I don’t know if people have also asked or not, but on your USC portal, when you “Upload Materials”, can everyone see the “Final High School Transcript” thing?
Yeah, it’s in everyone’s dropdown.
You’re welcome.
While I agree that it sounds encouraging, it realistically does not mean anything. FA and admissions are operating on completely separate paths. Per USC, they do not even update FA as to who is admitted until decision day. I understand that it seems to defy logic… and sounds like a lot of needless busy work for FA unless someone is going to be admitted… but that’s the reality of things. In past years, there are many examples of people in similar situations returning to post that they were rejected and despite late FA document requests. But good luck…
This has probably been answered but now I’m having a lot of anxiety. We did not receive an interview and there is no check box by her mid-term grades. Is this a bad sign?
Oh wow I didn’t know that. I only saw that people who were asked for more financial aid docs were accepted. I didn’t know that USC doesn’t update FA until decision day. Thank you for your insight!
Does FA know who has been accepted already? My friend’s special waivers were reviewed and accepted during jan. and was then accepted during the scholarship wave with a FA package.
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Read three posts back by @WWWard. Also this has been answered multiple times in last 24 hours if ya want to look back through those. Inquiries into FA is no indication.
same…
What major did you apply for? Also is USC needs blind or no?
On March 12, my daughter got an email asking for her mid-term grades, which had not been automatically sent via her high school (she applied after Dec 1). Earlier in the process, the AO said that if they want mid-term grades, they will ask for them…is this a good sign, being asked for grades so close to decision day? Or do you think it’s an automatic ask despite what AO said. Thanks!
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Yes… USC is need blind and says that they are committed to meeting 100% of demonstrated need. Of course, they use their own formula for FA evaluations to make that determination and not EFCs generated by FAFSA or anyone else.
Aren’t midterm grades required for everyone? The request was probably just sent to make sure that your daughter’s application was complete. With that being said, it could also mean that admissions is on the fence about your daughter and wants more information to fully understand who she is as a student.
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Potentially. While FA operates on an independent path, separate and apart from admissions, and without even knowing if you are admitted or borderline, etc until decision day, your AO does clearly know the full score. It could be a good sign or at least a sign that they are on the fence about a certain applicant. They asked for the same from both of my daughters and both were ultimately admitted. That does not mean anything with certainty, but I would at least take it as a potential good sign. Of course, it will also help the cause it those mid-term grades are rather stellar. I would suspect that if they do not have those grades, but that they had already determined that an applicant was not going to be admitted, they would not even bother to ask for them. AOs by March are likely focused on those being admitted or those on the fence.
And if you are emailing an AO to provide them, it might be a good idea to also make a brief statement or comment regarding a commitment to attending if admitted, if applicable. I.E - if USC is your top choice… tell them.
Good luck.
I think mid-term grades are required for everyone to complete their application because it wouldn’t be fair to evaluate a student with mid-term grades and one without.
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Thanks for your insight. On March 3 (9 days before the grade request), she sent an update email to AO with accomplishments since she filed application, including a first-place State award and a couple other cool things. She also said she would enroll if admitted. But, she never heard any response back from him.
For the grade request on March 12, she followed instructions exactly by simply uploading them into her portal. But, she didn’t also send grades to AO since 1) instructions didn’t say to and 2) he seemed to ignore her earlier letter. Who knows. Guess we’ll see on Tuesday.
Just curious. How much do mid-year reports impact an application? If you do really well does that really boost your application and vice versa?
I would think they are just looking for consistency if you are already a good student. Or an uptick if you had some earlier grades that were questionable. It wouldn’t be the only deciding factor, unless the grades suddenly tank. My daughter got one B+ on the mid year, and it’s in AP Calc but she is a humanities major. I’m not concerned about it. 
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I agree. And if it isn’t, then there is clearly too much red tape and a huge disconnect within the ranks of the university. There is absolutely no need to ask for more information 4 days before the release of decisions if it isn’t needed (because the student is going to be rejected). But reason, logic, and wise financial decisions aren’t necessarily the strong suit of many universities, especially when it comes to recruiting (so many trees killed for pamphlets that students immediately toss) and admissions (holistic admissions is, imho, just a way to say there is no rhyme or reason to what we decide…lol).
So on my financial aid portal, the only missing document is the “citizen status”, however, I turned it in a few months ago, I called the financial aid office several times, and they said not to worry about it, they already received it and it is correct.
Is this an indicator of rejection? because they received it and did check my materials, but did not correct or update my financial aid portal