Won’t most Ivy’s be 3 to 5% this year based on this as well?
It’s definitely an unfortunate cycle: the more applicants the lower the acceptance rate, hence students apply to a greater number of colleges, which lowers the acceptance rate further, etc. Even though there are basically the same number of total applicants and total seats in the colleges. Someone mentioned above their daughter applied to 18 where she would have applied to 10, except for the decreasing admission percentage.
Poor admissions staff has to be absolutely overwhelmed. And the anxiety it produces in the students applying.
That was me but not just due to the decreasing admissions percentage. It was also due to test optional. In her case, she has a high score but it’s questionable how/if that will even help her this year, and the UCs won’t even look at it. It was also due to uncertainty over which campuses would be closed due to COVID. Her current top choice is Northeastern, where she was accepted EA, in part because they have managed to have dorms open and hybrid classes all this year. She doesn’t want to start college online. And I don’t want to pay for that.
Same here! Had D apply to 23 and she wasn’t happy about it. We had originally said 10 but because of test scores not being required, the amount of people applying to schools and covid I wanted her to have more options. Plus, most schools require a portfolio for her major so that drops the acceptance rate for the programs she’s interested in. She has well was accepted to NEU during EA and it is her current top choice!
Is Trustee then a “Full Ride” to USC or are other merit scholarships available/given to cover any remaining additional costs (not based on financial need)?
Also, for a family making less than $80,000/yr, is the USC financial need based aid equivalent to a trustee scholarship or even greater (based on the USC free college promise)?
Trustee is full-TUITION. Housing, books, etc. are not covered. Different departments have their own scholarships and stipends and some stack. For example, Viterbi Fellows is stackable on top of merit scholarships.
My son is a nominee and we probably wouldn’t qualify for aid. I applied anyway though. I did one estimator on a similarly priced college and it said we qualified for $317
Mork was full-tuition plus a stipend and was only awarded to 10 students/year. That is such a small number of students that I’m sure they didn’t eliminate it to save money. The scholarship was created based on a large gift the school received from the Mork family. My impression was that it was supposed to provide scholarships in perpetuity.
This is what we were told from our HS GC who said that all of the early/scholarship round admits from our school over the past 7 years (that she’s been there) were students who applied for financial aid. Our medium CA public HS has around 50 or so applicants to USC every year with two or three getting early admit. Of course, it could also just be coincidence, but it does make sense from the school’s vantage point.
@CADREAMIN or other experts, what can you tell us about the merit determination? Each school is allocated a certain number to award — but how does the rest work? Does each school look at all the applications to their school and some sort of committee makes the selection? How does that intersect with the school’s admissions office?
I have my scholarship interview on Thursday and I can’t afford to go to USC without a full-tuition scholarship (and I don’t qualify for need-based aid). Should I be upfront with them and mention that in the intervew? Or is that too forward?
My personal opinion is that you should focus on answering the questions they ask you first. I think they view all applicants as wanting as much aid as possible.
When it comes to a calculation of financial aid, yes - any merit scholarship plus any other scholarship monies that they are aware of will be deducted first from the Estimated Cost of Attendance.
Basically, the FA office will first come up with an estimate for Tuition & Fees and your Estimated Other Costs. Last year, most saw $81,060 or something close as that average #. And it is an average, based on the average freshman’s set of circumstances. It is not your actual expenses. So, to many, it is an advantage. If you choose a room and board scenario that costs less than what the average freshman chooses, you benefit. Some also pay less for some of the items thrown into the calculations. That total estimated cost of attendance usually includes Tuition & Fees, Mandatory Fees, Housing, Dining, Books & Supplies, Transportation, Personal & Miscellaneous and Other Educational Costs. But again… it is an average and not based on you in particular.
The FA office will then make adjustments for any Gift Aid, including any and all scholarships or other grants. They will deduct all gift aid from the total cost of attendance and that will leave an Estimated Net Cost #.
And that is when FA (if you applied for it) will determine your ability to pay that estimated net cost #. They could determine that your family can afford to pay it all. You will then have to decide if you can do so. Or, potentially, other gift aid may be offered, including an university grant or federal grants. It will all come down to their calculation of estimated family contribution… which normal does not compare well to the EFC generated with a FAFSA report. It is USC’s calculation that matters.
Ultimately, they could also offer loans or work study to help you cover your final Estimated Net Cost.
In my family’s case, USC was at least generous enough in terms of financial aid to allow both of my daughters to attend, including one overlap year. Hopefully such will be the case for others on this thread this cycle. Good Luck…
Linking to USC’s cost of attendance: How much will my education cost? Also, I’m not sure when it goes into effect but FAFSA discounts for multiple children in college is being eliminated.
