I disagree. They have changed the TTP program this year and from a letter sent from Kirk Brennan - and I quote:
Trojan Transfer planning
“We hear all sorts of crazy rumors about our Trojan Transfer Information Sessions so I wanted share more about this. Many students apply to transfer a year or two after they are turned down, and we have long promoted the idea with legacy students we turn away. The Supreme Court decisions have also prompted us to change course on similar pathways programs for underrepresented students. This year, all students not offered admission will be given the opportunity to sign up for a Trojan Transfer Information Session during the summer. These conversations assist students in course planning so they become strong transfer candidates in the future. They are informational, and although participation is not a guarantee of future admission, we find that students who engage with us early in their planning tend to be more successful in gaining admission. We are happy to share with any student the information necessary to prepare to [transfer to USC]”
They are NOT inviting just certain students for the TTP assistance. This was how they did a few years ago (mostly promoting it for legacy, as Kirk says above), and it has changed over the years. They have finally made a statement.
I am happy to help. You are looking at Viterbi as well, right?
I have a graduating senior who is in Viterbi. They were accepted into Berkeley and UCLA and chose USC. There are no wrong choices, but I’m happy to share some of the factors that my student considered when comparing the schools.
Thank you for that information. I would love to know more about how your student decided on USC over the UCs. I think part of the challenge is that I really don’t understand how different a private school experience will be since both me and my husband went to large publics. I went to Cal and was totally lost back in the day! My sense is there is a lot that USC can offer over UCs. Viterbi has a very niche astronautical program that my son was very excited about…then when he was initially deferred (along with a few other disappointing decisions) he really felt down and more or less considered the deferral a rejection. Now I really want him to consider USC again!
Whew this is starting to feel pretty hopeless, feeling bad I encouraged my daughter to apply to some of these schools.
3.98 UW ACT 36 one sitting 6 APs so far all 5s, NMF
Excellent ECs including captain of speech and mock trial teams.
Another rejection. We have a few more left but I think she’s probably going to be rejected by every school except our local university. Fortunately I think she’ll be happy there. Hard to know what else a kid can do to get in. She didn’t excel at athletics which I’m sure hurts and didn’t do research or a ton of community service which I’m sure also really hurts her application.
I will take your generous offer to help. S24 is admitted to USC Spring admission. He is interested in taking a gap semester to do some backpack traveling.
How does it affect his housing option? He is a NMS, but the guaranteed McCarthy option will no longer be available to him. Is it right?
Scholarship: is he still going to have the NMF Presidential Scholarship? I also heard that some funding avenue (Execptional Funding) for Presidential Scholarship is ended. Would that affect the scholarship?
Graduation: if he takes a gap semester before Spring enrollment to Dornsife for economics, will the plan delay his graduation? Will he be able to graduate in 3.5 years without being overly restricted on course registration? If he takes four years to graduate in Spring 2029, how does it affect his plan to attend a law school post-graduate?
The Spring admission is a unique offer, but we need to do a lot of homework before deciding to come instead of going to UCLA.
Thanks!
Sending only some of your AP scores is kind of tricky (not as straightforward as SAT score choice). From the college board website:
“ * For scores to be withheld from the college, university, or scholarship program indicated online through My AP, the AP Program must receive your request by June 15 of the year you took the AP Exam.”
I understand how you feel. I attended Cal and my spouse is a Bruin.
One thing that stood out was how collaborative the culture is in Viterbi. My student liked the idea of having small classes in a small department, on a large campus with lots of opportunities. Although my student didn’t change majors, it is apparently very easy to do within Viterbi.
Advising is very different at USC than at the UCs. At USC, every semester, students are required to meet with their major advisor before signing up for classes. A consistent advisor: student relationship is something that is rare at UCs.
Engineering Plus. My student was able to take business classes, film classes, music classes and more. Research opportunities are available to freshmen if they are interested.
That’s just the academic side. Socially, it is really nice to have both football and basketball games adjacent to campus. Student football tickets cost, but all other sports are free for students. There are lots of concerts and events on campus.
Receiving a Presidential scholarship which is a big deal. If your son chooses, he can live in the McCarthy Honors College his first year and Illium Honors College his second year. Definitely visit on April 7 because that is the day that they are giving housing tours.
The negatives:
The neighborhood. Although Westwood has changed through the years, it is still nicer than the neighborhood around USC.
The cost. As I mentioned before, even at half tuition, it is still over twice the price of a UC.
That figure is correct and includes the NMF in RD. In the last 10+ years, I think I saw it go over 400 a little bit once or twice maybe…
A long time poster years ago did the math over several years, and implied it was about 200-250 in Jan results (EA now) and 100-150 in RD (meaning new NMFs admitted that weren’t in Jan). That fluctuates too of course, but gets to the 350-400 in the end.
Lots of questions. I’ll do my best to answer. @CADREAMIN knows more than I do.
Regarding the Presidential Scholarship, my understanding (based on what people have posted on CC) is that Spring admits receive the Presidential Scholarship. I would definitely confirm this with financial aid. Note, they are going to be bombarded with calls this month. Call first thing in the morning and have something else to do while you wait on hold for close to an hour. Once you get through, they are extremely helpful.
My understanding with McCarthy is that it is an option for spring admits if space is available.
Yes, USC is eliminating Exceptional Funding. In my opinion, 18 units/semester is a lot. I don’t think as many students used it for >18 units as students who used it for summer school. @CADREAMIN do you know?
Regarding graduation… I think it depends on major and how many AP/IB/DE classes he can use. My gut instinct is that, for Econ, he might be fine. I would have to do more research into his course schedule and where credits can be applied.
Many students take a gap year before applying to professional school. Many UC students take an extra quarter (ie. graduate after fall quarter) and apply to law school. Both USC’s fall semester and UC fall quarter end in mid December. You would need to talk to someone who knows more about law school admissions, but my guess is that finishing in December shouldn’t be a problem.
D22, who is a NMF Presidential Scholar (currently living in Ilium, lived in McCarthy freshman year) tells me you have to have lived in McCarthy freshman year to be eligible to live in Ilium sophomore year. So if you are a merit scholar who chose not to live in McCarthy freshman year or if you couldn’t get a spot in McCarthy then you will be unable to live in Ilium your sophomore year.
