<p>just wondering, does usc have to give scholarship interviews/early acceptance to ppl who applied to all of their different schools? i.e. they have to give it to 50 thornton kids, 50 marshall, 50 sca, 50 clas, 50 annenberg, etc? (or whatever the numbers may be)?</p>
<p>Well, they don’t “have” to give scholarship interviews or early acceptance to anyone…</p>
<p>But yes, each school selects their scholarship recipients. They are not equal numbers, as each school accepts varying numbers - The College (CLAS) awards the largest number of scholarships because they have the most incoming freshmen, for example. When candidates go in for their scholarship interviews, it will be with the school to which they applied.</p>
<p>As we all know SC is a private university. These scholarship funds do not come from the state or from taxes. All of the scholarship monies are contributed. Yes, some come from foundations or from an endowment. Other scholarships, such as Town & Gown, are the result of months of fundraising by an organization which hopes to bring the opportunity for a fine education to those who have excelled.</p>
<p>There are other scholarships such as SCions and alumnae. These also exist because of loyal alumni who work to increase donations and organize fundraisers. Our Atlanta group works all year to provide the partial scholarships awarded to local SC students. I know alumni who contribute sums monthly so a student will have funds to attend.</p>
<p>I have heard of students who were quite surprised when they went for their CSA scholarship interview to discover one or more of the panelists was a famous graduate of CSA donating time to interview candidates.</p>
<p>SC’s alumni are ranked among the top few in the US for donations to their alma mater.</p>
<p>@alamemom: oh ok. so if i applied to sca and my test scores and gpa are in the range of ppl who have gotten scholarships from other schools (like marshall or clas), then does that kinda indicate that i won’t even get into sca at all? like…they must not have liked my portfolio enough to select me as a scholarship recipient even with my above average grades/scores? or could it be that my portfolio was good and they are gonna accept me but it just wasn’t good enough for a scholarship?</p>
<p>also if the sca already rejected me for my major, would my second-choice school still consider me for a scholarship or no? cuz my second choice major was in clas and, again, my scores/grades/essays/recs all that were on par with many of those who have gotten scholarships from clas, marshall, etc.</p>
<p>@georgiagirl, that’s cool, but what does that have to do with this thread? :-/ are you saying that some schools within usc may not have as much money donated to them so they won’t give as many scholarships?</p>
<p>As you can imagine, it is quite a perk for each department at USC to be able to offer merit scholarships which may entice the most powerful students (whether leaders, GPA stars, recognized talent, award winners, etc), so each college is lucky to get this opportunity. They want to lure you to USC and create a vibrant community of top scholars. It is no accident that USC students win many national awards and fellowships. Within the new USC (past fifteen years or so), there is a very strong culture of achievement which I think is positively influenced by bringing in not just great sports stars (whom most big Us attract with scholarship $) but also academic stars, community service stars, and creative stars as well.</p>
<p>BUT, the important thing to remember is–many of USC’s most successful alumni were not spotted right out of high school for these top honors. For example, Jason Reitman (director of “Up in the Air” and “Juno”) was not a Trustee or Presidential scholar. In fact, he wasn’t an SCA student at all. He developed into the creative success he’s become over time. Same can be said for USC alum Will Ferrell. Not a scholarship winner or even a Theatre major. Just to keep things real–star quality may not be appreciated by the world (or adcoms) based on some stats accrued when one is an adolescent.</p>
<p>A great education is the goal, of course. And everyone who attends USC gets the opportunity to have that.</p>
<p>whitecadillac, from what we hear, talent-based majors/colleges at USC weight the portfolio/audition and essays/letters of rec extremely highly in deciding which of the many very deserving students get merit invitations. As you know, SCA accepts a mere 4% of applicants. That’s crazy!! Anyone accepted to SCA has beat tremendous odds (harder to get accepted, frankly, than to Harvard or Yale) but their GPA or SAT didn’t get them there. While they must have shown high academic achievement in HS in order to survive in USC’s curriculum, and they need to show the self-discipline to make it through a rigorous college, at the merit award level, aspects of a student’s demonstrated achievements outside of class, drive, potential and vision come into play. </p>
<p>To answer you questions directly, very few of the SCA students (perhaps 20?ish? total) will be invited to interview for Trustee or Presidential. About 240 will be accepted to SCA. About 4800 or so will apply.</p>
<p>Cadillac,
Scholarship monies are in place before the students are interviewed. It just appeared to me some students may not realize how much time, effort and devotion goes into this entire process of fundraising, selecting and awarding large scholarships to hundreds of students who come from all over the country. </p>
<pre><code>In addition to the Trustee, Presidential and Dean’s Scholarships early applicants MAY qualify for Scions, alumnae, Jewish Leadership, USC Associates, Town & Gown, local alumni, Half-Century, Black American, Asian American and Mexican American awards. Admitted students who qualify for these will be notified in the next few weeks.
