That seems like a normal Test Optional rate given that SAT and ACT tests still aren’t being administered in California, where the school is located. Public universities in California refuse to even look at test scores if submitted. My son took the SAT in February 2020, then March retest was canceled, April was canceled, June was canceled, October was canceled. He had classmates that flew to Wyoming to take the SAT, but that seemed too risky.
Thanks for the context. We are on the east coast and most of my daughter’s schools have been more like 50 50 if they have mentioned it at all. I did not know California public schools were test blind. Hard to keep up with everything this year. Thanks for the information. Wow. Flying for a test seems extreme but we were lucky with plenty of access this fall in Massachusetts–at least where I live. Our public high school, for example, offered testing.
Keep in mind no one here pasted that letter with those figures, all internet fodder for now. Besides, the TO doesn’t sound like a number that USC would release, particularly this early, since they are actually still evaluating apps. Also thinking the 30th may be the scholarship decisions rather than regular. So I am suspect of all of it. Brennan did mention accepting about 8000, that was posted here awhile ago from an Explore talk, (which 1k have already been accepted). @WWWard thinks maybe a little less than that and he is pretty good on these things as they are a moving target until they are done.
I don’t think any school will have trouble filling spots, everyone is ready to go this fall!
so regular wont be coming out on the 30th?
Not sure what @CADREAMIN mentions, but it literally has to come out by the 30th. They say April 1, and March 30th would be one of the last times before then.
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Will they be sending out letters or emails? I’ve seen everything from the packages to emails for acceptance videos and I’m still just a little confused.
Scholarship decisions have come out after regular decision the last few years, so figuring scholarship results are the later date of the 30th, and regular decisions are prior to that by a few days. So figuring 24th-26th for regular. That would be consistent with what they have always done, but it’s a crazy year for sure.
All guesses, but they should be posting it soon to take away the mystery!
i’m wondering the same thing too
Do scholarship decisions always come out after RD? For some reason I thought I heard they come out before…
Until 2-3 years ago, they always came out before. Sometimes a full week before! Then over last couple years they did them a few days after, and one year it was the right after portal updates for regular decision. I find doing them after annoying as you’d think they would want to get those kids mentally invested in the school as early as possible before others accepted them. No idea why they switched to after.
It would be great if they would go back to before regular decisions, they had done that for a decade+! They should be posting release dates very soon.
Do you have the rest of the email?
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Thanks for posting @aSliceofPizza! So 60% went TO, not that they accepted 60% TO. I don’t believe they would ever publish how many they accepted that didn’t take the test.
I suppose part of the increase in apps is because of TO and people thinking they should throw their hat in the ring, where with test scores, they may not have.
Brennan gave the 70K and 8100 at Explore, that’s a lot of app fees. Wow. And they accepted 1k so far, so about 7k-ish will get good news soon! Still leaves 62,000 getting denied. BIG numbers.
Last year the scholarship notifications came via email after 5 pm on Friday, 3/27. This was early in the pandemic and just a couple weeks after the school shut down. The delay could have been because they were shifting to working from home.
MIT had 60%!!! increase in applications from last year. 
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The link below says USC admitted 9618 last year and the email above says 8100 will be admitted this year. Why such a lower number this year? Did they just over accept last year bc of covid concerns?
A lot of incoming freshman decided to take a gap year last year. Gap year student (HS 2020 seniors) may have already taken spots from HS 2021 seniors.
My understanding is that USC did not allow freshmen to take a GAP year due to the pandemic
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