Being a Trojan mom, I am just freaked out by the shootings just outside of the campus earlier this week. Anyone else feeling the same?
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I truly wish it was this simple.
When a student eloquently writes about their enriching personal experiences growing up on the SC campus, intimate knowledge and understanding of the stellar history, tradition and legacy and their own personal maturation and commitment to enriching the campus and furthering the legacy of the university…
And has the grades, ECs, leadership, etc., with double legacy parents - and doesn’t receive an admissions offer, something is amiss.
Fact is - most applicants are overly qualified for admittance.
But, the argument that the university is looking for “those who have a strong affinity for or connection to USC,” is falling on deaf ears in cases like this. Far too many cases of students admitted with lower credentials who have absolutely zero affinity or connection to the school.
I’m not going to write any further on the topic - as it just starts to sound like sour grapes.
I do feel my daughter presented a stellar application - and worked diligently over her entire 4 year high school career to demonstrate her passion for SC to her AO. I don’t believe her AO reciprocated her diligence.
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Homicide 4/27
Apartment breakin 4/20
My daughter did online but she gets the notifications. Skid row.
As do I. I also wish it was that simple. But what you quoted is also not the sole criteria being evaluated. With 72K+ applicants, clearly there are many potential examples of those who did so and still did not get in. It could very well be what you cited. It could also be unfortunately a potential effort at yield protection… meaning that they projected an applicant might be over-qualified, have too many stellar options and thus be unlikely to enroll and attend. It could be the case of too many applying for a specific major. It could also be a case where one of the examples that I cited above came into play… wherein another applicant was chosen due to special circumstances. The point is that neither you nor I will ever know for certain. In an environment where roughly 64,000 applicants (of which tens of thousands were likely well-qualified) faced rejection, it is tough, and your dismay is well founded. But that is the cruel reality. I do agree with your post in general. It should be just that simple. Hopefully your daughter is content with her offers of admission elsewhere and finds the best fit for herself moving forward.
Has anyone else noticed that the Financial Aid Calculator Estimator is now showing lower aid amounts?
It seems exactly half of what we were offered – with same info. This only is recently as it previously showed close to what we were actually offered. Terrified here! I thought maybe it was now showing a semester amount but the totals above it are all for year totals!
When do the housing decisions come out? My D was told by housing today that honors housing is not guaranteed this year for all scholarship recipients. Only Tier 1 scholars get McCarthy Housing
Can anyone tell me a little about The John H. Mitchell Business of Cinematic Arts (BCA) program. My daughter just received an email today inviting her to apply. Does anyone know how hard it is to get in? Thanks!
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Also does anyone know - if you aren’t part of the BCA program, can you still minor in cinematic arts?
I’m certainly still in the sour grapes stage of all this and I should probably stop replying soon too, but any “messaging” or “public affairs” offered on behalf of SC’s admissions staff rings hollow after varsity blues. The admissions staff should have been replaced from the janitors up to the head of admissions after that scandal. It occurred on a far greater scale at SC than the other universities that were part of it.
Many of the admissions counselors were clearly complicit in varsity blues, just like there were people on campus complicit with the actions of George Tyndall, Carmen Puliafito, the Laughlin daughters, Jovan Vavic, Tony Bland and others who have dishonored the university.
Our family spent nearly a decade at SC (my youngest “graduated” from USC’s childcare for example when he was 4). During that time we contributed to the university’s rise in the rankings from the early 90s until about a decade ago while adding to the campus diversity in ways I don’t want to list because at some point we’ll lose anonymity. We then contributed from afar through SCend off and alumni club activities. It sounds like @TrojanMPT likewise contributed to SC becoming the kind of school that we wanted to send our kids to ( in spite of the horrific number of scandals that have occurred over the past few years).
It’s very hard to get in with a single digit acceptance rate around 4%. So is most of USC, but SCA is particularly competitive. But yes you can minor in Cinematic Arts.
https://catalogue.usc.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=12&poid=12590&returnto=4314
My daughter has been accepted to Marshall Business School but this is a program for business students - it’s not the SCA. It’s the BCA and has a separate application process after you’re admitted to USC.
How hard is it to get housing on campus when you’re a junior and senior? How expensive is off campus housing in a safe area?
Oops my bad, you are right. That’s what I get for answering after doing yard work in the sun all day! Thanks for clarifying. My son’s gf did BCA and loved it.
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Housing as a junior and senior is pretty difficult. Also changes year to year, this year obviously, they don’t anticipate offering housing to juniors and seniors at all. Frankly, by the time students are juniors and seniors they are done with the restrictions and limitations of on campus housing (plenty of sophomores choose off campus as well). There is a lot of housing in surrounding area. We pay a premium to be right across the street from campus for my daughter, it’s just safer to me. My athlete son lived on Adam’s - the outer boundary, but no one was gonna mess with him so that was ok, although I wasn’t a huge fan at first. But there are complexes like Gateway and lots of housing options within a few blocks that are fine. The kids learn the areas that are the best to live in around campus during the first year.
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@Didjaco,
Appreciate your candidness. And, for some reason, it helps to know others feel the same and I’m not losing my marbles. Appreciate @WWWard’s insight as well. But, I can say that yield protection was not a factor in my daughter’s case. She emailed her AO after completing her application in November - telling him she would commit without hesitation or any financial contingencies if offered admittance. Per the usual routine, she did not receive a response from her AO.
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Same. I was thinking this went to all Marshall admits. But, I have no idea.
It seems like it goes to everyone but with only 50 admitted I’m wondering how many apply from an incoming class of roughly 1,000.
If you find out how many apply, let us know, and I will ask around as well. It’s a really cool program that is highly regarded, but if interested, by all means apply! Not everyone wants to focus on cinematic business, some will go off to Leventhal, focus on marketing, etc.
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Depends if you have room mates and how many, then how close. So it can run (approximately) between $700-800 on the low side up to $1800 - ish on the high side.
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me too, my D received it and have no clue of what to do with it.