USD Info from Ca folks

<p>USD was a saftey for my D but they ended up giving her substancial scholarship and grant money totaling 18,000, plus loans and work study. I read in a student review however that this school typically entices freshman with good packages but does not renew them in future years. Has anyone experience or knowlege of this. Do they have a good program for psychology or good PhD placement rates for clinical psych? We had not researched this school except for reading the web site but my D is starting to consider it. Thanks in advance for any info!</p>

<p>Does the award indicate that it is renewable and what the criteria are? My S' merit award from Tulane specifies renewable with 2.8 GPA.</p>

<p>The merit portion is renewable with similar stats, the other portion 12,000 is renewable based on 2.0 and demonstrated need ( a vague term). That is concerning. They state the USD scholarship of 12,00 is based on academics, need and what you can contribute to the school.</p>

<p>Well, in no small part you are dealing with the "integrity" of the school. To my mind, asking to talk with parents of upper classmen/women might be the only thing that will ease your mind.</p>

<p>I can only tell you that last year when we dealt with similar concerns (i.e, what will school A do to get you sign up vs. what will they the years after) we were able to get in touch with many parents through the admissions office that eased our concern. Of course all of that became moot when he chose to go with the the scholarship.</p>

<p>I'd be interested in hearing more about this finaid situation. We are going to U of San Diego in April with DD as that is a school she is very interested in applying to. Of course we HOPE she will get a really good finaid package somewhere. Let us know what you find out.</p>

<p>Thanks for all your help. I will call the office tomorow and ask. I just wish we had finaid info from all the school, there are a few more that have not sent anything and 1 more admission to hear from tomorrow, it should be a long day!!!</p>

<p>One of DD's best friends is going to USD. But I don't know about the financial aid package. I just know it is her favorite school. Good Luck.</p>

<p>I just posed this same question to a friend whose daughter is a sophomore this year at USD (my alma mater, btw). When I was a member of the alumni board, I had heard this exact complaint from some current students. My friend's daughter received the same aid (grant) this year as last. She is a top student, and has maintained her GPA. We have another mutual friend whose daughter is also a sophomore there, and her grant stayed the same as well.</p>

<p>Now if I can just convince my daughter to seriously consider USD...</p>

<p>(We live in San Diego, so it seems too close to home for her.)</p>

<p>Thanks klmcpa, I called the fin aid office and they also confirmed, offers remain the same each year unless there are major financial changes or if your GPA drops below a 2.0. So far they have been the most generous college. My D's first choice school is Pepperdine however but we have not yet recieved a package from them.</p>