rocnation951

I have heard that USC automatically offers National Merit Finalists the merit Presidential Scholarship (1/2 tuition). Is this true?
Does this mean that acceptance for National Merit Finalists is guaranteed/advantaged?

Thanks

greenfieldcn

in the past year, one National Merit Finalist was rejected due to low sat score. however,if they accept you,you will get presidential.

camomof3

No- not guaranteed. NMF status is only one (small) part of the application. Your GPA, SAT/ACT scores, and EC's are all important factors in acceptance/rejection. In addition, your essays and rec's tell a story about who you are. Some NMF meet all the criteria of USC and others won't. Many NMF feel qualified and are surprised when they are rejected-- remember, USC reviews whole applications to make decisions.

All who ARE admitted, though, will get the NMF Presidential scholarship (parents have confirmed this again for this year-- see other numerous threads).

Georgia Girl

In the past there have been many posts from National Merit Scholars who were not accepted.

National Merit Scholars who ARE ADMITTED and choose to attend SC will receive a half tuition scholarship. In addition, they will receive a $1000 per year scholarship from the National Merit Foundation. In some cases entering NMScholars have also received smaller scholarships from their respective schools such as Marshall, Viterbi, Annenberg and Dornsife.

psydent

^ I was NMS and that sounds right, but I think you have to indicate USC as your top choice on one of the NMF forms (maybe just for the $1000 additional).

camomof3

Yes, you do need to indicate USC as your choice by May 1 (plenty of time to hear back from your schools and then decide)

rocnation951

Well i have already put USC as my top choice for the semifinalist form, I'm gonna put USC for my top choice no matter what. No other school offers a half tuition scholarship guaranteed (well at least not on USC's level).

rocnation951

Do I need to apply for the scholarship or do I just have to apply by December 1 to be considered?

psydent

If you mean apply separately to USC for the National Merit scholarship at USC, then no. As camomof3 said, all NMF accepted to USC will get the scholarship as long as you indicate USC as your choice. Even if it's not necessary, you should still definitely apply to USC by the FA deadline because you might receive scholarships you didn't even know about.