USC Class of 2026 — Regular Decision

Does anyone know when USC will notify spring admits if they have been bumped up to fall, and if there are any spring admits, how was your experience?

Also eager for spring admit updates. Have any spring admit been moved to fall yet? Does USC know whether much (if any) movement is expected this year? How does USC notify (email, phone call, portal update)?

Hello, my son is thrilled to be attending USC this Fall, studying architecture. Any insight from the experts on whether the one day summer “orientation” days are worth attending? He visited for a couple days before applying and spent another couple days on campus last month, including an Explore USC day. We’re from the northeast so a long trip for a day, and seems there is a LOT of amazing orientation activity the first week for freshman (covid willing). In his words, he doesn’t want to be the “loser” who doesn’t attend if this is actually important :slight_smile: … My guess is its not so important, but thanks for any advice.

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My son just finished his freshman year at USC and they did not have an in-person summer orientation day in 2021. But I can tell you that the freshman orientation activities after move-in were pretty amazing in terms of helping the kids meet new people, get acclimated to campus, etc. Once we moved him into his dorm, we didn’t see much of him for the next few until new student convocation. Then we headed to the airport for our flight home. Given that USC draws kids from all over the country (and world), it may be challenging for lots of kids to fly in for a day. I personally don’t think your son would be at any disadvantage if he did not attend a one-day orientation over the summer. But I “get” not wanting to miss out on anything. Congratulations to your son!

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Orientation is a great way for a student to spend one more time at campus before starting in the fall. A lot of people make their first college long friends at orientation, so it does give them a bump that makes the adjustment in August easier. We didnt think of skipping it, but we are 6 hour drive rather than flight, so I get it. If it’s not practical, it’s certainly not a must do. But I do think it is great for them to do if they can.

Mine always did their class selection at orientation - so if you don’d do orientation, when do you register? I think some things changed during covid, and I would expect some changes will now beome a standard m.o. Just trying to keep up. :slight_smile:

Also, I have received several emails re housing for freshman and transfers.

Students use to meet up on USC Facebook pages that were set up by USC for the new freshman class and transfers to find roomates on housing. That may be so yesterday…is Patio the cool new toy for that? Any others sites?

My daughter found her roommate on Patio

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D22 has been told that she can take her math placement test in person on orientation day.

As an aside, we are thrilled with the level of communication/advising. A marked difference from her public high school and a reason we chose USC.

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As I understand it, registration for classes is online this year no matter if you attend an in person orientation. So putting that aside, the orientation in person in the past had what I would describe as student life components. Getting your student ID, small group activities with other students (bonding and friend making events), a fair for clubs and student organizations, games, a spirit rally where they taught the school cheers like the So-Cal spell-out. Had talks on safety. For parents they had separate sessions on “paying for college” (well attended) and what to expect in the first year of a college student’s life, safety, health center. We signed up for a student account at the USC credit union. We had not done an Explore USC, but my student thought it was a great series of events. At the time it was our first child to college, so as a parent, it gave alot of information and comfort about campus life and what to expect. We flew in for the event and stayed at the USC hotel, but the ones downtown would work as well.

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@wg1776 Over time, you will likely become even more impressed with USC. I had at least one child at USC from August 2014 forward through May 2021. And we of course started dealing with them in the fall of 2013 when my older daughter first applied. There were a handful of minor issues that I would have preferred been handled differently by USC over those many years, but when evaluating everything in terms of admissions, financial aid, academic advising, the course registration process, student/parent communications, housing, etc., I remained very content and satisfied with USC overall. Over time, I believe that most students and their parents come to think of USC as a well-oiled machine that really endeavors to meet and surpass the expectations of everyone who has become a part of their extended Trojan family. So, hopefully your family’s Trojan experience will parallel ours. :v:

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It’s graduation day!!!

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Today freshman appeals are supposed to be released?

an email for the appeal decision and decision still stands, transfer option still available in portal.

I received an email about the appeal at 11:40AM PST today. Haven’t check yet as I am in school.

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My classmate got an appeal email, but it said right in the email her appeal was denied. She said there was nothing on her portal (for a denied appeal).

My daughter got an email at 2:40EST and her appeal was unfortunately denied.
Best of luck to everyone!

same. She’s ttp heading to AUP in paris.

Do you have one graduating? I’ve been watching the webcams.

Tommy Trojan: https://about.usc.edu/tommy-cam/

The Village: Hecuba Cam - About USC

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Thanks everyone for the helpful comments. Yes, registration is virtual. And yes we’ve been really impressed with USC so far. Son had some terrific options, but USC did the best job “recruiting” him (and us) on every level. If the next 5 years (BArch) are anything like the last few months since he was admitted, I think we’ll all be happy.

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I have enjoyed reading/seeing all the posts on the FB parents page with pics of graduation. One question- which may be dumb- but do all universities have this tradition of personalizing the graduation sashes? I like seeing what the students put on them. I don’t remember doing that with my alma mater.

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