranked higher is Vandy. Interestingly, Vandy receives about half the number of USC’s applications for about half the number of USC’s freshman slots, and also has very similar yield (mid 40%).
So, the main reason USC is an outlier in total apps is that it is a larger school. Not sure if that translates into a larger admissions department, or just a more overworked one.
@CADREAMIN @WWWard I hear you, but when Michigan, Northeastern, Brown, and many other schools in demand who also receive a ton of applicants (Michigan & NU got a crazy amount this year) all respond immediately it is disturbing when a rep from USC cannot reply to the one email an applicant sends and copies other department admissions officers on. For 70 K+ a year I expect they can staff admissions properly. Good to hear they are better once in. I was actually extremely impressed with Michigan’s rep as that is one we assumed would not respond due to the high number of applications and being a public university, but the rep responded promptly.
@WWWard yes, unlike the updates he sent other schools it did also have a question in it as well. Obviously unanswered. Ridiculous.
My point above was simply that they are quite busy within USC Admissions, and especially at this exact moment. Last year, I believe it was like 65-70K who applied. That is a lot of applications for one individual school only looking to admit around 7K or so in hopes of securing a new freshman class of just 3K. There are also only 44 admissions officers I believe with assigned territories. On average then, that could equate to one AO per around 1500-1600 applicants. This time of year, each AO may be getting a few 100 emails per day… day after day.
When my daughters applied, they got a reply to emails, but it also took a few days to receive such. Back then, comparatively, the only colleges or universities that they applied to that was as efficient in replying with a specific individual reply (and not some auto-reply) was Princeton and Emory. Obviously many schools use auto-responding emails, but USC only does so for its generic admissions email. I at least do not recall the individual AOs at USC using an auto-reply. But these type of things can also be highly individual versus systemic… meaning that it simply comes down to the individual AO you may be dealing with. I would simply caution against disparaging or downgrading your opinions of any institution based on the feedback or lack thereof supplied by a single employee in admissions. But you are all of course welcome to form your opinions as you choose to.
I have had at least one child at USC from August 2014 forward. And we of course started dealing with them in the fall of 2013 when my older daughter first applied. There have been a handful of issues that I would have preferred been handled differently by USC over those last 6+ years, but when evaluating everything in terms of admissions, financial aid, academic advising, the course registration process, student/parent communications, housing, etc., I remain very content and satisfied with USC overall. Over time, I believe that most students and their parents come to think of USC as a well-oiled machine that really endeavors to meet and surpass the expectations of everyone who has become a part of their extended Trojan family.
Now clearly my family’s opinion were first and foremost swayed by the reality that both of my daughters were admitted and attended and then had tremendously satisfying experiences while at USC. I fully acknowledge that our experience is our family’s alone. But it is also why I still come back to CC and post about USC in hopes of helping others by answering questions or sharing our insights. I, like @CADREAMIN , have had extremely positive experiences regarding USC, and we welcome the opportunity to assist others as they possibly embark on a similar journey.
And its understandable then that many have contrary experiences. Some simply opt to lash out against USC because they were denied a merit scholarship or later denied admission altogether. And I understand how that disappointment will forever change certain individuals’ views of USC. After all, 89% or so of all applicants are likely going to fail to be admitted this cycle.
For those who do gain admission and then must decide where to enroll. I would certainly not base your decision on something as simple as CC posts, regardless of whether someone like myself is decidedly pro-USC or not. I would do ample research and not just here on CC.
As I have mentioned on this thread before, I would suggest taking a look at the Niche College Rankings… comparing USC and other colleges and universities using some of their rankings, metrics and measurements. The Niche Rankings and Grades are mainly based on survey results from past and current students and faculty, and they delve into a number of areas that really highlight the topics that will most impact you once there as an actual student on campus.
For those curious… USC ranks #19 overall on the Niche College Rankings and its grades are: A+ for its Overall Niche Grade… and then by category: Academics A+, Value A+, Diversity A+, Campus A+, Athletics A+, Party Scene A+, Professors A+, Location B+, Dorms A-, Campus Food A-, Student Life A+, Safety B. But here is likely the best indicator… USC is ranked #1 out of 1579 colleges and universities surveyed in terms of “Best Student Life” overall.
So… if admitted… do not judge USC just on the admissions process you experienced alone. Judge it on the type of college experience you hope to have over the next four years. Visit the main campus and the USC Village. Ask lots of questions. Tour its facilities and housing. Make a proper comparison with your other admitted options, and then choose the right school for you.
Good luck to all those awaiting a decision in March. We are likely only about 30 days away now from that important update.
Anecdotal, but we had excellent back and forth communication with USC admissions in late January.
Is it a bad sign if you dont get an email asking to send your mid year grades?
It’s fine to love a school, but an assumption that parents who are complaining about negative experiences with it (and I am not one of them) are underinformed may be unfounded.
The schools I used for comparing application numbers in #863 are ranked higher than USC both nationally by USNWR, and internationally by Times of Higher Education and QS. And yes, Niche as well, except in the party scene ranking, where USC is one of the top party schools. But A+ Party Scene (or athletics, for that matter) may or may not be a big selling point for everyone;)
Financial Aid question here. Why the heck does USC require so many different things for financial aid? We submitted the FAFSA. We submitted the CSS Profile. Then, in late December, they sent an email requesting a “FAST” form. Fine, we submitted it. Now, today, they want a “4506-T” form?!? What in the world is their deal? We’ve received several financial aid packages from other schools without these extra forms. Why does USC require these items in addition to the FAFSA and CSS which are pretty detailed themselves? And why could they not just say, up front, that they require them? I’m wondering how many other requests for extra documents will be trickling out from USC over the next couple of months – should I be preparing for that? Ugh.
That’s intersting… we never received another FAST request since we applied. It’s either your kid is admitted or they need some extra explanations on your tax/income. We got a similar note that we need to upload couple extra forms from a college my kid was admitted to, a month before the notifiaction.
@carefreeht most people who applied to top schools already uploaded the midyear report and grade via the Common App. All schools even the ones who didn’t request automatically downloaded from the portal. We didn’t get an email but it shows the portal has them.
When should USC applicants tend to hear back? What are my chances as an OOS student versus in-state?
it says we should hear back by 1 april
USC is a private school. They don’t care about in-state / out-of-state status.
My son sent two updates in the last few months and his rep got right back to him each time. Responsiveness may vary by rep.
For those interested in stats, at Explore USC today they said that they received over 59,000 applications with 40,000 before 12/1. Approximately 3% of the 40K were invited to interview for scholarships. The average test scores in the room were SAT - 1530 or ACT - 35 and 60% of the students in the room had an unweighted GPA of 4.0.
@amsunshine It really varies by family circumstances. Some families have very simple financial situations, and some have very complex ones. Both of my daughters received very generous financial aid via USC, but to gain such, we needed to submit a lot of forms/docs too. My advice is to simply supply what they ask for as they do so.
@drm1234567 Most likely during the week of March 23rd… based on recent patterns. And as stated above, they do not evaluate based on in-state versus OOS. USC is private.
@lkg4answers So those test score stats were only the top 3% that were scholarship applicants and also at that specific event? I guess that is not surprising then. How did the total USC applicants of over 59,000 compare to the last two years stats? Does anyone know. GPA’s are so inflated these days. Without knowing the number of AP classes or class rigor they become pretty irrelevant. I am surprised schools even report them anymore.