Yes, NMF are eligible for other scholarships. Since the quarter-tuition Deans scholarship is less than the half-tuition NM Presidential, I don’t believe that would be offered.
It is possible for a NMF to receive Trustee or Mork which are both full tuition scholarships.
My older brother (who is a senior at USC) received the Trustee scholarship when he was admitted. I am a senior in high school and applied to USC before the December 1st deadline. We are equally strong candidates (compared to when he applied) academically. Of course, our essays and interests are different. Does anyone think that the fact that he received the Trustee scholarship in any way lessens my chance of receiving Trustee or another merit scholarship from USC?
I’m a current first-year applicant (applied before Dec. 1) and USC is my dream school. I know they say they don’t track demonstrated interest, but I received a handwritten letter from a USC student ambassador in December thanking me for going to so many virtual events and stuff like that. Did anyone else receive this? Do you think it’s a positive sign, or too early to say?
It’s neutral, just a nice thing they do. Just like any job, some ambassadors likely do more than others, so one ambassador may send tons of those notes, but another sends a few. Either way, you can’t read anything into it at all. It’s not like they are given a secret list of “applicants they like” to work from. I really don’t believe this is anything to draw a conclusion from.
However, while I know they say they don’t track demonstrated interest, I believe that is not 100% accurate. At least prior to covid, there were things you could do to get the right attention - those are harder now given the current covid-climate we are in.
Don’t know if anyone said this but USC admission posted on their story and said that first year applicants will know if they are selected via email. They highlighted the via email so I think its safe to presume packages won’t be coming in.
For people who don’t have instagram, this is what was said word for word: “FYI for FIRST-YEAR APPLICANTS (to clear up any confusion) If you applied by December 1, you will hear back in mid-February. You will be notified via email with an update, regardless of whether you are being offered a scholarship or not. No one will be denied at this stage. Take a deep breath, and don’t worry!” **What was in bold is also what they put in bold
They do actually pay attention to everything… all emails, documented contacts, definitive statements made by you about USC, etc.
I suggest that you and everyone interested in USC actually read the Insider’s Guide to Admissions linked below. They do say that they pay attention and notate your file. And if it is your dream school… tell them. But – I would only do so once via email, to your assigned admissions officer and to the admissions email for your first choice school. I would make it short and sweet and rather definitive as to your intent to attend if admitted, if true. But again, I would only do so once. In my two daughters cases, they did so within the two week window after the merit decisions came out.
Your statement about USC tracking other materials beyond the application was interesting. In the article you attached, there is a direct quote from an Admissions officer (Joe Beltran) that all this information gets appended to the student’s file.
My daughter and I decided to write to her admissions counselor recently. I realized that we should let them know that she did visit campus in March 2018, but that visit would have been registered under her older sisters name. So we thought this was a good excuse to contact and clarify. We also cc’ed the admissions officer who hosted the information session we attended. He was amazing and had provided his email address at the session (but not currently posted on the USC website). In the letter, we could quote him in the context of why my daughter would be a good fit at USC.
Anyways, we told my daughter’s college counselor what we were doing and she said that USC does NOT track demonstrated interest. She linked to a USC Admissions blog from October 2015 written by J Frey: “At USC, we do not track a student’s interest outside of the actual application for admission decision purposes. Attending our programs is a wonderful way to learn more about USC, but going to an event or sending emails like those I described will not increase your chances of admission to the university.”
I know both of our articles are dated, but can you reconcile the difference?
Second question: why did your daughters write AFTER the merit decisions were made? I would assume if making additional contact with the institution is helpful, you would want to do it before those decisions are made to enhance the likelihood of being awarded aid.
Along those lines, I am kicking myself for not sending my daughter’s letter sooner (only last weekend, and we know those merit decisions will be released soon). My older daughter was not accepted by USC, and my younger would only attend if receiving a merit award, so our timing was relevant.
We visited in February right before COVID and they were VERY clear that they did not track demonstrated interest. I think some of this may be in relation to the backlash of the admissions scandal and trying to prioritize educational equity (they specifically stated 1) No ED 2) No waitlist 3)Not tracking demonstrated interest as things which demonstrated this).
He must have said it three or four times. He did say that the way to show interest was in your WHY USC essay.
I saw this blog, too, but as stated by the prior poster, it is dated. I think they are changing the way they do things.
The huge increase in submitted college applications seems to be occurring at almost every school my daughter applied to. This is a continuation of the trend over the last few years and greatly exacerbated by everything Covid. This is going to mess with schools valued yield measures, and I would think tracking interest would be a way to further discern true interest from just another applicant. On the otherhand, this can be manipulated too.
I am interested in how other USC-experienced posters will address this issue of demonstrated interest.
Perhaps the best way is for institutions to state that they do not track interest, but then actually track who contacts their regional admissions rep and makes other contacts. This would ostensibly be done as authentic interest and not cynical attempts to overstate your true interest.
While USC does not offer a traditional waitlist, they do have what they (and I) consider a better form of waitlist, which is the Spring Semester Admission Offer. The students who accept the spring semester start will then be offered normal Fall Semester Admission when and if those become available.
So this guarantees borderline applicants admission and better peace of mind rather than the months of nervousness of a traditional waitlist.
My son attended an info session in the fall specific to his school, and in that, USC admissions specifically stated that they do not track demonstrated interest, and that they prefer applicants to not email them unless there is a specific question that is not already answered in their website or through their blogs/virtual options. Just like another post stated, they did emphasize that the best way to show demonstrated interest is through the WHY essay as they pay a lot of attention to the supplemental essays. I think doing it this way creates an even playing field as some students don’t have easy access to computers/Ipads/internet etc, to attend webinars and other ways to show interest. Last Fall, when I listened to the news where a Harvard student shared how some of the Harvard University students don’t have access to internet in their homes and how he, himself would have to go and live with a relative to take online classes, I was shocked as it is something we (and our kids) take for granted. Big eye opener for me for sure. This was when Harvard closed all on-campus housing. This student is the president of a student Org within Harvard that caters to low income students. Things we take for granted are out of reach for some students so I am glad that USC is not tracking demonstrated interest.
Since we’re all bored and waiting and waiting for a sign, here is my funny USC demonstrated interest story.
When my D did a zoom info session the AO asked everyone to turn on their webcam at the very beginning so she could see their faces, and then we could see the AO writing something down as she said “Hi” to each person.
Well, I primarily go with what they said in the Insider’s Guide. The direct quote you mentioned states: "“Students often ask me how they can let the admission office know that USC is their first choice. It’s simple: Just tell us. Tell us in your application, over email, telephone or in person. And we make note of that. We add these things to your files if you ask us to, and we keep them in mind as well.”
We were also told in-person on campus that they pay close attention - especially in terms of applicants justifying a strong commitment to USC. And I do believe it makes a significant difference. Clearly, they want to admit applicants that they feel have a strong affinity towards USC and who will mesh well there and strongly contribute to the greater USC community. But moreover, they do in fact want a higher yield rate when possible. They prefer admitting those whom they feel will commit and attend.
In your case, if your daughter is committed to attending but only contingent on merit aid, then your timing made sense. My daughters wrote AFTER the merit decisions were made because they felt it less likely to sway someone during that earlier round… and they only wanted to do so once. So they waited and did so during February.
They do the spring admission offer so they can admit students who have lower qualifications to game the USNWR ranking system as non fall admits don’t count towards the ranking, and cover some attrition for students that leave. It’s strictly for the schools benefit as it makes the school look more elite by the published stats. Some other schools do this by offering second year admission guaranteed subject to a certain gpa or by accepting very large numbers of transfer in the second year.