I think of the admitted class as a 3,000+ piece puzzle. Many pieces are very very similar, but there is one little tip on one little part that makes it fit. That tip could be achievements, goals, activities, stats, essays, traits like curiosity, risk taking, creativity, social consciousness. persistence, compassion and yes - demographics certainly play a role - they all combine for them to have the picture of the class they want when the puzzle is complete. Many kids not accepted to USC and other colleges are certainly good enough in every way to attend and succeed there, but there just aren’t enough spots, and/or someone else may have had that little “tip” over another applicant. Many of these may be totally out of the control of the applicant.
You’ll notice that there are a range of scores/gpa’s that have been scholarship invites/admitted, and yet, there are certainly students with similar (and higher) stats who do not. So what sense can you make from that? Well, like admissions themselves, the selection of candidates for the top scholarships is a holistic process (which is what everyone is trying to interpret). And in every case, the decision-makers and their criteria may be a little different since the invite list of finalists is made by major/School–not general admissions.
The Role of Major and School Applied To:
Each School at USC (and major within the school) seems to be allotted a certain number of Trustee/Presidential/Dean’s Scholarships to award. How does an applicant become a contender? Each major/School will value certain special qualities over others. While the entire student’s file is considered, and while objective criteria (gpa/scores) need to be excellent, the invitees will all offer something specific to each USC major. Since USC is basically using these awards to recruit extraordinary talent, accomplishments, leaders, self-starters, and seriously motivated high achievers, they have a history of admitting high-performance students and look for the X factor. Viterbi (engineering) may have dozens of 4.0 gpa/top AP scoring wonderfully accomplished students but spots are limited (15,500 apps for 410 spots) and even more limited is the number of invitations for full or half-tuition scholarships to grant. They may reward the student who has successfully launched a very creative app (CS), done extraordinary work outside of HS in their field (research w/professor), etc. Marshall School of Business will look for a different sort of leader–perhaps someone who has used social media to raise money for a cause, and we’d expect the talent-based majors to be most interested in students who have special achievements in their fields. No matter the major/School applied to–even undeclared–they will reward those who have gone beyond HS achievements. They are looking for innovators, thought leaders, contributors to society and those who have shown sustained, significant and successful dedication to their passions. This is not rocket science. They anticipate that such students will continue these roles at the university and they will add greatly to the community once at USC, and they do.
But so do many many other USC students, all of whom are leaders and/or go-getters and great students, too. It hurts when your fab student doesn’t get in or get a scholarship but it is not their fault or the fault of other students. It is completely normal to be really angry, frustrated and generally po’d over this brutal college process. But like all things to be solved–it is a complex puzzle and frankly, besides having the unknown “X factor” there is also a little luck needed in this selection process as in any.
