USC Dec 1st Scholarship Deadline Question

[madbean]

<p>twoby2013, a current applicant or parent will likely have the answer but we older-timers did not have the common app to deal. </p>

<p>In the past, the applicant could log in to the USC Connect website <a href=“https://usconnect.usc.edu/[/url]”>https://usconnect.usc.edu/&lt;/a&gt; to check status, etc. I’m not sure if this is still working. Hopefully, a current student can fill you in.</p>

[Ya_Ya]

<p>[Application</a> Status Check - USC Undergraduate Admission](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/apply/status_check.html]Application”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/apply/status_check.html)
Our online status check process is not yet active. Please check back here periodically for updated information.</p>

[twoby2013]

<p>madbean and Ya Ya,</p>

<p>Thanks to you both.</p>

[motherMD]

<p>Alamemom…you are simply an awesome,positive, helpful resource. Hope you had a wonderful holiday. Another group of students will be thankful for you next year. :))</p>

[1x612nt13]

<p>As the deadline for merit scholarships nears, let it be known that people applying for the National Merit Finalist scholarship do not need to apply by Dec. 1st.</p>

[Georgia_Girl]

<p>If a senior has test scores in the range of a National Merit Scholar why not apply by December 1, 2011? If a student has great ECs, top grades, unique experiences or other accomplishments that would make his/her application stand out it would be to a student’s advantage to apply by the earlier deadline. It is not ED. A student is not making a committment to attend, if admitted. If a student applies by the earlier date there is always a slim chance of being asked to interview for the Trustee.</p>

<p>Also, as the admission process continues seniors have the opportunity of adding additional honors or awards won to the application file.</p>

[menloparkmom]

<p>DS was one of those NMF who DID apply by Dec 1 and WAS bumped up to the Trustee
scholarship . So as much as it was a little extra work, it was definitely worth it!
Any NMF who intends to apply to USC and DOESN’T complete their app before
Dec 1 risks leaving $80000 "on the table "</p>

[alamemom]

<p>From the USC Admissions blog - even with the switch to The Common Application and the online submission options for recs, trancripts and school forms, USC was receiving over 5,000 pieces of mail per day the first week of December! See below for a description of how everything is sorted:

The Early Life of an Application</p>

<p>Posted on December 7, 2011 by mschweit</p>

<pre><code> Throughout the last week, we received thousands of applications and materials for our December 1 merit scholarship deadline. Curious about how all these materials magically show up in the appropriate file for me to read on a computer, I decided to do some investigating into our processing office. As a result, I bring you: The Early Life of an Application.

  Although many pieces of your application may have been submitted online, there are other materials that might be sent through the mail such as your transcripts or recommendation letters. Last week, we received an average of 4,000 articles of mail each day. During the past 2 days, we are averaging over 5,000! With such a huge volume to sort through and organize, I envisioned an assembly line of people constantly sifting, sorting, categorizing, and arranging. To my surprise, the atmosphere in our processing office was nowhere near my idea of chaotic organization! In fact, the hard working processing staff were working diligently at different processing stations, each assigned to a different task. I was intrigued.

  I met with Russ who oversees the processing department. He informed me that there are different steps a mailed document goes through before it reaches its final destination: an applicant’s file. The first stop? Document preparation. Materials are kept in order by the date they were received. The document preparers go through document after document, stamping important information like date received or official. If an applicant sends in a bunch of different documents together, we try to keep these materials together throughout the process. Out of all the processing tasks, this is the only one not tied to a computer.

  Next, documents are sent to the bar coding station. In order for materials to be successfully indexed and uploaded into our image viewing system on our computers, they need to have a barcode with the student’s ID number and name. This is an important step as it often requires research to find the correct student name and USC ID number. USC was one of the first schools in the country to use this system.

  Finally, the scanning of documents begins. There are impressive scanning machines that can scan one-sided and double-sided documents appropriately. A staffer oversees this process to ensure all the documents are scanned properly and are readable on a computer screen. Using software, the document’s bar codes are scanned and matched with the appropriate student file. Voila! The document magically appears in the applicant’s electronic file and is labeled by the type of document it is.

