<p>This is just a guess, but in some cases I think the “bumping” (up or down) may have more to do with how many candidates show up for the interviews. Some of those invited may have already accepted ED or EA offers from their first-choice schools (these scholarship candidates are among those being accepted at the most selective schools in the nation) and will decline the invitation.</p>
<p>Each school (CLAS, Marshall, Viterbi, etc…) has a set number of Trustee and Presidential scholarships they can offer, and they have to invite more than that number because some will not attend the interview. After the interviews there will be some the panel decides they simply must bump up because of the interview, and there may be some they must bump down because they find they have too many candidates.</p>
<p>I am basing this GUESS on the reports of some of the candidates bumped down, who nearly all said they felt their interviews went very well.</p>
<p>raddad, I am so glad your son is having such a great experience at USC! I always worry that the kids who are bumped down are so disappointed by that - even though they have still been awarded an amazing 1/4 tuition scholarship and admitted early as USC favorite applicants - that they get a bad feeling about the prospect of attending USC.</p>
<p>Remember, no matter what the scholarship results - you kids are the cream of the crop and USC wants you to attend!</p>