Thank you. She was told that she could take 8 more credit hours free of cost over 4 years as a honors scholar and there are some other small benefits.
You may be on hold for a while, but they do answer and they do try to help!
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Call them for sure. You can get it all answered - the not knowing what’s up is brutal.
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Son got email last night about Presidential benefits. I’ve copied the pertinent portion below:
You are part of a very select group of students chosen for this award. As a recipient of this award, you are eligible to apply for housing in the McCarthy Honors College, located in the USC Village. See the Living at USC brochure for more information about this extraordinary opportunity. Additionally, USC Merit Scholars receive personalized academic and scholarship advising by USC Academic Honors and Fellowships (AHF). AHF staff manages merit scholar exceptional funding, mentor motivated students about university awards and nationally competitive fellowships, and support the Trojan Scholar Society (TSS) in the promotion of a vibrant scholar community. TSS is an exclusive student organization, open only to recipients of our most prestigious merit scholarships, that programs academic, social, and cultural events for your personal and professional development. If you have questions about AHF or TSS, contact the Office of Academic and International Fellowships, at (213) 740-9116, or ahfstaff@usc.edu.
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Thank you @vistajay. I think she is referring to exceptional funding. Special Funding - Issuu
*EXCEPTIONAL FUNDING FOR SCHOLARSHIP STUDENTS *
Recipients of Trustee and Presidential scholarships may receive additional funding to supplement a course load greater than 18 units in the fall or spring semesters or to pay for up to eight units of USC tuition for the summer term. Trustee scholars may receive up to eight additional units of tuition. Presidential Scholars may receive up to eight units of half-tuition.
Exceptional funding can sometimes be used for summer abroad.
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was editing but gotta run, will repost…
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Has anybody faced problem paying the $300 deposit on the USC applicant portal? We are based overseas and have non-US credit cards - tried everything, but payment does not process, although our banks say everything ok on their side.
Maybe try calling to affect payment with credit card by phone?
Kind of agree. It was a bit chaotic, and we did not even get tour of Marshall, where the business school held. Had to do that on our own. Housing line was waaaay too long. Agree with OP, not complaining, but almost too big/large to make memorable connections with potential classmates. Had a very different experience at other places we toured this Spring.
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Very similar sentiment!!! And the reaction of my DD is the same. Went there thinking we would love it, but did not get to see much. No dining hall, no dorm (even though we went for the Dorm). Thought would get to see McCarthy - nope! No library tour, no class tour. No gym/or fitness tour. The bus housing tour was very helpful! But there was an extensive line! Luckily, we came the day before and walked around the campus on our own, but I have to say, it was quieter than i expected on a nice Saturday afternoon. I thought I would have seen more kids out and about going to/from library. But maybe the were all at the beach. Unfortunately, we will not get to go back to see it, as air fare was really high!
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However, I did find the day worthy of going and experiencing. I loved the marching band, I enjoyed walking around the campus and found it quite lovely, and I love the neighborhood tour. Definitely helped calm the jitters. DD is still deliberating. I am sure we will decide at the 11th hour… 
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We skipped USC’s admitted student’s day in favor of SDA’s open house on Saturday and were very impressed. It was very intimate and informative, too. Received complimentary tix to A Chorus Line, which was a nice touch and quite fitting way to end the day. 
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We are in a very similar position! My son is also deciding between Rice and USC. In at USS for Economics in Dornsife but wants add a Viterbi minor and in for the new Business Major at Rice. Having a difficult time making the decision. Academic offerings seem great at both but we wonder if Rice is too subdued a campus experience (and wonder if the USC network and name is better known long term than Rice). On the other hand the Rice offerings are so impressive and smaller, so maybe there’s more 1:1 attention. What are your thoughts?
For those who might be visiting or who live in the area, the USC football game on Saturday, April 23 is free to all attendees.
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Does anyone know the campus orientation dates for engineering?
In my opinion, Rice is a lot more comparable to schools like Emory, Hopkins and Vanderbilt than to a place like USC. When my younger daughter was making her final decision, it had come down to Rice, Emory, Princeton and USC. She still chose USC, and for a # of reasons.
While Rice and USC are both elite academic institutions, USC offers much more in terms of the full spectrum of college experiences. In many ways, it is like a larger public university in terms of overall size, school spirit, the breadth of academic programs/offerings, organizations and activities, sports, etc. But USC also functions exactly like a private university in terms of the reality of its academic focus: it still has smaller class sizes, the option to easily double major or add minors, the flexibility to change your mind (even often) in terms of switching your area of concentration, etc. Many at USC graduate early or on time with a double major or multiple minors. And of course, the weather is much nicer overall at USC vs Rice. Houston offers extreme heat and humidity for much of the year.
But overall, your son needs to pick the best environment for him to strive. I had personally attended JHU for undergrad and found that experience extremely limiting. It was rather stifling overall and did not offer the full college experience that I would have preferred. It is why I urged both of my daughters to attend USC over some of their other options. And yes… the global strength of the Trojan Network / Family in terms of alumni connections is something to strongly consider too.
But your son might prefer a smaller and more academically focused college environment. Many attend USC and still make it such for themselves. And that’s possible too at USC.
In the end, both Rice and USC are great choices… and luckily your son is in a position to choose. Good luck with the decision…
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We are in the same boat debating Viterbi vs Princeton vs Rice… how did your daughter decide Princeton wasn’t a good fit? Any guidance will help us decide
We weren’t looking at Rice but were looking at other T20 schools that were smaller than USC. Our #1 factor in choosing USC was because they offered a better financial package. That said, we are in CA so could have attended a UCLA or Berkeley for a fairly reasonable price.
I agree with what WWWard posted. Classes are small - 10-20 students in may cases. For better or worse, professors know the students well. Administration and staff are responsive to student requests (changing schedule, adding minor, changing major, etc.). When we toured, we were told that advisors had been known to open classes/sections if needed and to add a student into a class that was listed as closed. I laughed because I figured it was a claim that could happen but realistically wouldn’t. To my surprise, in the past year, my student actually benefited from an advisor opening an additional section and a professor adding them into a closed class.
When my student first arrived on campus, she joined a few clubs. She enjoyed herself but didn’t feel that she had really met “her people.” She got along with her roommate but they weren’t besties. Fortunately, USC is not a small school and there are many opportunities to get involved. She applied for a few selective organizations - was denied by some and accepted into others. She now has a large and diverse group of friends from classes, dorms and social orgs and is flourishing.
Another college stated that you can make a big school small but can’t make a small school big. In our experience, USC offers the benefits of a small school (class size, personalized advising, well funded programs, etc) along with the benefits of a big school (HUGE variety of classes, PAC 12, school spirit/pride and overall diversity).
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Is it still called TTP? Or is it just a transfer option?
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Well, my daughter was pursuing film, so clearly USC SCA had a distinct advantage on that front over Princeton’s limited offerings related to film and the visual / creative arts. USC also offered her the opportunity to be a freshman there during her sister’s senior year. It was a tough decision, and she wrestled with it quite a bit… but ultimately, she was swayed by that same overall college experience dynamic. She was afraid that Princeton might be a bit too stifling due to its size and limited offerings in total versus a place like USC. I think that she just thought she would fit in better at USC. Four years is a lengthy commitment after all, and she feared that over time she would feel rather isolated and missing-out at Princeton. These decisions are clearly tough. And Princeton is hard to turn down. But, she had visited both campuses before and just felt more at home at USC and a stronger affinity with the make-up of its student body.
Good luck with the decision…