Good afternoon/evening to all the applicants and parents of applicants for the USC class of 2028. As we are one day away from EA decisions, I just wanted to share some words of encouragement from the perspective of a Mom who was in your shoes a year ago.
My son had been dreaming about going to USC since he was about 8 years old. I went to USC and 2/3 of his older siblings did, as well. Despite this, we were very nervous. I had trouble sleeping and could barely eat. (I can’t even imagine what was going on inside my son’s head and stomach.) I tried not to let him know I was nervous. About an hour or two before the EA decisions came out, my son was already despondent because we had heard that they had a record number of applicants and the acceptance rate for EA would be under 6%. I finally decided we just needed to get out of the house and go out to dinner. No one was allowed to have phones. It was an excruciating wait and we could barely eat. Eventually, I suggested my husband go get the car and that my son could check the results. (He had left his phone in the car.) When my husband pulled up, I could see my son bawling. I had never seen him so devastated over anything in the 18 years of his life. Looking back on it, I can still feel the pain. Obviously, he didn’t make the EA cut. I tried encouraging him that it wasn’t the end of the world and that he still had a shot at regular decision, but he reasoned that if he didn’t get in EA, he wasn’t likely to get in.
To add to our pain, I had to leave the very next morning to go be with my father, nearly 2000 miles away, as he entered hospice. I couldn’t be there to console my son during those raw days.
I also told him he had lots of other options, but he said USC was the only place he wanted to go. Nonetheless, we started focusing on his “Plan B” and we discovered lots of upsides to his “Plan B.” Now, “Plan B” is a Top 20 school, so we knew that was no sure thing either. So we also focused on some safety schools. The wait between EA and RD seemed so long and our son had many ups and downs in between. But by the time RD came around, he had gotten to the point that he was also really excited about Plan B school. As it turned out, RD for Plan B came out the day before USC’s RD. We were thrilled when he got into Plan B — so much so that it erased all worry and anxiety about USC. If he got into USC, great. If not, he was happy with Plan B. The next day, we found out he was accepted to USC and then we had a whole new problem – which school to choose! He had been so focused on USC for so long that we never dreamed that would be a problem! The other school actually had a better FA package. That and other factors made his decision tough, but he ultimately picked USC.
So, to all of you who are nervously awaiting tomorrow’s results:
Try to relax. Even if you don’t get in tomorrow, there are still some 4-5000 spots or so up for grabs in RD.
Even if you don’t get in RD, it is much easier to transfer in.
There are always other great options. Find great things about other schools. You might find yourself excited by other schools, too.
There is no shame in going to a “safety school.” You can never know for sure what goes into an admissions decision. You’ve done all you can and you have no control over what they decide. Your self-worth is not defined by any university. You took a chance applying to USC and, whether or not that works out, I am proud of you for trying.
Numbers are very similar to last year. Only a couple hundred difference in applications. They are accepting more EA this year than last year (2950 vs 2400) but less overall (7550 vs 8000)
They may end up accepting a little more than that though as they accepted about 200 more than they announced they would in Jan of last year.
Wow, legacymom1, that was intense and I feel for both you & son for having to take that rollercoaster . I’m so happy for him that it all worked out, as it always seems to do for each and every one of us. My daughter is a year out still, just starting, so i am along for the ride out of curiosity to see what we’ll be going through this time next year. Best wishes to everyone
I’m sure this has already been answered, but I submitted my FAFSA two days after soft launch, and it still is not saying it has been recieved. I know they may take a while to process so do you think thats the case? I’d assume USC hasn’t gotten very many then because I finished right when I got access to it. I also did include my ssn in everything and they have not requested any more documents so that should not be the issue.
FA takes a long time to process as does their acknowledge receipt of docs. Weeks, sometimes months. Totally normal. It is soooo early to be concerned with anything FA.
Yeah, it was intense. Ha ha! Life was much easier when my eldest applied. I was too naive to be nervous. And acceptances came via snail mail. I wish it were still that way. These decision days can be brutal .
We are done with questions re the FA email. No more speculating for something that could never be proved either way. 80,000 applicants and the number on here is statistically insignificant and that is an understatement. It’s all unsubstantiated opinion.
Please move on from this topic. If curiousity has the best of you, please read previous posts, this has turned into Groundhog Day here.
I am just answering the question with USC’s own words. I believe the OP was asking about the delay in showing FAFSA as received in FAST, not about USC’s processing of it and sending FA awards. (Feel free to correct me, OP!) The new FAFSA form is jacked and no university will be receiving them before February so USC, like every other school my kid applied to, is showing FAFSA isn’t received even though we submitted a couple weeks ago. The FAST quote explains that. This year is going to be quite different than previous years FA-wise, imo.
NP at all. I’m just trying to convey that even in a normal “not delayed” year, it takes them forever to get everything one uploaded and checks in people’s portal. And they will ask for the same doc 2-3 times. Just a heads up on the process. If people think this two weeks is from the delay - it’s really not. Some people turn in stuff the first day they can and it’s still not showing up in mid March. Just don’t want expectations set that USC FA is speedy cause they are not. Generous yes, speedy, no. If expectations are the light bulb will turn on in Feb, there’s gonna be a whole lot of the same questions on here.
But here’s hoping they do better for the first time ever!
Cautionary tale
My Ds scholarship didn’t post till August after they sent out full tiution bills in July. (And it was one of the big ones received in Jan not some outside thing.) Then we started getting $100 fines every two weeks for not paying cause they told us not to pay till it was adjusted for scholarship and they would waive the fees later. So D had to spend an afternoon at the FA office to get the 300 in fines off! lol it happened more than once!
I wasn’t worried that it would be corrected but it was a pain. Can also effect registration clearance for classes! Fun times.
. I’m so happy for him that it all worked out, as it always seems to do for each and every one of us. My daughter is a year out still, just starting, so i am along for the ride out of curiosity to see what we’ll be going through this time next year. Best wishes to everyone 
