Even if not sure of USC yet, please do housing app tomorrow to get a your priority spot.
We signed up way back in March or so after the scholarship round. We didn’t give a credit card or anything- supposedly it would be charged to our USC account, which didn’t exist at the time? I need to check that out.
Is this for everyone? Not just scholarship winners?
Don’t worry, they’ll find you. 
Returning students signed up for housing in early March and were told, “There will be no application fee charged at this time. Application fees will only be billed to students who obtain and are able to move into a USC Housing assignment this fall.”
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Ya makes sense the just bill those that actually get housing since they have said they are still likely working with limited housing this fall, so will just bill those that actually get housing. The 2% tuition hike was likely from lost housing app fees. But seriously, they got a lot of app fees in years past from people that either didn’t attend or get the housing they wanted, so bailed. Another cost of covid I suppose.
Yes, they can give a grant to anyone they choose.
Yes, they will definitely have your number. 
It’s a great idea to check the FAST page every so often throughout the time at school…sometimes there are added charges, or as some people are seeing in the acceptance process, surprise grants. Students can do things at times (health center, certain programs that may have a nominal fee) that you may not know they are doing but show up on the bill. Your student can give you your own login so you can get into all the financial/billing stuff and put money on a USC card kind of things, but doesn’t give you access to their email and other student records (they are “grown ups” now, it’s their biz). Good to get that parent ID set up - your student will do that through their portal.
Financial packaged just came in - $82K, $0 aid … In this situation I think my son will go to UIUC (CompEng) - the rank is better and it will cost $32K per year ($3K merit + $2K FirstRobotics scholarships).
Sorry California, my son will stay in Illinois.
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Can you see the housing portal already? When we try to login it just says Housing Application closed and will open for 1st years at 9am 4/6
That’s correct, you can’t do app till 9am. First come first served starting at 9am.
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Thanks! And what level of detail are the choices? Are you just selecting buildings or specific floors within a building or actual room numbers?
Building and floorplan. Like Webb Tower (2B4P) means 2 bedrooms, 4 people. so you can submit more than one floor plan in same bldg. Try to put more than one bldg in your choices. Just get something submitted and apply to get the time stamp. You can edit choices anytime before housing app closes without it affecting time stamp. Want to submit as quickly as possible for best chance of getting your top choice.
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Hey! I just received an email saying I got the “University Scholarship” from USC. It amounts to $15,000 across four years ($3,750 each year). Not a lot but still something! Did anyone else get this? What is this for? I didn’t see this on the official pdf list of scholarships on USC’s website.
Also, are any other merit scholarships being sent out for USC? Or can you only get one from the school?
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Thank you!!!
If it is listed as an university grant, that is not correct. Grants are gift aid based on need… not merit. If it says scholarship, then yes… it is merit specifically.
University grants are usually replicated and similar, but it all comes down to the family’s financial condition and perceived ability to pay. But it can vary if financial conditions vary. It is by definition NOT a set scholarship amount. Like federal or other grants, they are based on financial need and awarded accordingly.
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I got the exact same scholarship to! I’m not sure what it is for, they probably just selected you for it out of the applicant pool! Kind of in the same boat, it was great to see that I did get a scholarship but not enough for me to afford going to the school unfortunately 
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That’s the same one my kid got
As for signing up within the USC Housing portal today, please just keep in mind that the key thing is to do it as soon as possible. Even if you are not 100% committed to USC, I would still do it today. Your spot in line is very important. The picks themselves are less so… as you can amend them over time if need be… and as many times as you want until the deadline occurs.
And the best way to potentially get what you want is to find a roommate (that is also something that you can do later, using the tool within the portal or social networking, etc.) and then to match each others selections exactly the same and in the same order. This step is clearly not required, but it is simply the best way to achieve the desired results. If you select a roommate, USC Housing will go with whomever signed up first in terms of place in line + by matching with someone exactly, they can take care of two applicants simultaneously. History has shown that by doing so you both will then be very likely to get one of your top choices. Good luck…
Ahhh ok - my student’s is listed under gift aid but called “University Scholarship”. The little button next to it pops up with a message saying it’s merit renewable for 4 years. I called FA aid and they said yeah it’s just a little merit to show they want you, not based on need. If the other poster’s says University Grant then that could be a whole different story. They should see what the info button says and then call financial aid if they’re still unsure.