Argh these “hints” given by admissions through fafsa and stuff really made me wish I applied
Wait can someone tell me what this FA “hint” is? I got an email from USC asking me to upload my parents’ tax forms. Is this supposed to mean anything? And how true do we think this is?
Going to cite this post again bc of the discussion of FA and their emails:
Does anyone think they will send acceptance boxes this weekend or will they plan on just posting in the portal on tuesday?
Likely maybe a week or so after portals update we could see physical mail ¯_(ツ)_/¯
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From what I can glean from the many posts on the subject from this and previous years, FA emails in general are not a tip in any direction. However, FA requests in very close proximity (within a week or a few days) to the decision date are at least a good sign anecdotally.
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Yes, my conclusion is the reason is the data analytics these schools have are sophisticated. They knew he was above range for them and would be offered elsewhere at “more prestigious” colleges. Unless they can throw merit aid to convince him to accept (and if he’s not applying for financial aid they may decide his parents are wealthy enough that tuition cost isn’t as relevant a factor) they will decline to yield protect. UNLESS that student can make a convincing and personalized case why they would prefer Tulane.
This is the same situation with USC but maybe only for the very best candidates.
If you are at USC’s 50 to 75th percent in stats, your admission will be determined by your extracurricular activities AND by convincing them you would probabilistically accept their offer. If you are well above their 75%, it’s even more important to convince USC as they suspect they will be competing with Duke, Stanford, etc., and that you would take USC for its positives over the prestige of the others. If your family is wealthy it’s hard to convince them. If merit aid can impact the decision I’m sure they would try.
It’s completely logical these schools model this all out.
This is my cynical take on admissions.
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They just do. They are trying to have every FA file completed and ready. FA operates on a completely separate path. I know that it seems to make little sense to waste time on those not being admitted… but they do so.
Yes. Officially… no. But they do track statements made directly to admissions especially.
It does not mean anything related to admission. FA is simply trying to get every file completed. Maybe they simply need nothing from you currently.
You can. I had recommended earlier in this thread doing so just once back in early to mid February. They have likely finalized all decisions, but it cannot hurt any to do so now.
It means NOTHING. FA is not offering anyone any hints.
Thanks for repeating it.
Due respect. Your input here is invaluable and appreciated. But how do you know this definitively? There does seem to be a correlation in past years between late stage FA contact and admission. Not FA contact in general. FA contact in the last week.
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Scholarship decisions aren’t out officially but somehow they are on the portal under financial information for 2021-22. Someone figured it out I guess since the students didn’t get a notification.
out of curiosity… how do you know if a college has updated your FAFSA?
I and @cadreamin (who has been at this even longer than I) recall seeing the opposite… with posts from applicants returning to say that they had been rejected and despite the late FA requests. This last week angst is nothing new. It repeats itself over and over… year after year.
But who knows… USC can always change their M.O. In the past, it has never been a definitive indicator one way or the other. But – It’s entirely up to them. They could change their time-tested formula… but I doubt that they ever would do so. Hopefully every single CC poster asking if it means anything will come back and supply the verdict, reminding us all about this topic. Unless 100% also get in, it means nothing.
But why would USC, who has been at this since 1880, operate in a manner that is the opposite of their declarations… that FA and Admissions operate on completely separate paths pre decision… and allow a pattern of early hints from FA or any other component of USC?
I get why applicants desperately cling to every little thing as though it may be a positive hint. But I no longer believe there are any. Everyone will know in just four days. Those waiting should simply find another distraction - something to help pass the time. Stressing yourself unnecessarily is not going to help in any constructive manner. That’s my take on it. But good luck to all who are awaiting the decision…
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Within FAST… the FA portal… you can see received docs, items remaining and already requested, things in process, etc. And in terms of FAFSA updates, FAFSA eventually emails the student and their parents too, updating when a school changes something. USC often does as well, but I do not recall them doing so until after an initial actual FA offering.
Similar to UC Berkeley, I went to withdraw and checked the source code. It said " Decision Confirmed Date - Defaulted to Today"
Below that is shows admit/deny stuff which seemed generic since it listed code for all options (accept, deny, waitlist).
However, I also found this:
Pending
“Spring/Decline”>Spring/Decline
“Wait List - Kaufman”>Wait List - Kaufman
“Wait List - Kaufman/Accept”>Wait List - Kaufman/Accept
“Wait List - Kaufman/Decline”>Wait List - Kaufman/Decline
Withdraw" selected=“selected”>Withdraw
^it says nothing about acceptance; it only seems to mention waitlist and withdrawing my application which makes me think it is a decision. I also don’t know what Kaufman is. I’m not experienced with this but if anyone has any insight that would be great!
Kaufman is the school of dance.