</code></pre>
<p>Hi, whitecadillac! madbean already answered your question far better than I could have (but I didn’t want you to think I was ignoring you). Good luck!</p>
<p>It must be pointed out however, that some of the other USC scholarships require a separate application…at least the Alumna as far as I know since my daughter filled it out and was chosen to interview through the local chapter back in 2008. I think the same applies to the Scions and Town & Gown.
It’s well worth looking into it. There is an application somewhere online (I can’t remember where)…just requires a short essay and a list of stats/ECs/awards etc. and is submitted online. I don’t remember what the deadlines were but I do remember that my D had an interview in late March for the Alumna.</p>
<p>thanks for the replies, guys! i guess i will look into the almunae ones and stuff. i’m just pretty bummed cuz you say:</p>
<p>“As you know, SCA accepts a mere 4% of applicants. That’s crazy!! Anyone accepted to SCA has beat tremendous odds (harder to get accepted, frankly, than to Harvard or Yale) but their GPA or SAT didn’t get them there. While they must have shown high academic achievement in HS in order to survive in USC’s curriculum, and they need to show the self-discipline to make it through a rigorous college, at the merit award level, aspects of a student’s demonstrated achievements outside of class, drive, potential and vision come into play.”</p>
<p>and i have the stats and grades to get a scholarship for the usc curriculum part alone (based on who has gotten them so far), and i just really thought that sca’s screenwriting program would like my portfolio…i put a lot of time and thought into it (and i know many do, but i also know of ppl who just slapped it together), im reallllly passionate about my work, have being doing it for the past six years now, and have a huge body of writing to prove it, even my yale interviewer said i’ve written more than most people have in their entire lives, and my recs were really good…so i thought i would have a shot. but now im just hoping they at least like it enough to admit me and im getting pretty scared! 
cuz i feel like…if it wasn’t good enough for a scholarship with my grades/scores in the scholarship range as well…i dunno. but you do say that only about 20 ppl from sca are interviewed, so i guess it makes me feel a little better about my chances for acceptance at least. :-/</p>
<p>oh and thanks for the good luck wishes, alamemom!</p>
<p>Students like you are so wonderfully accomplished, you deserve a lot of credit, praise, and rewards in the form of college admissions. And they will come! You’ve done everything in your power and now it’s time to step back and see where fate (or higher power) takes you. Everything does happen for a reason, so enjoy the roller-coaster ride of life. After all–this sort of anguish and emotion is just the sort of thing you need to spur your writing, right?</p>
<p>The part none of us can know is exactly what the adcoms and college administrators are looking for this year. Perhaps they have the goal of enrolling many diverse voices, so they may prioritize an American Eskimo writer with a great portfolio. Who can say? Each college will try to balance their class, so one’s portfolio is looked at in context with others. It’s a lot like making it in Hollywood. You should have talent and drive and… good luck, too.</p>
<p>Don’t get down. Just wait for all the good news that will soon be arriving. Best of luck.</p>
<p>thanks so much, madbean!! 
i don’t believe everything happens for a reason, but i do believe one can always make the best out of what happens. and that’s certainly what i plan to do, but i’ll still hope very strongly for at least an acceptance from sca!</p>