@CADREAMIN do you remember 2 years ago (January 2017) that poster s0meUSCkid95 who actually worked at an office on USC’s campus and was able to tell us when the boxes were mailed. Great poster! I remember going through this with my oldest. She received invite for Trustee. The funny part is that after all of the hype, she was offered less than the Dean’s in the end. USC was not a top choice for her, so it all worked out the way it should!
@LvMyKids2 Of course I remember! Vanderbilt right? Was that two years ago, geeez, I swear it was last year, time goes toooo fast. But I do think that same thing happened to someone else last year, so it is not that uncommon, ugh. Is she loving (I think) Vanderbilt? Hope I have that right. Ok you mentioned she is your oldest, so any chance you are back at it again this year?
Hope all is well! And I do think we will know when mailed again this year…there’s always little birdies around.
@CADREAMIN Thanks for all the great info! Are you predicting USC will put the merit acceptances in the mail on the 22nd or 23rd?
@collegemom111111 lol, ahhhh putting me on the spot…but what the heck, let’s put it out there…I think they will go out this week and yes, Tues/Wed is the usual days they send. Later than that and it runs into Sunday delivery issues. Last year they mailed on Tues 23rd, started arriving on 24th.
DISCLAIMER - idk for sure people, just best guess.
One year they went out on a Monday, but I think that was because of crazy weather issues in LA the week before.
The Explore USC dates are posted, which open up for sign up after portals update. So they have to get people notified of scholarships so some can make travel plans in time for that first weekend of Explore…so it would be surprising if it wasn’t this week.
I’m hoping a little birdie let’s me/us know they get mailed. Little birdie, you know who you are.
Here’s hoping you can spend Valentine’s Day falling in love with USC!
Scholarship Overnight Dates
February 14–15
February 21–22
February 25–26
February 28–March 1
March 4–5
It is always great when the first person posts (a legit post, there are always one or two jokers) that they got the package and let’s us all know it’s off to the races.
Students, keep busy and keep those grades up. Parents, binge watch the Bodyguard or You (although super creepy) or something to keep mind off of this college stuff!
@CADREAMIN Thank you so much for all your advice and insights 
We know you don’t know for sure about anything, but your information is very helpful and much appreciated! So,we’ll see if a box arrives for us in the Bay Area mid/late next week. And if not, we’ll wait and see what happens in March. Especially appreciate your mailbox moment advice. It’s very true. Learned this with our older child. Thanks again!
@collegemom111111 It should be this week — ahhhhh! They should go out tomorrow or Wednesday. Unless of course they change it up. But history of last several years says this week. Good thoughts for you!
Post edit:
I’m thinking we just had a mix up on the us of “this week v. next week” concept when I re-read your post, lol.
@screennameMJ888 When I got my merit acceptance four years ago (yikes, it’s been a while), the package arrived around the same time it was posted on the portal. This was in Central Europe, so I’d say it only takes a few days longer to get there, but it’s shipped through DHL express and they’re super fast.
I’d say don’t check the portal immediately, because opening the package was way more exciting, but of course you also don’t wanna miss any important deadlines, so…not sure, maybe wait a few days? Haha, but I also get that people are impatient.
How hard it is to receive a SCA merit scholarship for undergrads?
@applicantXIX
The original post reads 1200/40000, or about top 3% of applicant pool
edit: 315 will actually get the scholarship per the original post? I may be wrong there
@CADREAMIN Just wondering, but for the NMSF folks do we only get our acceptance January if we’re picked for another scholarship? And everyone else that’s NMSF gets their acceptance and half tuition scholarship in March?
@nicedottxt Yes, NMF has nothing to do with this round of scholarship decisions. NMFs may find themselves being selected to get/interview for another scholarship this round, which is independent of them being an NMF. Some people get confused because if they are eventually named NMF and they select USC as #1 school with the NMSF by May 1st, they get the 1/2 tuition. Since they don’t stack, if given the opportunity to interview for the Presidential this round (also half) they ask why they should bother interviewing since the 1/2 is a lock with NMF. But you interview at the chance of it getting bumped up, knowing it wouldn’t matter if a Presidential got bumped down because you don’t lose your NMF, that is guaranteed.
Does anyone know if the specific merit scholarships such as the Jewish Leadership Scholarship comes out around this time along with the Presidential and the others? Or is this in March/April?
Those group and department types come out later in March.
This thread is bringing back a lot of memories from last year. My daughter (now a very happy USC student) received her admission package in the mail on Friday, the same day her portal updated. We’re in the Midwest, so it can understandably take a while for the mail to get here from USC. And I see that @CADREAMIN and @WWWard are still being super helpful. As the process goes on, if anyone has any questions about the McCarthy Honors College, please let me know, as my daughter is living there this year. It was difficult to find a lot of information about it last year when we were searching as it had only been open for one year at that point.
@isoinfo Yes… still here and trying to help. Your point is a good one. USPS Priority Mail (which is supposed to deliver domestically in the U.S. in 1-3 days, depending on the delivery zone) comes with no firm guarantee. They do fail to reach those milestones on occasion. Some online have suggested that they fail as much as 5% of the time. And when mailing 60K+ packages… that could equal a significant # of delayed deliveries.
My younger daughter experienced that for herself in March of 2017… when her “white box” finally arrived after the portal had updated.
So… if possible… applicants this cycle should wait to see it in writing online the results before coming to any final conclusions… either in January or March.
Good luck to all those waiting. USC is at least worth the wait.
@astute12, my son is applying for popular music, electric bass (auditioning this weekend!) any tips for us? Also, is your son still happy with the program? It’s my son’s first choice, but coming from a small private school is Baltimore it would be a huge transition (if he gets in!). He is also hoping to get a dual degree, taking 5 years if necessary. BTW thank for all of your useful comments on these threads!
Hi @baltomom94 – good luck to your son this weekend! My son loves the program and is working hard in it. He had wanted to do a dual math/music degree, but it is tough. What we didn’t know going in was that if you take a second major outside of Thornton, like in Dornsife for math, the student has to fulfill the requirements of that school. So my son has to take a language for one year on top of all the math requirements to get his math major. He sat down with an academic advisor and he would have to do 20 units each semester plus summer school to pack it all into 4 years and she mentioned that she knew of only one other Thornton kid getting their BM who did that in the last few years. So, my DS isn’t sure what he is going to do as far as his math major. Other than that he is very happy – lots of playing, learning new things, and he likes most everyone lol! GOOD LUCK this weekend!
@baltomom94 I forgot to mention that while USC is a large university, Thornton has a very small feel – everyone knows everybody, and especially with the pop kids, there are only about 25 of them in the class so they bond very quickly and have a group of friends. My son also came from a small school, but he has made friends very easily.
Do you know what % of accepted students get some merit $$?
Do a majority of full pay students get some merit to help with the high tuition?
USC seems to check many boxes for D20 except that little thing called 55k per year tuition!