One extra note about FA & USC if you may be expecting an overlap of kids there at any point… it did not adjust the FA per student as expected at all. Basically… from my older daughter’s junior year into this… her senior year… the expected family contribution did not go down at all. In fact, it went up slightly… while her sister’s FA was only slightly lower than what we had been used to paying for her older sister. So… at least for us - having two at USC simultaneously was almost double the overall cost… just slightly less. The expected big reduction per student did not occur. That may be the case at other universities, but it was also not the case in terms of the FA offered to my younger daughter from the other colleges that she got into - even though every college knew that we already had one at USC. So if this potentially applies to you… just beware. In our case, any expected reduction was only a myth… making this year a bit challenging.
@SCMHAALUM Maybe dumb question, but since you are on a waitlist that frankly, many didn’t know was a possibility at USC, did you ask if he could register for housing in the event he gets in, understanding you would lose the deposit if he doesn’t? It is another chance to tell them you are committed to attending simply by asking the question…idk, I am hoping you have connected with someone helpful at Thornton. Wish I knew somebody there, but that is a foreign land to me. Viterbi, Marshall, and Dornsife are my familiar territory, the performance schools, not so much. You may call housing too, and see if you get a nice person there (most are pretty sweet in housing) but you can get a moody one. Might ask them if they have ever seen that or what happens if he doesn’t get in until July or August. Would he have a shot at housing then. If nice person, get their name and write it down to keep track of them.
Part of living on campus as a freshman is meeting all the people you can and I would hate for you to miss out on that, but then again, if he gets in, who cares? We can all work together on getting him somewhere if housing fills up. But it changes so much over the summer I think you would be ok there no matter the timing.
Has anyone in NJ recieved their decision by mail yet? I haven’t…
I’m reading many posts with utmost sympathy. The costs for any private university are staggering and USC is no exception–it’s among the top. But, our family took a deep breath and leaned in for our S2. He did a lot to help with costs and I thought I’d mention his experience to give you ideas for other sources of $$.
Additional Merit Awards for Current Students:
Most of USC’s Schools/majors have named merit awards given to continuing students (soph - senior) that start the 2nd year. You can a google search on your USC School merit scholarships and can find a list and the req’s. For example, here’s the link to the SCA scholarships of current students (not-freshmen) https://cinema.usc.edu/scholarships/
Some of these awards need to be applied for; others are given at the discretion of the dept. S2 was extremely grateful to be awarded merits from both of his 2 majors. These are often based on gpa–so it’s good to speak with your student about the financial advantage of keeping top grades, or essays or other criteria/specialty. I’ll also mention a ton of good students don’t read every email they get from their department. And—they should. These awards have deadlines for application (usually early Spring semester) and if they miss reading about them and they snooze, they lose.
They can range from $3000 - $17,500/year. They do not stack on top of Financial Aid–so if your student is getting $4000/year Fin Aid grants (free $) and they later are awarded a $5000 merit award, USC will subtract the FA grant and your student will receive only $5000. 
I hate this. However, if their merit award is $15K, I wouldn’t complain.
Undergrad Research:
S2 also was able to get a paid research position from first semester freshman year. It was mind-boggling to me because he loved the area he was working and was paid a stipend of $5000/semester. For our family, this was yuge.
Academic/Research Prizes:
I’m not kidding, but I am smiling a bit. I was surprised when S2 won some undergrad prizes (so proud!!!) that–shock–came with $1000 stipends. My enterprising S was so shocked to win that first one that he entered and won several others. He would call me, laughing, and I would just say: REALLY? But you know, every bit helped and we never stopped marveling at how many opportunities were available at USC for the student on the hunt.
FA Recalculations:
If you qualify for any grant aid from USC, you can talk to the FA office about a 1-time additional grant to cover buying a computer (I think they add $2000) and there may be other adjustments (small) like that. I would also advise just about everyone to call and talk about ways to appeal their awards. Might not get any more, but then maybe you might. A student who lives far away, for instance, might get an upward adjustment for move-in travel. You don’t know until you ask.
Some of these ideas are drops in the bucket to the overall expense of going to a private university. Some of them are not a great help if your student gets FA and certain merit will not stack.
I’ll close by saying my S2 took out the subsidized student loans to the max ($24K) and (thank you Lord) had a fabulous job offer the fall of his senior year (thanks also, USC) and he paid back his own loans and felt he took some responsibility for his own way.
Wishing everyone well on this difficult journey.
Does anyone have recommendations for airlines with a good rewards program/student discount program? I live in Virginia and looking to save as much money on travel expenses for breaks.
