@elistaubsicle This is most definitely the case for me. If I don’t receive a merit scholarship, there’s no chance of me going if I do get accepted.
By next year my family will have three kids going to college at the same time so it would most definitely help.
The financial consideration of attending is always one of the key factors for most applicants’ families. In our family’s case, USC was generous enough with financial aid for both of my daughters to attend, including even one overlapping year. USC was more generous than many colleges that accepted my daughters but then offered too little in terms of financial assistance. It can come in many forms… direct university grants, federal grants, work study and loans. But it all comes down to each family’s unique specifics. It’s a shame that such is the reality of college attendance. If you believe there is any chance of gaining need-based aid, I would certainly encourage all such applicants to at least apply and see what may be possible. USC does pledge to meet 100% of demonstrated financial need. Of course, it is their interpretation of that need that is the tricky part. They will consider assets and equity along with the incomes of both parents, etc. But you never know unless you apply…
Good luck to all who applied by Dec 1st. Hopefully many of you are among the 1000-1200 or so being admitted with merit money during January.
Does anyone know what time the portals will update? Is 5pm PST correct?
Did anyone apply to the World Bachelor in Business program, when should we expect to hear back?
We received a letter and booklet from USC Admissions and Financial Aid today (addressed to “Parents of…”) that presented information re: FinAid at USC, the process (FAFSA/CSS), deadlines, types of aid, etc.
Anyone else?
(Our son applied by the Dec 1 deadline for scholarship consideration.)
@oaksinfog Yes, we received that same information in the mail a while back. Applied RD and completed all financial aid/scholarship requirements long before the December deadline. I’m guessing it is standard.
Everyone who applies get i formation packets on financial aid
Hi all! NYC here. This is my first post! I’m also a USC freshman applicant and I applied before 12/1 in hopes of significant merit aid. I’m hoping the red, white, or gold, (whatever color they want!) boxes are sent out next week. I was so excited to find this forum. It has definitely helped ease my nerves! Good luck all!
FYI…article regarding lower Spring admit students in Spring 2020 due to lower Fall 2019 enrollment from DailyTrojan by Sasha Davis (1/14/20)…interesting read…
SPRING ADMISSIONS DROP 50%
Admissions at USC were cut in half for Spring 2020 following a decrease in fall enrollment. For more than 20 years, the University has welcomed an estimated 650 students into the spring enrollment program.
According to Dean of Admission Timothy Brunold, the University had lower Fall 2019 enrollment numbers than in previous years. The 2018-2019 school year saw about 3,400 new students enroll, while this year’s freshman class enrolled 3,100 new students.
According to Brunold, spring enrollment serves as the University’s waiting list by offering a group of students admission in January while being able to move some up to the fall semester if spots open up. The difference in new student enrollment over the past two years accounts for the decrease in spring enrollment.
“This wasn’t a policy or a decision anyone made,” Brunold said.
Spring enrollment numbers are responsive to fall enrollment and are not the result of any executive action. This year marks a departure from the previous year in fall enrollment, where Fall 2018 saw an overenrollment of students. As a result, spring enrollment numbers were pushed up, putting a strain on the University’s resources.
The increase in students created a deficit in campus housing in Spring 2019 and led the University to renovate freshman student lounges into temporary overflow housing for about 50 spring admits.
According to USC Housing Director Christopher Ponsiglione, the converted lounge spaces serve as part of the University’s backup housing plans should a similar overflow in enrollment occur. However, any changes to these spaces are temporary and meant to support yearly differences in enrollment.
“The lounge spaces used last spring were converted back to lounges for this past fall,” Ponsiglione said in an email.
According to Ponsiglione, no spring-admitted freshmen have been assigned to any converted lounge spaces this semester.
The University’s spring enrollment program offers a different experience, through a more personal Welcome Week and orientation sessions. The University offers suggestions for how spring-admitted students can spend their fall semesters earning college credits at community colleges or abroad.
According to Karina Aguirre, a spring-admitted freshman majoring in law, history and culture, the transition into USC for spring-admitted students has room for improvement.
“During the fall, there should be more encouragement from the University for spring admits to come to USC,” Aguirre said. “If you’re still being considered part of the Trojan Family, then there should be more encouragement throughout the entire year [to join the community].”
Aguirre said she believes spring-admitted students should take advantage of the fall Welcome Week events. Bringing spring-admitted students together with the rest of their class could help dispel any stigma surrounding spring enrollment, she said.
Some spring-admitted students hold strong sentiments about their place in the University. Aguirre said that explaining her position as a spring admit is tiring and often gets undesirable responses that suggest spring admits are different from other students.
“I never want to have to explain to anyone again that I am a spring admit,” Aguirre said.
The University recognizes that many students share Aguirre’s feelings about spring admissions. According to Brunold, students don’t intentionally apply to attend USC in January, but enrollment numbers fluctuate between fall and spring semesters due to students graduating early or late or going abroad.
These statistics motivated the University to adjust its admissions process and establish spring enrollment. The Office of Admission is clear about how the spring admissions process works, Brunold said.
“When we tell [spring-admitted students] about spring admission, you know, we were very careful about explaining what it is and helping them understand why we do it,” Brunold said.
Despite the University’s efforts to be open and honest about the spring enrollment program, some students feel that more can be done to increase transparency. Aguirre said she thinks the University should include spring-admitted students’ academic statistics in its fall admission profiles to better reflect the academic makeup of all incoming students.
“I think that if USC is going to continue with a spring admission program, they should be more transparent in how they’re using it,” Aguirre said.
Just returned from Welcome Week for Spring 2020. Son is over the moon about being an SCA Spring Admit, and we are grateful for the extra months we had him at home! Not to mention the nice chunk of money saved. He was fortunate to be paired with another SCA Spring Admit in Parkside. The different welcome week events were helpful, well-staffed, and didn’t feel too big.
He started class this week, and hasn’t had a single fall student ask him how he feels about being a spring admit.
Thank you @romns116 for sharing your son’s experience so far - that sounds great!
Yah, #hope I am a NMF, so I can get rid of some of that debt.
@romns116 Glad to hear your update. Welcome to the Trojan family. Fight On!
When are international scholarships out?
My portal and email doesn’t say anything about being qualified for a scholarship. I think its because they received it on december 1st and it might’ve been too late. It says they will notify me by April. I don’t know what this means. Can anybody help? Do your emails and portal say anything about hearing back in January?
I truely wonder what their criteria is for the scholarships. Because going for a film major, usually students have lower scores and grades compared to students going for a stem major. And if it was based on EC’s I wonder what they call deserving, because the videos I saw where people got the scholarships they did like competitive ice skating, internships for cancer, etc… I wonder how they take majors into consideration.
I wonder that too @CindyLeuWho The major I applied to is severely underrepresented on CC but from what I know, very few scholarships are awarded to annenberg students.
Kind of happy because today I received a brochure from the annenberg office of admissions which means they know who I am??? Idk what to think. It’s a huge brochure for annenberg.
Don’t know if this helps @soccergirl2020 – Current splash screen from the USC admissions website:
"Scholarship Notifications
Prospective first-year students who applied by the December 1 deadline will receive an update regarding their applications by the end of January.
Even if you are not selected as a scholarship finalist, your application will still be considered for admission. You will receive an admission decision by April 1."
They do spread out merit scholarships among the various Schools within USC. It may not be an exact ratio based on spots or applications, etc., but it is certainly not the case that they are all steered toward just a few of the Schools or programs.