Daughter accepted to Marshall/Leventhal Accounting. So happy for her. Best of luck to all, this process isn’t easy and there are so many ups and downs, but it will work out for everyone.
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Of course! Your kids are amazingly accomplished and will land somewhere great. And, yes, CS is crazy everywhere and yield protection is a thing. I’ve been through this process 4 times and last year with my youngest was, by far, the most stressful.
When my eldest applied to universities 14 years ago, he only applied to 4 schools. We were blissfully unaware that we had to worry about anything. Acceptances came in the mail with no knowledge as to when that would be. When they arrived, it was a pleasant surprise when they did. I really wish we could go back to that.
I felt bad for my youngest because it felt like he was trying to live up to his siblings’ college admissions experiences which was unfair because the circumstances were different.
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Thank you
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I initially thought the same as you but figured he meant not easy ones but rather harder APs like Calc AB, Physics 1/2, etc.
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Thank you for the kind words. He was denied in Stanford EA last month, so not a great start to the process, but hoping for good news from other schools in late March/early April. And we are not giving up on USC! 
Hope you’re right that he may have been deferred because of NMSF/potential NMF.
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Your son sounds like he has his ■■■■ together! I love how authentic and real he was in his responses. The Catholic school building response made me laugh out loud, so I’m sure an admissions counselor had the same reaction :-). Good for him! Well deserved and glad he is enjoying his time at USC! My daughter is applying for Fall 2025. We moved from L.A. in 2020 and she misses it.
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“I felt bad for my youngest”… exactly! I feel bad for the twins too. They try so hard to be like their older brother, who EDed into Penn’s M&T program, so there is not much college application experience he can share with the twins.
I kept telling my twins the exact same thing you just said, and that college is just a step in their, hopefully, long, productive and happy lives. And they should not be discouraged by any college rejection, it’s just not the best match.
Thank you for sharing your experience!
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Early admits can sign up for housing in February. They should receive information about housing this week. Last year the email it was sent around Jan 25.
My student was admitted early in 2020. I put down a housing deposit on February 3, interviews were in mid February, and scholarships were awarded at the end of March.
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NMF are offered Trustee scholarships every year. For many top students, a half tuition scholarship is not enough to lure them. As an example, for CA residents, four years with a half tuition scholarship will still cost $75K more than attending a UC.
Well, I think your twins are lucky that they are experiencing this together. If just one kid had to follow his other brother, he could feel the pressure to live up to him. Since you have two going through it at the same time, they won’t have a sense of “is it just me?” It should be easier for them to see it is a different climate and there is nothing wrong with them.
I should clarify, USC was my youngest son’s dream school and he did get in RD, so all is well that ends well for him. But, in the time between EA decisions and RD, he went through quite the crisis in confidence because it seemed so much easier for his siblings. He had a very similar resume` to his closest brother, who got into UChicago early action and was invited to interview for the Trustee Scholarship at USC. But that was eight years earlier. Youngest son got deferred from both USC and UChicago and ultimately rejected from UChicago. The rejection from UChicago came a week before USC’s RD, so he was thoroughly demoralized by that point.
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My daughter has almost identical stats. She was deferred at Dornslife (Accounting/Mathematics). For USC, NMSF can be a double edged sword. Wonderful accomplishment, but highly competitive schools generally don’t offer NM scholarships. With USC being the rare top school that participates, they draw more NMSF interest than they can accept.
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Yes, I am aware it happens. My 3rd child was a NMF who was invited to interview for USC’s Trustee Scholarship. I, nonetheless ,believe lots of NMF applicants are deferred because the NMF Presidential Scholarship will be offered regardless.
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According to Viterbi website
If you’re admitted to one of our engineering programs, you are admitted to all of them.** No major is easier or more difficult to get into than any other, and none of the programs are impacted. Also, Viterbi has essentially the same admission rate as USC, so applying as an engineer gives you no disadvantage.
National Merit Finalists who are accepted in March will still receive a Presidential scholarship.
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Is there any sense of how many people withdraw after being deferred? Just trying to read the tea leaves for that last shot :).
I always think school is our fate . My child got in but we move on next . Since we are not satisfied with USC major, mistakenly chose. And we applied all top 20 schools . Who knows ? We were sad when my son was rejected Stanford. Also we didn’t experience since my daughter got in ED like you. Move on.
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duplicate
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With all due respect, that is simply political speak.
What do they consider “essentially the same?” USC’s acceptance rate was 10% for 2023. Viterbi’s acceptance rate for 2023 was less than 8%:
USC Viterbi | School of Engineering
State of the School 2023: Exponential Pace, Inflection Points, and Venn…
In his annual address, Dean Yannis C. Yortsos highlighted major new initiatives, ranging from the $1 billion Frontiers of Computing to the Viterbi-led Water Reuse Consortium
Est. reading time: 10 minutes
With this year’s acceptance rate less than 8%, and with more than 40% of those admitted having earned a perfect 4.0 GPA
According to Crimson, the CS major had a 7.5% acceptance rate, while engineering was 10%, communications 13% and business administration of 9%:
USC Admission Statistics: Understanding the Numbers - Crimson Education US
## Top Majors at USC
Here are some of the top majors at the University of Southern California (USC), along with admission statistics for each major:
1. Business Administration: USC’s business administration program is highly competitive, with an acceptance rate of around 9%. The median SAT score for admitted students was 1520, and the median ACT score was 34.
2. Computer Science: USC’s computer science program is also very popular, with an acceptance rate of around 7.5%. The median SAT score for admitted students was 1540, and the median ACT score was 35.
3. Communications: USC’s communications program is another popular major, with an acceptance rate of around 13%. The median SAT score for admitted students was 1480, and the median ACT score was 34.
4. Engineering: USC’s engineering program is highly regarded, with an acceptance rate of around 10%. The median SAT score for admitted students was 1530, and the median ACT score was 34.
No matter what the “party line” is, it is obvious that intended major does make a big difference in acceptance rate.
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Thank you for sharing this story and your encouragement here, generally. My youngest, the one deferred to USC yesterday, has a similar resume to his 22 brother. In fact, his stats are slightly better and his essays are better too. And his brother got into every T25 he applied to except Brown whereas this is my 24’s second deferral. He is absolutely having a crisis of confidence right now. Last night was very rough after it really sunk in. I know he will be fine (he is at a robotics competition today, thank goodness since it is a good distraction), but, man, these amazing kids work so hard and are so accomplished…
I agree with you about NMFs and morel likely to be deferred. The more I research it, I think it is a negative for USC admissions. I have read somewhere that private college counselors recommend not mentioning it on USC EA apps! Since a NMF is more likely to stick out the deferral because of the scholarship, I feel the odds get even worse for RD.
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DS24 accepted!
Biological Sciences
4.0/4.78, 1530, Rank 1
14 AP classes, 5’s in Bio, Chem, Calc, CS
6 dual enrollment including Calc-based Physics 1&2 last summer
Varsity sport
In-state large public HS, SoCal
Good essay plus the “why USC” was well researched and unique, probably made the difference.
Was expecting deferral so incredibly happy. Will need to see merit and waiting on UCLA, UCSD, UCB, Duke, Vanderbilt.
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