@hannahmars18 My girls fly from FL to LAX… and sometimes to/from Richmond and D.C as well (darn long distance relationship lol). While we have used Delta, American, United and Southwest thus far, lately the best deals have been with Southwest (last deal was $162 each way FL to LAX)… especially with two bags getting to be checked for free too. Others charge $25 per checked bag. My oldest has already earned 4 one way trips with all her travel points as well… so the rewards have equaled around $640 worth at least so far. Just make sure that they have a Rewards Account for every airline. Some CC companies also offer rewards points, so you can buy with that CC and accumulate travel gift cards that way too. That’s been like an extra $300 so far. I have not seen or heard of student discounts. I mainly have saved by always buying flights in the range of 55-65 days before departure. Sometimes buying two one-ways… even using different airlines creates the best deal scenario too. You will quickly learn from experience. I tend to be stubborn… and that works out with the goal of saving money lol.
@WWWard That is a lot of help! Thank you so much!
@WWWard Thank you! Very helpful. Do apartments tend to be furnished or unfurnished?
Where in VA? My daughter is from Richmond. I drive her from Richmond to Dulles airport so she can get a direct flight back and forth. It’s about a five hour flight.
Can the people that were accepted into Thornton post their stats? I applied to transfer to Thornton and and am really curious how much emphasis is placed on GPA. I applied for the music industry major and currently attend an out-of-state four year.
@hannahmars18 You’re welcome
@Isoinfo All furnished around USC from what I’ve seen.
None of ours were furnished just to throw in another perspective. 
Well Gateway yes, but when we moved to apartments in the neighborhood they were not. That may have been a good thing.
@markspencer22 hey Mark, I’m pretty sure there’s a wide range for Thornton. I got accepted into jazz studies with 4.0 UW, 4.4 W, and 35 ACT. However, I know two people from my school with unweighted GPAs below 3.5 and mediocre test scores who were also accepted into Thornton. That being said, one is an amazingly talented opera singer and the other is a major legacy.
@CADREAMIN Thank you so much for keeping me on the wait list thing. My son doesn’t live with me because he moved away to pursue his dance dream so it’s hard for me to communicate clearly with him. He did all the applications by himself and when I talked with him about your suggestions regarding housing, he realized that USC probably didn’t even review his academics at all because of his rare case. Most of the time dancers are not very strong in academics and do not apply for another major…he will call the admissions counselor and explain that tomorrow.
@jcwjnw99 I live in Northern Virginia - 25 minutes away from the Dulles airport!
Does Birnkrant get as loud as New/North?
@jcwjnw99 , thank you so much for your helpful post on ways to make the dining, housing and health plan more affordable/economical. Glad to read that your D is working, saving and has skin in the game to help pay for some of her expenses. I worked part time in college and my S will need to as well. It builds character, a resume, and helps pay for day to day local expenses as you mentioned. As far as sophomore year, I had read that Greek life could be very expensive, but it sounds like the housing/dining and all the dances and Spring break trip costs may actually be significantly less than the freshman housing/dining costs. I know @WWWard mentioned that his youngest daughter will pursue a sorority next year, so I look forward to hearing his take on it as well. Once again, great tips on the health care plan. Families who do have a budget to consider need to come together and learn ways to economize in ways to make the four year cost at USC more affordable.
@madbean, also thanks for the suggestions about other work study, research, and paid internships that may be available to students at USC who can supplement income, while also building their resume. Great ideas.
No, Birnkrant doesn’t get as loud as New/North. When you go to admitted students day, if the same as last year, you will get the chance to ask current students about USC. My daughter found it informative enough that she sat through two different ones.
Dorm questions were very popular. She got lucky and the students all seemed to answer the questions honestly. New/North big for students interested in Greek life. One Freshman, WM athlete, told the incoming students that New /North was extremely loud into the early morning hours and was really disgusting the morning after Thursday’s through Sundays.
Other helpful pointers about dorms that I remember; Birnkrant was honors dorm before village opened. Very social but no A/C. That’s where my daughter decided to stay and she has enjoyed Birnkrant. There are two Parkside’s; Arts & Humanities (I think) and International. Both have A/C. Stay away from Parkside International. It’s a nice dorm but as the name suggests it’s primarily International so there can be a language barrier, can self segregate. Students universally loved the village housing.
Hey all! I got accepted to SCA and I’m just really excited. I was wondering if you guys have received any merch packets because I heard people have been receiving t-shirts and other items. I need to make a small trip later this week and wanted to know if I need to anticipate any packages.
As to noise and dorms…None are going to be ideal so investing in a good pair of noise cancelling headphones is a must.