Anyone else having to choose between colleges having only seen and visited one? We have not been to USC or even to LA. However, my daughter is heavily leaning toward it. Admitted to Thornton and decision is between USC/Thornton and University of Miami/Frost. The music schools are comparable in her area but the academics are stronger at USC as is proximity to LA entertainment. But so hard to do without seeing! Full tuition scholarship at Miami and half tuition plus a little music money at USC. Over 4 years, the difference is about $100k of real money. Without seeing it! Yikes.
@Cjhastings322 & @TheatreDadDFW Are either of you still waiting on the FA offer? I uploaded docs last Monday that were requested that same day and I still haven’t received FA info. I called yesterday and was told that she would send a message to “the processor” to see what the hold up was and they would email my D if need anything else.
@Newmommy9999 So, does that mean you have seen UMiami? Are you in FL?
While they are both private, they are really different in terms of scope and depth. I concur that USC offers stronger academics and a better metro area for internships and future careers. Weather is also a huge difference. While many may think of them similarly in terms of climate, humidity makes a huge difference. We are in FL, and both of my dughters chose USC over UMiami. And their most consistent comment during each of their first year was the monumental differences in terms of weather… all due to the humidity or lack thereof in Cali. They each commented within 15 mins back here in FL just how much they miss the weather in L.A. And then they repeated it constantly. If moving to L.A. was feasible, I would myself 
But to me, the key differential is the doors that USC can potentially open and all the opportunities available to its students in L.A. --both while still at USC and thereafter. One of my daughter’s friends, for example, has been an intern at Capitol Records, while another works with the Grammy’s. Both are Thornton students. Miami offers some similar opportunities, but it just seems to be on a much smaller scale in terms of the music industry or the entertainment industires overall.
But that money dfferential is significant… making for a touch choice. Good luck with the decision…
@g8rgal93 We received ours yesterday morning. I called Friday afternoon and they told me it would be “before May 1st” and that is all they could commit to. Then it magically appeared on Monday morning before they even opened at 9am PST. I would think you should have it very soon after they mark your file complete.
Thank you! Yes, we visited UM for the Frost audition and did love the campus. It was in the winter though. We are from Texas. You make very good points.
@Newmommy9999 have you been in the Music Major forum? That is a great place to look for answers. We have lots of people with experience at both USC Thornton and UMiami Frost. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/2135909-class-of-2024-undergrad-class-of-2022-grad-the-tours-the-auditions-the-journey.html#latest
@Newmommy9999 the campus is an urban oasis, it is spectacularly beautiful campus. The area around it is big city urban grime, and I say that fondly and proudly…it’s what a city is…and students learn how to navigate a big city in their time there, a good skill to have going forward. So if looking for countryside and fields, USC isn’t it, but if looking for a crazy beautiful campus in the middle of a bustling city, close to everything Socal has to offer, here ya go! @WWWard likely has best perspective being he knows both well. Good luck with your decision.
I’m sure you have gone through all the videos, but here’s a couple:
USC Village - the newest piece of the USC campus (this is just a small part of campus)
https://news.usc.edu/126386/usc-village-makes-its-official-debut-today-take-an-all-new-video-tour-of-the-impressive-project/
@g8rgal93 Yes, I am still waiting on FA. Every time I submit something they just request more. Last doc I uploaded was on Friday morning, and they just processed it this morning. Right now it says “application in review”
@Cjhastings322 The doc I submitted last week Monday is showing as received as of today and the app is back in review. Although I did call FA yesterday and waited on hold for about an hour - so maybe that helped?? Hopefully, we’ll hear something soon.
@Cjhastings322 That’s where we’re at to. They kept requesting docs. Must have submitted the same tax return three times. :neutral: Hoping the financials come in soon.
@Cjhastings322 @VivienL D finally received FA offer this morning. Now decision time.
@g8rgal93 Hopefully my FA comes through later today. From what I’ve noticed though, it seems to only be updated early in the morning. Hope your daughter got generous aid.
Disappointed in my D’s aid offer, $8500/ year less than their net price calculator and $14,00/ year less than Notre Dame offer. Hope you have better luck. She is a NMF so we are waiting to see how that impacts her FA, loans, work, etc.
Anyone else receive the FA offer today? Curious, if you’re willing to share, if you are self-employed/indie contractor and how that affected the offer. You can DM me if you don’t want to share here. Good luck everyone!
For NMF, wondering how and when the half tuition scholarship is confirmed?
We know it takes time after having designated USC as first choice and making deposit after late March admission, but not sure where to periodically check for updates.
Student did not apply for financial aid, so wondering if the scholarship will eventually show up in USC’s FAST portal or some other place? Thanks for any shared experience.
I called the FA office last week and was told it usually takes about 7-10 business days for national merit to update them after we selected USC as first choice. I was told we will get an email once the FAST portal is updated with the scholarship. However I believe the National Merit Corporation is not operating as usual due to current situation, the updates might not happen til they are back to usual business. I called the NM’s number and the message said there is nobody answering the phone and you could email them if there is any urgent questions. If you have any update, please post and let us know as my DS is also waiting for this.
Question about housing: DS has submitted housing application on Mon 4/6. When he logged back into the housing portal, it says his application was submitted but housing contract has not been signed. But we do not see any housing contract shown on the portal. Is this something to be concerned about? He emailed housing but has not heard back. We might consider calling them if we don’t hear back this week. Please share if you have any experience with it. Thank you!
@Luvtoeat123 You do not actually sign at this stage. It occurs once they assign you to an actual building.
@Luvtoeat123 Hiya! We had the same experience. We ended up having to pay twice because the system did not let us move past the payment page to get to the next ‘dot’ and sign the contract. Your application is incomplete without it. I would sign back into the portal and see what page it takes you to. If your payment was received or registered by the system then it’ll move you on to another page to sign the agreement and set up the student profile, look for roommates etc. It was frustrating for us (six hours!) and we finally emailed housing for a refund which they began processing immediately. So no worries there if you end up having to submit payment again. Good luck!
@VivienL According to @WWWard, you do not sign the contract at this stage and it will occur when they assign the student to an actual buidling. It looks like my son’s application was completed and received, and payment was processed (only once!). He went through all the pages without difficulty and the only thing left is signing the contract. Looks like it should be fine 