Yes.
Hello! I was wondering if anyone is going to appeal their application
Yes. Many. Here is that thread…
Thanks, will do.
@jaxxyg You’re welcome. Good luck.
So I got into USC and I designated them as my first choice with NMSC last week (I’m a finalist). I just got my financial aid info today, but it doesn’t include the National Merit Scholarship. Am I guaranteed to get the scholarship, and if I am, when will I hear something??? I am big stressed bc USC is my dream school, but there’s no way I can afford it without this scholarship :(((
@bigjojosiwa Yes, it just shows up in FA portal later, which is unnerving. Call admissions (you will hold for awhile), but have them confirm, you need to hear it from them and they should be able to give you date it will show up by. I get you can’t commit till you know it will be there for sure. (It will be.) Be sure to apply for housing when it opens even if you haven’t committed to get your place in the queue. You can change specifics later, just submit that app best you can for now to get get your time stamp.
I got into USC last Thursday. Do they give out merit scholarships still? How do I check if I got a scholarship? Sorry, I don’t quite understand how this works.
@googlimoogli You would have gotten in during January if you were under consideration for merit scholarships. It is theoretically possible that a small one could show up in your FA offering, if you applied for such. Otherwise, they would have emailed you to let you know. But realistically, the odds are very low at this stage.
@WWWard can i still fill out the FAFSA?
@bigjojosiwa - my daughter is in the same boat you’re in. It isn’t in her portal, however she did get an email confirming her status as a Presidential scholar w/ half tuition. She did not interview in January, so it can only be for NMF. Can you check your email again? Or go go back and make sure that you have USC listed as your #1 choice. Just thinking out loud. She got the confirmation email last Friday. Good luck!
@googlimoogli Yes… potentially. It could just take awhile to see it finalized and get the offer. You would also need to file a CSS Profile, naming USC for both as a potential school. To be sure, you may want to ask them though… (213) 740-4444
@CADREAMIN Hi! I have a couple questions about McCarthy Honors housing and hope you could give us some opinions.
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Do you know if most eligible students are able to get a spot at McCarthy? USC website says they have over 500 spaces available but I thought there are more than 500 students that would have gotten scholarships? DS is eligible to apply for McCarthy housing since he is a NMF and gets the 1/2 ride. I believe his priority is lower than the other scholars, right? He really likes the suite style set up and is not worried about McCarthy dorms not being as social (he is a bit of an introvert but still have many friends).
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If he really would like to have a chance to get a spot at McCarthy, should he put down different configuration rooms from McCarthy for all the 5 spots, or should he just put perhaps 2 for McCarthy and put Fluor and Parkside for the other 3 to make sure he has a chance to at least get a suite somewhere?
A bit of background information: DS has turned in an application for USC Disability Service since he has a medical condition that needs accommodation on housing, and the suite style room with the more private bathroom works well for his condition. He is happy to be in any suite style room due to his condition, but of course it would be great if he is able to get a spot at McCarthy. His doctor is working on the disability form for him.
Thank you for all the great advice you have given. I have enjoyed reading all the posts and have learned so much from you. This acceptance came as a nice, big surprise as DS thought the chance of getting in is low due to such fierce competition. He is very happy and proud to be a Trojan!
@Luvtoeat123 congrats to your son! I just asked my daughter what she would recommend. She lived in McCarthy and now is a student ambassador in the admissions center. She says chances are good that he will get McCarthy but of course it’s not guaranteed. She suggested putting three McCarthy choices then one Fluor and one Parkside.
would like to ask about working on campus as a freshman… i’m an international student so i do not have work study, can i still get some kind of job?
@bibiabiyeye It is very likely. There seem to always be a # of openings for student workers. Plus, there are other types of openings at the USC Village.
@Luvtoeat123
I don’t think he will hava any problem. it’s a numbers thing - remember, not everyone accepts the scholarship and attends USC, plus plenty of the ones that do choose to live elsewhere on campus. The disability form may help, and there are other private bathroom situations in other buildings that could work too, so I don’t think you have anything to worry about.
Does asking for more documents generally correlate to more or less aid? I keep getting additional document requests from USC, and I’m worried that it will diminish the aid I receive.
@Cjhastings322 I don’t think that more requests will translate into less aid. I would assume that you will get what their calculation says you will, regardless of the number of documents that they request. I spoke with the FA office yesterday about some of the document requests that I have received, and they said that they are having to ask for more things because they have decided to stop working with Veritax. I guess Veritax hasn’t been able to provide the service levels that USC needs, due to the COVID-19 problems causing delays. Hopefully that helps. I would try not to read too much into the requests other than the fact that USC is now having to collect documents that they had been planning on relying on Veritax to handle.
Hi @Luvtoeat123. Congrats on your son’s Admissions and NMF Presidential Scholarship. I wanted to offer some info on how accommodations interface with housing since there is not a whole lot of information available on this.
Once your assigned counselor from Disability Services & Programs (DSP) receives your request and doctor’s letter for accommodations, it will go to an Accommodations Committee that will approving your son’s accommodations. (You might as well have the doctor address if he will need any academic accommodations in the same letter in addition to the housing accommodations.)
Once approved, you then need to proactively contact Housing about your son’s requested accommodations. I expected the process to be more automatic or structured, but truth is, you need to stay on top of it. It’s odd that the process is not really there for new students (who have no idea about what the process is for Housing or Accommodations), esp. given the short timeline for the Housing application post-admission and assignment timeline. It should probably work better, but staff in each unit are at least very nice when contacted. The StarRez portal is also, shall we say, challenged, with many reporting not receiving usernames/passwords prior to the start of applications.
Luckily for us, as February admits, S19 got his first choice by time-stamp (which was not in the Honors housing, but in freshman quad), so it did not matter that his housing accommodations were not approved until August, after the fact. However in your case, I think more proactive-ness might be in order. Do you have contact emails/phone numbers for DSP and Housing? Has your DSP counselor been assigned or is this your first contact with them about housing? The important thing is to get your housing application in as soon as apps for RD admits open at 9am PST on Monday, 4/6. Have you received your login and password yet for that?
Note for second-year housing, that the same advice about being proactive applies. Housing does not automatically contact you about accommodations to their process, even after you’ve been approved. Given all these gaps, your student should check back in October/November about the Reassignment process for sophomore housing.
Good luck, and congratulations again!