  I realized why I didn’t see confusion or pandemonium in the processing office. There was a tried and true system in place. A high level of thought and organization had gone into creating a processing system that streamlines how we receive and catalog application materials. Not only that, but there are dedicated staff and students who work into the late evening hours in order to keep up with the high quantity of documents we receive each day.

  While I get the luxury of sitting at my computer, effortlessly looking at transcripts, essays, and recommendation letters, I have a new appreciation for how these materials end up on my screen. Now on to the next stage of reviewing applications… 

The Early Life of an Application Undergraduate Admission Blog
</code></pre>

[Georgia_Girl]

<p>Thank you for posting this information about the admissions process in the early stages!Students have asked how that many applications are handled. Now we have some insight how things are organized in such an efficient manner.</p>

[ghuskies]

<p>Really interesting, thanks! </p>

<p>After being disappointed by the disorganized manner Coca cola seems to handle their scholarship applications, this is very comforting.</p>

[314159265]

<p>If only there were video! Now that would be a sight to behold.</p>

<p>For those of you who submitted by the 12/1 merit scholarship deadline (or are familiar with the admissions process, like notatallalamemom or menloparkmom), do you know when acceptances will come for the students chosen for scholarship interviews? Would submitting an extra letter of recommendation in late January be too late (if I’m chosen for a scholarship interview)?</p>

[menloparkmom]

<p>“Would submitting an extra letter of recommendation in late January be too late ?”
Probably, as some of the letters inviting students to interview usually are mailed by then. Why would it take you a month to get a recommendation letter sent?</p>

[314159265]

<p>

Why would it take you a month to get a recommendation letter sent?

</p>

<p>I chose to ask a mock trial coach for an additional letter in mid-December, after I was deferred SCEA from Harvard. Hopefully, he can get it in ASAP!</p>

[alamemom]

<p>As menloparkmom says, the scholarship invitations will have been determined and sent by late January, so it won’t be in time to be considered for the scholarship interview invitations.</p>

<p>If you are chosen for a scholarship interview, the extra letter will not be needed - you will have already been accepted. Once invited for an interview, it is the interview itself that will be the determining factor for the scholarship - not additional letters of recommendation. I suppose you could bring it with you to the interview and ask your interviewers if they would like to see it, but it would probably be better to spend the scant 20 or 30 minutes of interview time alloted engaged in conversation with your interviewers rather than handing them something to read.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

[314159265]

<p>Thank you both for your answers!</p>

<p>Let’s say that I am not chosen for a scholarship interview. Obviously, my application was already reviewed and wasn’t selected for an interview. Will a supplementary recommendation be of any use to me if I am not chosen for an interview?</p>

<p>I guess another way of asking it is this: If I am not chosen for a scholarship interview, will my application be reviewed again before I receive my admissions decision?</p>

[madbean]

<p>31etc… It cannot hurt to send that extra LOR in now. As the wise folks above me have mentioned, it will not be considered for scholarship consideration. Scary as it may seem, those decisions have most likely already been made by the powers that be and the notifications go out towards the end of January. However, that letter will be added to your file and if you haven’t already been admitted, it is possible your file will be reviewed again before the majority of the admissions decisions are made. Can’t hurt!</p>

[menloparkmom]

<p>"I guess another way of asking it is this: If I am not chosen for a scholarship interview, will my application be reviewed again before I receive my admissions decision? "
There is no way of knowing, but if you arent accepted early [ i.e. asked to interview] then you application may very well be read again. It cant hurt to have a strong LOR from someone who can shed further or new light about you.</p>

[ghuskies]

<p>Sorry if this has been asked before, but if an applicant doesn’t get a scholarship notification in January do they have to wait until spring to hear if they were rejected or accepted? Does anyone get rejected in January?</p>

[madbean]

<p>In the past, all slim envelopes were sent at the very end of the mailings of admissions packets–usually around the first week in April.</p>

[menloparkmom]

<p>Does anyone get rejected in January?
no, only students who are accepted and invited to interview for scholarships receive fat envelopes in Jan or Feb.</p>