Did it come with a letter?
I got one in December (it was shipped on the 10th and I live in LA). They sent out an email to families who received them. Check your student’s personal email to see if they got one referring to being sent something about financial aid.
@Kgc1234 @eligrayy So you both already did get notice that you received USC financial aid? So no white boxes, just emails?
My package wasn’t a notification of financial aid. It only came with the “Investing in Your Future” booklet and a letter. No one is told their Financial Aid status until after they’re admitted.
(also it wasnt an admission decision to make that clear)
We got a white envelope close to 5x7 in size a few weeks ago. The booklet says “Investing in your Future.” Is this what you’re referring to? If so, I think all applicants receive this.
To my knowledge, not every applicant receives the booklet. I have a few other friends at my school who’ve applied who haven’t received the booklet.
(Most likely b/c they didn’t apply for aid? I dunno)
We received it a few weeks ago.
According to class of 2024 profile,
USC Trustee Scholars (full tuition) 100
USC Presidential Scholars (half tuition) 461
USC Dean’s Scholars (quarter tuition) 89
Recipients of other USC merit scholarships 70
National Merit Scholars 310
(100+461)*3/2 = 842 white packages?
You have to account for students being nominated as well (who don’t get the scholarship).
We received the white financial aid mail sometime in December or January. I’m sure it means absolutely nothing so don’t sweat it!
i did.
¯_(ツ)_/¯ then who knows. hopefully it’s more but we can’t tell.
I’m sure you are correct with your numbers however I feel that Presidential scholarship number is skewed.
From this page http://admission.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/USC-Scholarships.pdf, they award approximately 200 Presidential Scholarships. If they gave out 461 (which is an odd and very high number), I’m guessing that it is a combination of NM Presidential Scholarships and non NM Presidential scholarships.
Additionally, if a National Merit Finalist receives a Trustee scholarship and does not receive a $2500 NMS scholarship from NMSC, USC will award them $4000 ($1000/yr) to make them a National Merit Scholar. One cannot decline the $2500 from NMSC to get the $4000 from USC. Bottom line is that some of the National Merit Scholars are not Presidential Scholars. Clear as mud?
FYI. D21 submitted her app by the 1/15 (late) deadline and received the financial aid envelope a few days ago.
also how important would you all say the secondary short answers are(fav food, fav movie, dream job, etc…) ??? For mine I just put one-three word responses and didn’t really elaborate bc i didn’t know if i should?? Hoping this doesn’t negatively affect my application
The short answer responses are meant to keep the application ‘fun, engaging, and reduce any stress the application process may be causing you’, according to my USC admissions officer. 
Moreover, he also told me that they pay special attention to the Why USC essay, which makes sense from an admission’s standpoint.
@lkg4answers You are right, the total Presidential scholarships reported has always included the NMF. In the end, those NMFs are within the Pres or even Trustee figures (if they were invited to interview in Jan/Feb, then ended up being an NMF).
I could look, but too lazy, ha, did they move NMF first choice declare date from May 1 to May 31st? Maybe did this last year with the covid situation?
Does it mean anything if I haven’t received a request for my Mid-year transcript or report yet?
That means they don’t need more info to make a decision. If you have high stat. That’s good. If you have poor stat, not so good. Either way, they don’t need to see improvement from you this moment.
Thanks for the clarification @lemonlulu. Does anyone know if 1) National Merit Finalists are eligible for the other merit scholarships (ex: Trustee, Deans, etc) and 2) is the NMF scholarship given by USC for all 4 years?
That scholarship pdf has been changed as it didn’t used to include the NMSC deadline. I thought last year was May 1 but it could have been May 31. I will try to look through the NM forum on this website and see if I can find what happened last year.
Yes, during the application period the NM Presidential and non-NM Presidential are separate as they are awarded based on different criteria. After one is enrolled, all Presidential scholarships are the same.
It is subtle but there is a distinction between NMF (finalist) and NMS (scholars). Once one receives the NM scholarship, they are considered a National Merit Scholar.