Yes… it is likely too late now in terms of merit decisions. It also most likely would not have made a difference. Both of my daughters sent their emails in mid-February. Good luck…
I’m not exactly sure which Brennan article you are referring to, but this one is pretty good and covers those topics well…
Applying to USC? Admission Insiders Offer Tips During COVID-19 • Trojan Family Magazine
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Where did you get this message? Thanks for sharing
It looks like it is a pop up on this page. https://admission.usc.edu/
That is really late if they are planning on holding in-person Explore USC for scholarship interviews.
Edit: Most of the time, they say BY mid February instead of IN mid February. I wonder if this is a typo. For example: When will I receive an admissions decision.
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Apparently no white boxes — portal notification. Last year it was late because of COVID. I wonder why it would be so late this year?
Edit: it may be a typo or perhaps they are signaling that they really mean mid- February.
That is correct @lkg4answers a pop-up at the admissions site is where I found it.
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Just speculating. It could be that they have experienced staffing shortages this past month as employees deal with illness, quarantines, etc. That may have pushed things back.
A few quotes from the letter they sent to students yesterday,
While Omicron causes less severe illness for many, it is still highly infectious. That means some members of our community are testing positive, in quarantine, or dealing with illnesses or exposures within their households.
Other campus services likely will be a little slower than normal due to personnel shortages or because departments have been given the ability to reduce density in the workplace, so it might take longer to answer a phone and some offices may not be fully staffed.
Please know that in the next few weeks some events may need to be rescheduled or cancelled on short notice.
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For whatever it is worth, when we popped that question recently during a zoom session for applicants to engineering , the answer was that they would go out early February .
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Nice stealth work. 
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This is interesting. I see the article is from 2016 when they took demonstrated interest into consideration. It really is astounding that they would keep track of this information now, when they clearly have stated that they don’t consider demonstrated interest anymore. Either they do or they don’t.
I don’t see it as black and white. All schools want to accept/enroll students who want to attend and who they feel will thrive at their university. With travel limitations and tests optional, more emphasis is likely placed on what a student writes in their essays. Are students tacking USC onto their long list of other applications and re-using essays or did they spend time looking through the school’s website, attending webinars and finding programs they might be interested in? If so, and they shared that in their essays, that is demonstrating interest in USC.
From this 2020 article "In the past, too many students saw essays as “just another hurdle,” some delaying until final hours or not exerting enough effort. The result, said Timothy Brunold, dean of admission at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, was “an opportunity unfortunately lost.” At a university that accepted just 16% of nearly 60,000 freshman applicants last year, he now advises hopeful students: “I think that this year of all years, they should pay particular attention to the writing that they submit to colleges.”
In this 2021 Daily Trojan article, “Brunold said the admissions office combs through thousands of applicants and pursues those who present an inclination to help achieve the University’s main objectives.
“We’re always trying to achieve in the admission process by bringing students to the University who will help the University in its mission, its strategic objectives and most importantly, we’re looking to bring students whom the faculty want to teach,” Brunold said.”
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When I think of demonstrated interest I associate it with any contact a student has had with the university, outside of the 4 corners of their application. I would hope that kids who apply to a school would spend the time and effort to research the school and write about how they would be a good fit for the school and how the school is a good fit for them. What I understand to be demonstrated interest are things the schools can keep tabs on like taking a tour, emailing the admissions person from your region that the school is your first choice, emailing the school for any other reason, making contact with a professor, and the like. If a school is genuinely not considering demonstrated interest then none of the extra contacts, outside of the application, should be taken into consideration. Maybe that is not the case for USC. Maybe USC is saying they don’t consider it but really do from what people are saying here.
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I should have also stated that I don’t disagree with what you are saying.
I think we are saying the same thing (kind of). There is the demonstrated interest where a school logs visits and contacts outside of the application. USC has stated in their common data set that they do not consider level of interest. What I think we are both saying (and what I think USC is looking for) is that a student should spend the time and effort to learn about a school and to show the school why they would be a good fit - both academically and socially.
I believe WWWard’s daughters have graduated. If so, they applied several years ago and criteria could have changed. He said “Both of my daughters made it crystal clear via their applications and Why USC? reasoning that USC was their top choice” which aligns with what both you and I are saying - to convey your interest clearly in your application. He adds, “They each also reiterated it to their AOs and their specific school’s admissions office in a short but rather direct email sent once during February… stating that they would in fact commit and attend if admitted.” Personally (and I most certainly don’t work in admissions), I don’t think that a student is dinged if they don’t send a love letter to the AO. It might help, but it is most certainly not required.
They may not track how many tours you did or if you attended when USC visits a school and gives a presentation by AO’s, but if an applicant makes an impression at one of those, that is a different story. That is not demonstrated interest of the tracking kind, that is a student successfully demonstrating their interest. Of course these things are taken into consideration. If an AO, professor, or person giving a presentation at an admit event, or any person of influence in the admissions process has met or been in contact with someone and is impressed by whatever form of interaction with them, they don’t just ignore that or separate from it’s influence - they are gonna put a little gold star next to the name, a note, or provide input to those making the decision. “Hey I met this/got an email from this kid today who was incredible…he told me…” They are an admissions team that goes beyond the admissions team. If it comes to the total unknown who has not engaged with anything USC except for google, or one that through whatever form of contact or inquiries they believe will be an engaging member of the USC community, their gonna pick the latter everytime.
So this isn’t a thing that can be seen as “unfair,” it’s just common sense. Kids don’t have to fly in and do a tour. No one has an advantage that someone else can’t get too. They should not reach out with mindless chatter whether email or live, that will always backfire. Kids aren’t taught how to do this, they got “it” or they don’t. There are other ways besides personal contact to make an impression (both good and bad), particularly in the essays which is another place to craft a story that demonstrates interest. In the admissions processes at every college, it is not always black and white. Interpreting “rules” strictly isn’t helpful, rather, just think about how humans interact and make decisions, and it’s easy to see the difference between tracking demonstrated interest and a student demontrating interest.
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Along those lines, this is a good article about Applying to USC During a Pandemic.
“The basic question we start with in every application is ‘Why?’” Brunold says. “Why do they want to come to USC, why are they interested in this major and not that major, why are they motivated?”
and
Some eager applicants might be tempted to write about their undying loyalty to the Trojan Family, but admission officers recommend a more essential, heartfelt topic: Tell your own story. “Rather than regurgitating marketing material, focus on letting your character and personality shine,” Brunold says. “At this stage, many don’t know which college is their absolute first choice. And that’s OK.”
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Thank you but I just started reading the USC Class of 2025 — Regular Decision thread and a parent made mention, “My DD applied to Glorya Kaufman and Dornslife, Glorya Kaufman website specifically says, you will not hear any admission decisions in the early round.”
Does this hold true for SDA?
I believe that delayed merit decisions are most common for BFA candidates in the performance majors where auditions are required. This applies across a few Schools within USC where applicable, including some BFA SDA candidates.
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Thank you. I believe so, too. Setting realistic expectations is healthy, especially regarding BFAs.