Why USC still has to offer merit money to lure good students? They have ritzy town, name recognition, sports stars, wealthy student body and abundance of celebrities. Why do they have to buy academic talent?
It helps lure potential students who would otherwise to go to Stanford or an Ivy.
Many do take USC’s merit money as they cannot afford the cost of going to an Ivy or Stanford. Therefore, when these top students are in the mix, the class competition at USC is very high.
In recent years… 17% or so of the enrolled freshman class have been FirstGen… 21% or so of the enrolled freshman class have been Pell Grant recipients and deemed low-income by the federal government… 66% of all current undergraduates in total receive some form of financial assistance - either need-based grants or merit scholarships. Are there rich kids there at USC? Of course. Are there celebrity kids there at USC? Of course. Are such examples the norm or the majority? No… far from it.
USC’s goal is to craft a well-rounded and diverse freshman class comprised of those who actually have a strong affinity for or connection to USC but who also come from a variety of backgrounds. Clearly, USC is not simply looking to admit only those who can afford to attend such an expensive private school. They are super generous with financial aid and also offer merit scholarships as a means to compete for those quality applicants who may have to attend elsewhere without such an offering.
USC could aim to fill its entire circa 3K freshman class with only those with 99th percentile test scores and 4.0 unweighted GPAs, but they do not do so. In fact, they routinely reject 4K+ such applicants. USC could also only admit wealthy legacy applicants, but they do not do so. USC now routinely rejects 90% of all legacy applicants… including many from wealthy backgrounds. Your question seems to imply a goal for USC that is simply not in line with what USC is truly about or aiming to accomplish these days.
well stated @WWWard
^^^@WWWard certainly has a knack for well stating. 
Unfortunately there is a lot of misinformed CC members who state “facts” without thinking and show their biases against certain colleges; I guess “ignorance is bliss” for some…
On the flip side, it’s nice to know we have posters like @WWWard who use sound reasoning and analysis to counteract the flawed logic espoused by the uninformed.
Not really. Have you looked at Google Street View in the neighborhoods that are a couple blocks away from campus?
^^^Speaking of the uniformed, same post different day. It’s the same with with Yale, UPenn, Fordham, Wash U and many neighborhoods in NYC, Chicago, Philly, and a lot of east coast schools that sound idyllic but (oh no!) are in questionable areas. Thankfully google maps doesn’t keep a lot of people from getting out of their bubble and living their life and seeing what the world has to offer. No doubt LA is considered ritzy by many but also has many not great parts, like every city in the U.S. Regardless, USC itself is a beautiful campus. Better to go to a school and see for yourself - way better than google.
Thanks, @CADREAMIN @socaldad2002 @UCBUSCalum
@WWWard/@CADREAMIN - Any idea whether usc Scholars (Trustees, Presidentials, Deans ) need to renew their scholarships for sophomore, junior or senior years? Could not find anything in writing. Would the scholarship office look at progresses (credits finished, GPAs) to renew the scholarship? Are you aware of any minimum standards to continue the scholarship?
Any information would be greatly appreciated
@nvadad Here is the USC Scholarship Policy related to the four main merit scholarships…
https://ahf.usc.edu/merit-scholars/policy/
Good Luck
Thanks greatly @WWWard for this authoritative policy!
@nvadad you’re welcome