College182

I'm rather confused about the merit aid situation at USC... I've read some other threads on here but none seem to really answer my question (if I'm missing something I apologize).

After looking at USC's website it looks like the only substantial merit aid scholarships are the Presidential and Trustee scholarships. Is that true? It also looks like there is a USC Associate Scholarship but does this have an emphasis on community service?

What exactly are the criteria for determining the recipients of the Presidential and Trustee scholarships? What exactly do they look at? I've heard a whole range of answers on this one...

My SAT score is a 1390 / 2070, and my ACT score is a 31 (hopefully I can raise one of those a bit in the Fall). My GPA is a 3.79 UW and a 3.94 W. Obviously the test scores are standardized, but what about the GPA? Will the fact that I went to a rigorous, private, college prep school and took one of the more difficult course loads available to me "weight" my GPA in their eyes? In other words would my 3.79 UW GPA at a rigorous college prep school with a demanding course load "rank higher" than a GPA of someone of say 3.90 at a public high school taking not as demanding classes?

Being from a middle class family, I can't really pay the full USC price tag but then again I'm not seen as "poor" enough to receive a lot of non-merit financial aid... So it's tough! Thanks for any info you guys have!

Puzzled88

One good way to judge how USC views a GPA from your high school is to look at the statistics on previously admitted students. Does your school use Naviance? My D also attended a private school that did not weight grades or rank students. Using Naviance we were able to see that the average GPA of admitted students was lower than USC's overall averages. So yes, USC does take into account which school you attend.
None of us really know whether your scores and grades will qualify you for merit aid. My own gut feeling is that your test scores may be lower than most scholarship recipients but you should definitely apply by the earlier scholarship deadline.

alamemom

You might take a look at this thread: Stats Only - USC Decisons 2009 In general, those posting that they were accepted in January were interviewed for the Trustee and Presidential scholarships. You can get an idea of their qualifications from the postings, but you can't really see what their essays and ecs were like. As Puzzled88 says, it is hard to say, based only on "stats," who will be asked to interview for the scholarships. From watching these boards (an entirely unscientific method) it seems USC looks at the top applicants in terms of transcripts and test scores and then places a lot of emphasis on essays and ecs in choosing scholarship candidates. For majors that require a portfolio, the transcripts and test scores become somewhat less important.

You certainly are an excellent candidate for admission, so be sure to get your application in by December 1st to also be considered for scholarships. Polish your essay, get great recommendations, and - as Puzzled88 recommends - give the tests another shot. Good luck!

longnguyen

While I am sure a rigorous, AP-filled schedule will look more demanding, it is my personal belief that colleges do not HEAVILY weigh competitive schools/schedules, but I think that USC would look at your GPA more favorably than, say, Berkeley or UCLA, who both have enormously inflated accepted GPA's. Your GPA is fine, on par with the admission and probably scholarship candidates, but your SAT is a bit lacking.

My sessions for presidential scholarship candidates had an average SAT (wasn't clear if it was superscored or not, but I'll venture to say that it was superscore) 2260 or 2240, forgot. My SAT was on par, GPA was slightly lower but from competitive school etc, but the thing that stood out most to the interviewers was my essay, which they talked about a lot. They also talked about my community service, tying it all together with how I plan to contribute to USC if I were to attend.

Basically, they're looking all over your application to try to find some passion somewhere, whether it's in academics, extracurriculars, community involvement, a job, or personal goals/stories (which I did with my essay).

Just try to get that SAT up and make sure something about you stands out! Remember, go for depth not quantity.

GroovyGeek

I disagree, it is pretty easy to discern who will be invited to interview for scholarships based on stats alone. 2200+ and top 2-3% of class ought to do it. Based what you have posted I would guess that the outlook is not good. Your GPA is and SAT are good enough for admission, but probably do not make you stand out enough to be considered for one of the large scholarships. It is likely going to be iffy for the smaller ones too (~4-5k). Of course, if you become an NMF finalist then things are automatic for the 1/2 tuition thing.

As someone else pointed out, stats are just the starting point that gets your pinky in the door. Actually getting the thing is probably dependent on the specifics of the resume and the interview.

Last but not least, being middle class will likely qualify you for some finaid, at least if you are middle of the middle (<$60-80k/year family income). However, it seems that many people on CC are from $200k+ families who claim that they cannot afford college tuition.