They find out you are admitted, someone verifies package is completed, it is double/triple checked/approved, then they upload it to your portal. If applicant does a good job getting them everything they need, it is very quick. It’s those that don’t realize they need to submit taxes (duh) etc that can wait a long time.
So I was admitted but before I can receive my financial aid, I need to supply USC with my parent and I’s 1040 tax returns. Mine is only about 10 pages so I can scan that with my printer, but my dad is self-employed, so my parents 1040 is probably 200 pages long with all the schedules, statements, and W-2’s. So does anyone know if I have to upload this whole thing? We don’t have electronic copies so it’s not that easy for me to just submit them.
Email Financial Aid office & ask them how to proceed. They’ve seen this before.
@CADREAMIN @zettasyntax Hello Both! Thank you so much for being so involved in this process. You all made this waiting experience so bearable and thank you for your wisdom. I recently got admitted to Dorsnife as a Philosophy, Politics, and Law major for spring 2021. I am excited but at the same time I am torn between USC and UCLA. I got into labor Studies at UCLA which is an awesome major. My dream school for a while has been LA, but I never considered that I could get into USC, so now I am torn and don’t know where to go. I am transferring from a different UC and its true that the UC’s usually just let students fend for themselves. I am trying to be on a pre-law track or possibly become a professor. Is the alumni network as strong as it seems? What are the pros and cons of being a spring admit especially being a transfer student? Is it easy to get involved with the law school as an undergraduate? What other things should I consider between the two?
I was admitted to Marshall for Spring 2021 but I applied for the Fall 2020 semester. In my acceptance letter, they said that they admit some strong applicants for the spring rather than the fall due to space constraints. So this way instead of being on a waiting list for the fall and not knowing if you will be accepted, USC tells you that you are accepted but need to start at a later term. I am not sure about how transfers receive scholarships though.
@TransferGuy08 Did you complete the FAFSA? Did you use the IRS linking tool on that? They may have you just do an update to that.
@ricardop101 hey taking a break from a big Memorial weekend meal for the fam, so let me just give you some quick bullets then come back later if I think of more commentary.
-both are amazing schools
-I love the perks of a private university, but that’s our preference and carries a lot of weight in a decision. For others, not so much.
-love that you can change majors or add a minor anytime at USC
-it sounds like you prefer the UCLA major, or at least really like it
-USC alumi network is even stronger than it seems, once part of it, you see how amazing it is - private schools tend to rock these stronger than others, and USC is famous for theirs for real reasons
-UCLA in better part of town, but there is something good about learning how to handle yourself in an urban area, and doing it with 30,000 other students around doing the same.
-Transfer students at the UCs are standard and more accepted socially. Frankly, they do carry a stigma at USC, not everyone is crazy about transfers students being there. They tend to socialize together, just how it is. It’s not like you wear a scarlett letter as a transfer, but there is a perception that exists there. You can ignore it and may not even notice it, but some do.
-I’m not sure it is easy to get involved with the law school there - not sure it is at any law school as an undergrad, since it is a graduate program that you have to apply to.
-is money a factor?
If you are still at 50/50, imagine yourself in a social sitation when you are in your 30s or 40s and someone asks, “Where did you go to college?”
How do you want to answer that?
@CADREAMIN yes I did use the linking tool on the FAFSA so that’s why I’m confused…
I was recently accepted and I was just wondering if I had received a scholarship, would I have been told so in my acceptance letter? Is there any possibility I could still receive a scholarship later on? Thanks!
@CADREAMIN ic ic. can you only apply for housing after you commit?
If I haven’t heard back anything, do I still need to submit my spring semester grades?
