@CindyLeuWho ^^^ Yes… but that verification process in prior years was done via the FAFSA retrieval online tool that connects automatically to the IRS and then has them verify into your FAFSA report the IRS filings details. It had numerous glitches last year according to FA though. We were one of the families affected… leading to a delay in disbursements. This is the first year, as best I can tell, where USC engaged Veri-Tax to verify IRS filings for them instead. It certainly was never requested by FA in the last 6 years for our family. I never even heard of Veri-Tax prior to FA emailing us in January 2020 the following:
WHY WE ARE WRITING YOU: We know that submitting information for financial aid has been time-consuming in the past, which is why we’ve listened to your feedback and are improving our process for collecting your tax information. You will soon receive an email from Veri-Tax, a company that is going to help us obtain your tax data directly from the IRS. (Please note that you might receive more than one request, one for your information and one for your parents’ information.)
Sincerely,
Financial Aid Office
University of Southern California
I was wondering if anyone has had the potential audit signature form disappear? Mine is still there, but who knows if that is a potential sign of acceptance or not for regular decision this year
Personally I prefer semester over quarter system.
Also smaller community may suit kids from a smaller size high school, though USC gives impression of more “White/Asian” as well as “wealthier” while UCLA is more “friendly”.
Being picky, UCLA dorms are on a hill while USC neighborhood is so-so.
Tuition is about 10k difference per year for OOS and may be a less deciding factor for some. In-state is another ball game.
@eugenie554
They have never been released at the same time. Scholarship decisions should be out anytime…having said that, in the past they have been sent a week before regular decisions and two and three years ago, the day before them. Oddly and out of sorts, last year they came out 2-3 days after portals updated - that was whacky! I would think they would want this special group of students to hear ahead of regular decisions and spread out the good news. It also helps students start bonding with USC, knowing the financial aspect is covered (if it is) ahead of Ivy or other competitive elite universities. I certainly hope they don’t wait till after the 26th, that is way too late and rude imo!
So watch for it (try not to obsess and when portals update, it will be posted on here I’m sure) over the next few days. If they do it after reg, that would blow. Best of luck in your results and decision!
@WWWard what about things like Dean’s scholarships (is that the quarter tuition one?) or departmental scholarships? These would be students who had not heard of admittance in January as I understand it and didn’t get invited to interview for the bigger scholarships. Would those come with the notices of being admitted?
@CAtransplant last year my son received an email about a day or two after receiving his acceptance package that he was awarded the deans scholarship so it was not in his acceptance letter or in the original portal update. Of course the notification of a deans scholarship could be different this year.
Let me try to explain the veritax question, if I may. No, I do not have inside info, but I just want to suggest a pattern.
Here is what I see: The text in the request for veritax is saying (according to one of the posters): “… You will soon receive an email from Veri-Tax, a company that is going to help us obtain your tax data directly from the IRS…”
So, my possible explanation of the “veritax check” pattern is as follows. The people who DID, while filing FAFSA, use the automated retrieval tool, already are in the state of “tax info was obtained directly from IRS”. The people who did file FAFSA, but decided to type their information, without allowing the automated retrieval tool to do its job - these people are now getting the veri-tax requests.
Separately, as a data scientist and a cybersecurity scientist, let me tell you that connecting financial aid office operations to admission operations is so much trouble, especially if you promised to have “need blind admissions” - that no sane school would take upon this task. It is investment of money, plain and simple. Why would you do it, as a school? Everything I know about data manipulation tells me that it is simpler to just do one and the same procedure (done automatically mostly, or completely!!!) to all people who applied for FA, than to filter, mix and match.
She’s saying it’s nothing, and that it would violate the “need blind” appearance of USC’s FA office by only sending a request to people who were going to be admitted. To do so would indicate coordination between financial aid and admissions.
Actually, we entered the info in to the FAFSA using the automated retrieval tool via the IRS. But, FA still sent us the VeriTax request. So… that’s not the reason. Also, this year, unlike the previous 6 years, they did not ask us to upload signed copies of the tax returns. They have decided to use VeriTax instead of that process of uploaded tax returns plus FAFSA apparently. This appears to be new and an additional cost to USC vs the older methodology. Whether that translates into any form of hint or not remains unclear. It simply depends on whether new applicants to USC who also applied for FA are all being asked to submit tax forms using VeriTax or not. But it had nothing to do with the automated retrieval tool being used within FAFSA or not. The email sent by FA implied a change for all current students receiving FA. In just one week, we will know for sure if this change meant anything in terms of potential hint or not.
I don’t think it would violate the “need blind.” I think people are worried because those who are asked to complete it are already placed into the accepted pile and thus they want to start FA procedures for accepted students to make it easier and cleaner later on.
I hope its nothing, but my family and I self inputted (typed) our FASFA and CSF information. Maybe those who received it had discrepancies between both FA documents?
ALSO, CA just announced that ALL unnecessary workers will have to work from home starting tomorrow, and USC closed their admissions office (the only way to contact them is to email them with you USC ID) so the best we can do is wait.
@CAtransplant Hopefully they have a blitz of Deans to send, as mentioned above, just after the results are posted. For other departmental scholarships, you may get an email, but sometimes they just show up in your FA section of portal ahead of a notification.
FA info is not sent with acceptance, it posts 3-7 days after porta update, sometimes longer if they are still waiting on info. Inevitably, some people find out they got accepted (yay!) but then find out they don’t get the aid they need to attend.
Governor ordered “safe at home” for California…I don’t think a college admissions office is considered “essential”…hoping it doesn’t delay notifications.
Decision were already made, they have all been working from home for awhile now. USC’s response to virus was actually impressive. They were on it early. At least they didn’t force people out of housing with no notice like some schools did, and allowed those who needed it to stay. .
I’m wondering because I got the email March 14 at 3 am and maybe they began working on a FA package if I got accepted (since you said decisions are made) I am praying that is the case because USC is so amazing. I don’t want to jinx anything however and am hoping for the best
