<p>I think this process certainly leads to confusion, in part because USC is one of the very few private universities that give over 100 full tuition scholarships based on holistic evaluation. Some public universities who offer full-tuition or even full-ride base their decisions on pure numbers or NMF, but the way USC chooses finalists catches some parents/students off guard. I think that’s regrettable, since the intention (my belief here) is to encourage top candidates to apply and ultimately attend. The extra complication (like there needs to be more) is that finalists for these top scholarships must be notified of their candidacy at the end of January to have time to travel to USC for the interview. It makes no sense to invite someone for a scholarship interview if you don’t, at the same time, confirm they have been admitted. So…at a university that offers NO EA or ED, you have an earlier than regular deadline for scholarship hopefuls and for the lucky 1000 (3%) selected for interviews, you also get early notification of admission. In contrast, a school like WashU invites a few dozen finalists to campus to interview for their top scholarships, so it is less likely that so many students hear through the grapevine about fellow classmates up for the honor. And WashU does offer ED, so those who really want to get an early answer have that route.</p>
<p>But back to USC. In days of old, when there was not an internet or CC type of forum, perhaps these issues were a little less fraught with worry. Frankly, less people knew when a deadline whizzed by or not. Less were aware when a letter was delivered in DesMoines. </p>
<p>If I were proposing a change, I’d keep the earlier scholarship deadline since the various Schools/adcoms need time to evaluate their selections. But perhaps they could have a set time when scholarship info was posted online and everyone could log in if they wished and get their news. I’d also suggest that EVERY finalist (at this stage) be awarded a Dean’s Scholarship (1/4 tuition) and be invited to campus, if they choose, to proceed to the next round of interviews. It could be stated that (for example) 1000 students have been awarded Dean’s Scholarships, and after Explore interviews, up to 200 from that group will be offered Trustee/Mork/Stamps, and up to 500 will be offered Presidential. Perhaps this would allow all 1000 finalists to be excited for making it to the next round without setting some up for disappointment (some do get bumped down).</p>
<p>Jump in and point out the faults of that plan. I just hate to see perfectly reasonable, crazy smart kids and parents feel blindsided by what is a most generous program that benefits thousands of USC’s students.</p>