@wwu9907 I would do it ASAP, if they’re good grades then there’s nothing for you to lose by sending them
@ricardop101 Hey there. Hmm, well my experience at UCLA orientation wasn’t that great and it does confirm things mentioned by CADREAMIN. I don’t think my experience would apply to you though because I wasn’t admitted for the major I wanted. I wanted to enter as a linguistics and computer science major, but got in for anthropology. At orientation, the new student advisor handed us a list of classes that we had to chose from and we could not deviate from that list. I wanted to take a Spanish class to help potentially switch over to the ling&cs major, but he would not allow me to register until I removed that class. Even throughout the day, the current students who spoke to us made it pretty clear that it would be a challenge to change majors. I vaguely recall one of them saying “no one ever gets in off the waitlist, so don’t even try”. This was like a night and day difference at USC. I was admitted as a sociology major (second choice), but I ditched UCLA after my bad experience when I found out USC was creating a computational linguistics major. Registration was so easy. I got every class I wanted and it was incredibly simple to enroll in a CS class to get started on that computational linguistics major - something that seemed basically impossible to do at UCLA. The ease of getting the classes I wanted to take sold me on private > public. The Trojan Family is very real, but still, there is only so much they can do. You still need to put in the effort. I had an interview offer from a Trojan alumna (she even went to my ethnic graduation ceremony, haha). The salary was great for a starter job and especially good considering I wasn’t a pure CS major or anything. She got me the interview, but it was my fault alone that it didn’t go so well; I just choked. Nevertheless, I decided that I wanted to go back to school and I definitely feel like my USC degree helped me get into the graduate program of my dreams. Speaking of graduate programs, some of the departments are very encouraging about undergrads taking graduate courses, but I’m not sure how it works for the law school, sorry. In Viterbi, one of my professors said we were more than welcome to be taking graduate level CS courses after completing his course and even recommended a few. I wasn’t talented enough for that, but I got to take a 500-level linguistics course and let me tell you, it was sure interesting to be in a class with three of my previous TAs. The professor for the course even pushed me to turn the class project into research and present it at their undergrad symposium. That’s something I could have never imagined. If you told me I’d be doing that when I first started at USC, I would have laughed. I’m shy/embarrassed about my slight stutter, but I was so talkative and confident the day I presented my research and I really think it was because my professor was so nurturing and encouraged me. Anyway, sorry for the literal wall of text, but I was feeling pretty nostalgic. If you need help making sense of what I wrote, just let me know, haha.
@zettasyntax @CADREAMIN Thank you I loved hearing your perspectives and experiences, and thanks for being thorough. I definitely am drawn to how easy it is to add majors and minors at USC and it just seems like there are fewer hoops students have to go through to get answers. This was extremely helpful and I have a lot to think about. I am currently still waiting to see what the aid package will look like for USC and thanks again for your insight.
has anyone who’s a spring admit gotten their usc email and stuff yet? do we have to wait until the fall/winter to get a usc account or will we be given emails, portal access, etc at the same time as fall admits?
Hey guys, does anyone know if scholarship recipients have already been notified? Are there any chances that we might be able to receive merit scholarships ?
If we are accepted, are we supposed to send the official transcript to the admissions as soon as possible?
Thanks @CADREAMIN for sharing your insights these past few months!
A few questions…I was accepted as a junior transfer for Fall 2020 Theatre Arts BA on Friday. If all of my docs were submitted a long time ago and it still says Pending in my FAST, how long should it be before my financial aid offer is visible? Also, the website says that freshmen theatre arts majors can specify acting emphasis or design emphasis. Do you know if the same is true for transfers? Next, all of my scores and transcripts were uploaded a couple of weeks ago, any idea how long it will take for my transfer report(?) to become visible? I’m dying to know whether I’ll be able to finish in another two years or not, and don’t really want to wait until orientation to find out. Lastly, how hard is it in general for transfers to get the classes they need? I think I’ll have mostly theatre classes remaining, but might need 2 GEs, depending on how things transfer.
Hey everyone! Congrats to everyone that got accepted. I just got accepted in USC Marshall for fall 2020, but I’m seeing people are getting admitted for spring 2021. Just wondering how that works, did you all choose or did they tell you? Also, how do transfer students receive scholarship?
@ey2000 I’m also a spring admit and I haven’t gotten any information about that either, although I did just submit my intent to enroll and my deposit yesterday, so maybe it takes a few days? Especially with the holiday weekend?