I agree, it is not a risk worth taking for a really srong applicant.
Dornsife/Leonard = Neuroscience/Human Development and Aging
4.42UW/5.14W
ranked #4 UW / #7 W
740V/790M
East Coast
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My daughter is interested in the Cinematic Arts program, which specifies an application deadline of 12/1, and further states that students who apply by the 12/1 deadline will be considered for merit aid. It further states to choose “regular decision” on the app. I am wondered whether she would still be considered for merit aid for her second choice major? (Probably Annenberg or Dornsife Social Sciences w/ psychology emphasis).
My understanding is that if she were not applying to Cinematic Arts, and instead applying to Annenberg or Dornsife as a first choice, her application would need to be submitted by 11/1 for merit aid consideration.
For what it’s worth, I think her creative supplement for Cinematic Arts will showcase her talents better than the standard app. The school is in the high reach category for her, and she has a lot of EA apps coming due for target schools, so the extra month would certainly help, but merit aid would also certainly help. Thanks.
Top 5 Things to Do After Applying to USC
- Set up your USC Applicant Portal
A day or two after you apply, you’ll get an email confirming that you submitted your application. The subject line will read “USC Admission Has Received Your Application – Set Up Your Applicant Portal Today!” Once you open this email, it will have the PIN you’ll need to set up your USC portal. From there you can check the status of your materials and, eventually, see your admission decision.
- Be patient as we process your materials
If you’ve submitted your Common Application by the deadline, your application is considered on time – even if materials like transcripts, recommendation letters, or test scores arrive a little later. We receive thousands of documents that we need to process which includes transcripts, letters of recommendations, and test scores. It takes us about two to three weeks to process documents during our busy season, so please give us some time. There may be additional delays if documents lack proper identifying information. For example, if the name on your test scores does not exactly match the name on your application.
A green check mark will only appear on your USC Applicant Portal next to items we have processed which means that we may have already received those materials, but they just have not been added to our system yet. *
*Please note that the USC Applicant Portal checklist will not list letters of recommendation or SlideRoom as items. First-year applicants may also notice that transcripts are not listed either.
- Sign the Applicant Affirmation and Notice of Potential Audit
Your application is not considered complete until you electronically sign the Application Affirmation form, which can be accessed through your USC Applicant Portal. The notification that the form is ready to be signed will come a couple of days after you submit your application.
- If applicable, upload your test scores
If you have indicated on Common App that you would like your SAT or ACT standardized test score to be considered with your application, you can upload your score report through your USC Applicant Portal. International applicants who are required to submit English proficiency exams may also upload an unofficial score report for review purposes. Score reports must include your name, date of the exam, and all sections from that sitting.
Students that ultimately enroll at USC will be required to submit official test scores if unofficial scores were used during the application process.
- BREATHE
Take a deep breath, relax and congratulate yourself on a job well done! You did all that you could, submitted all the required materials, and now all you have to do is wait. Give yourself a pat on the back and enjoy some time to yourself!
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Thank you! This is very helpful.
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Hello.
I have a question.
My son submitted USC application October 18th. Common app sent email for usc application . But USC didn’t send application portal. I am worried about it.
Did he check his spam or promotions folders?
I don’t think one should worry now. It does take a day or two for the university to acknowledge your application and that’s when they send out the email for portal details.
I send my application today, but because I had crazy internet issues, I rushed through sending my application before the deadline and noticed I’ve accidentally pasted one essay response in 2 prompts. However, I’ve reached out to admissions with a document with the correct response, I hope it works out since many universities accept edits if there’s been a mistake.
FYI, I’m class valedictorian, ranked 1, with 5/5 GPA.
Check your credit card statement to see if application fee charge went through. We submitted Oct29th and received the email with portal info in 2 days. Good luck!
Who in admissions did you reach out to? You should have an admissions counselor. You might contact them to see if they can help.
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Thank you very much! I’ve just sent an email to my admissions officer following your link.
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I don’t think so. But if there isn’t portal, should we contact USC ?
Let us know if you hear back and if your counselor was able to help.
It’s been a day since I’ve emailed but haven’t heard back 
Just updating, my AO got back to me and said he will update my file 
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Fantastic! Thanks for letting us know.
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D24 has applied EA to Viterbi.
3.9UW/4.55W GPA
SAT: 1540 ( 790M)
NMS Semi Finalist
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Repeating my first post from the top of this thread…
My main advice to future college applicants, and especially to those seeking USC, is to start the application process early and to ask the important questions now and up to the time that you actually submit the application. The time to gain some potential insights and to work out your own unique and specific approach to applying is now and up to your submission date… and not thereafter.
An applicant’s individual success will depend on too many potential factors for anyone to correctly evaluate… making predicting admission nearly impossible. But USC does 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 (or near perfect academic stat applicants). 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 use the admission process to demonstrate that. Let the readers understand what USC may be gaining by admitting you specifically.
Your individual admission decision will likely come down to a composite and holistic analysis of your stats coupled with writing ability / essays, ECs, potential leadership roles, potential other unique qualifiers (URM, First Gen, geography, demographics, etc.), your Why USC? explanation/reasoning, etc. And that “Why USC?” explanation is likely the most important single component of your application. You do need to provide a well-thought out and well-researched answer as to why attending USC is truly significant and important to you specifically. And moreover, USC does want to gain a sense as to what you will be uniquely contributing to the greater USC community if admitted.
I chose to repeat this advice, as I have noticed how many have simply posted their key academic stats. While those will matter to a degree, please keep in mind that USC now routinely rejects (like Stanford and others) 4K+ applicants with perfect or nearly perfect unweighted GPAs and 99th percentile test scores. USC will be looking for the application packet in its entirety to demonstrate far more than just your academic credentials. Focus additionally on that “Why USC?” element. It is more important than stats alone. Maybe let others review your application before submitting it. If it is not clear to them why USC should be admitting you specifically over thousands of other worthy applicants, you may wish to endeavor to make it so. USC certainly will be asking that question.
Before applying, I suggest reading through the very helpful insider’s guide to USC admissions…
https://tfm.usc.edu/a-guide-to-uscs-college-admissions-process/
Good Luck…
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Did everyone get the email from USC to join the USC ZeeMee Community?
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