I’m so very sorry for all that you are going through.
There are two types of aid - need based and merit. The Affordability Initiative is need based. The scholarship you were invited to interview for is based on your merit.
Since you don’t know if you will qualify for the Affordability Initiative, you should still interview for the merit scholarship.
The Presidential and Trustee scholarships are applied towards tuition only. It looks like the Affordability Initiative is also for tuition only. If that is the case then you probably won’t be able to use it for other expenses. You should contact financial aid ASAP, let them know of your circumstances and seek their advice.
@lkg4answers had perfect response and advice. Keep in mind, both parents income is used even in divorce situation or there would be additional (legal justification) steps to negate one. Good luck, do call FA if you are interested in attending USC - they are there to help.
“not selected with scholarship interview” is somewhat ambiguous.
It’s not clear whether the person was flat out denied/rejected for admission to USC, or whether the person was admitted but not selected for scholarship interview.
USC hasn’t rejected anyone yet, the question on the portal was in regard to getting a scholarship. Also anyone admitted so far is receiving a scholarship. It seems everyone flipped to undergraduate status after Friday’s scholarship/acceptance results so it is no longer relevant.
Ahhh. I guess that’s what I was missing about all the posts yesterday (despite reading them fairly closely). S22 submitted application on 12/29/21 for RD. All financial aid complete, and his FAST portal shows up as “class: undergraduate.” But admittedly, I paid zero attention to what it was before yesterday (the posts got the best of me). Apparently, I too, was playing the “astrology” game. LOL.
Well, he is certainly well qualified. And I wish that was enough alone. But such is not the case these days. In the current environment, even 90% of all legacy applicants are unfortunately turned away.
And in terms of getting “Chanced” for USC, or for any elite college or university, it is virtually impossible for others to predict what may or may not occur in any specific case. With recent USC admit rates in the range of 11-12%, and with 4K+ applicants with 4.0 unweighted GPAs and test scores in the 99th percentile among those not gaining admission each year, success will instead likely depend on too many potential factors for anyone to correctly evaluate… making predicting admission nearly impossible. But this also shows that they admit many without perfect grades or test scores. They are after all seeking to craft a well-rounded and diverse freshman class comprised of those who actually have a strong affinity for or connection to USC. They do aim to admit those who they project will thrive well at USC and bring something unique to the campus environment.
It is not the case that USC is looking for a freshman class of circa 3K comprised necessarily of well-rounded students. They are instead looking to craft a well-rounded class comprised of unique individuals who might bring something interesting and specifically needed to campus. So applicants should use the admission process to demonstrate that. Let the readers understand what USC may be gaining by admitting you specifically.
Individual admission decisions will likely come down to a composite and holistic analysis of stats coupled with writing ability / essays, ECs, potential leadership roles, potential other unique qualifiers (URM, First Gen, geography, demographics, etc.), the Why USC? explanation/reasoning, etc. And that “Why USC?” explanation is likely the most important single component of the application. Applicants do need to provide a well-thought out and well-researched answer as to why attending USC is truly significant and important to them specifically. And moreover, USC does want to gain a sense as to what an applicant will be uniquely contributing to the greater USC community if admitted.
As for “DaVinci Code” style hints found via careful over-evaluation of USC’s various portals / websites, take it from people like myself - who have been observing this process and all of the CC discourse since 2013 - or from @CADREAMIN - who has been at it even longer… there are no such hints or portal cracks, etc. They have all been de-bunked over time. And yet it does not stop applicants or their parents from stirring things up time and time again here on CC and similar forums. I have stopped counting the conspiracy theories, but there are at least a handful every cycle.
Here’s the only true hint that you should focus on: USC Admissions has been at this in the WWW universe since the inception of the Internet. They are not careless. They do not let the decisions be known prematurely. You can keep trying… but you are truly just spinning your wheels needlessly. And FA and Admissions operate on separate paths. There are no FA / FAST hints either. So maybe elect to use your time more constructively.
Historically, these are the only USC actions that “may” have a positive impact in terms of admissions from what I have observed… 1) if your assigned AO starts reaching out directly to you (likely in mid-March) asking you specific questions or asking you for your mid-year grades, etc. Such inquiries mean that they need more info and that you are likely “on the bubble” or being strongly considered for admission. So… if this happens… do reply effectively and quickly - supplying whatever is being requested. Do so… even if you or others have already supplied it via the Common Application or by another means. Simply provide it again. And if this applies, do so with some enthusiasm, reiterating your sincere interest in attending USC - if true. 2) direct letters from an individual School within USC. For years, there was one true hint… via SDA. They would invite those being admitted in advance (by a couple weeks) to an event occurring soon after April 1st, so those new enrollees might have the time to plan on attending. But that invitation hint has seemed to stop in recent cycles.
But that’s it… those are the only “potential” hints that have seemed to actually mean something over time. None of the online hints have proven to mean anything universally.
So, my advice is to just focus your time and energy on other things as best you can. It is after all your senior year. Make the most of it.
The only possible thing that you can do at this late stage is to maybe send one short and sweet well-worded statement via email to your assigned AO (copying the admissions email of your chosen School within USC)… letting them know that USC is your top choice (if true) and maybe that you are fully committed to attending (if also true). If something significant has occurred since applying, maybe briefly supply that update too. But I would only do so once. And I would only make sincere statements that match your true potential commitments.
Hi! I got in early through the merit scholarship consideration and I was wondering when our financial aid summaries for need-based aid will be out? Will it be earlier than the March decision date?
How many here are willing to pay full price for USC? Just curious. USC is my son’s 3rd choice (UCLA and UCI is 1 and 2). My husband is willing to consider it. My sister and cousin both are sending their sons there and paying full price.
Plenty. More than half of people there pay full price. They may get loans (which gets classified as aid and distorts aid percentages), but the majority are full pay. If people want to spend their money on a college education or a new Mercedes, a second home, etc., it’s their choice. For my kids it has been a great value, but it may not be for everyone.
Respectfully, the portal clearly provided an unintended advance message this time, which only encourages the type of sleuthing you rightfully bemoan. It’s now fixed, and won’t happen again, but it’s nonetheless unfortunate (and rather surprising). Between now and April, my guess is that admissions and financial aid will be combing every electronic inch of that portal to make sure it doesn’t happen again.