Ohh, you are right. I forgot about that. I will correct my previous post.
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You have until 5/31 to specify USC as your first choice to be eligible for the USC Presidential Scholarship. However, I would recommend that you do this by mid-April at the latest if you want to live in McCarthy. The USC housing lottery takes place in early May and you must be designated as a Presidential Scholar before the lottery to be eligible for McCarthy. It takes about 1-2 weeks after you specify USC as your first choice for NMSC to notify USC and then for USC to grant you the scholarship.
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Thank you! We hadnt even thought USC might be an option somehow so i am scrambling to figure this all out!
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Yes you do. You have until May 31. However, you will not see the Presidential scholarship show up until approximately two weeks after you notify NMSC.
When will National Merit notify the University of my first choice selection?
Updated 02/05/2024 08:45 AM
Beginning in March, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation sends the Financial Aid Office a roster of all finalists who have selected USC as their first choice school. This roster is updated every two weeks.
If you have been admitted to USC and designate USC as your first choice school, please allow two weeks for your scholarship to be reflected in your financial aid summary.
ETA: Are you aware that there is a thread for Class of 2024 National Merit in the financial aid section of CC? Class of 2024 National Merit Discussion
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My rejection letter from USC said this at the end, but I’m confused if everyone got this in their letter as an explanation about transferring in general, or if it means I was offered the Trojan Transfer Program option…Does anyone know?
“If you decide that you still wish to explore a path to USC, consider applying for admission as a transfer student. Students may apply to transfer to USC after at least one year of strong academic work elsewhere. If you are interested, simply complete this brief form and I will e-mail you more information about (1) our expectations of transfer applicants, and (2) details about Trojan Transfer Information Sessions later this summer that will help you plan your course of study. Although our transfer process is highly competitive and there are no guarantees of admission, you could transfer to USC as soon as your sophomore year.”
Daughter was thankfully accepted into USC. We were happily surprised (especially since she had a string of waitlists UCLA, UCSD, BC, WashU, etc.). We are definitely considering USC and its $95,000+ price tag (this is a big shift considering she was considering instate UCI and SLO). However, are there any possibilities of applying for or getting any type of merit scholarships? She is not a NMF or NMSF.
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Based on my knowledge, true TTP is only when the letter explicitly states “given your ties to the trojan family, . . .”
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Right there with you. We put together my daughter’s list thinking her hard work would pay off in these selective schools.
4.0 UW/4.3 W, 6APs (5s on all), 9 honors courses, Awesome ECs w/tons of leadership & community service, regional awards for service & talent, top 100 nationally ranked public school - yet rejected from all of her top choices. This one really hurt.
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D24 Rejected
Human Biology
California Resident (Inland Empire)
Small HS
#23 out of about 100 kids
3.97 UW
4.29 W
Did not submit test scores
7 APs (including 4 as a senior)
Non AP honors classes: 6
Varsity tennis x 4 (MVP x2; Captain x 1)
Varsity dance x 3 (competed at national level x 2; team ranked 14 in 2023, and 16 in 2024)
150 volunteer hours (school and community)
HS Ambassador Program
HS Theater
National Honor Society x 2
California Scholarship Foundation x 3
USC Legacy: sort of (paternal great grandfather, paternal great grandmother, paternal great great grandmother)
Acceptances: San Diego State (kinesiology, w/honors college), Santa Clara University (public health w/merit), Long Beach State (kinesiology), Loyola Marymount (health and human services w/merit), University of San Diego (biology?), and University of Utah (kinesiology).
Rejections: UCLA (public health)
Waiting : Cal Poly SLO (kinesiology), and Cal Berkeley (public health)
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I am so sorry. When you do everything right and still don’t get the desired results, it really hurts. The college admissions process, the last 10 years or so, has gotten really out-of-hand. Unfortunately, kids the last few years are applying at the peak of admissions madness. In ten years or so, as the college-aged population declines, the competition will return to normal.
But, for now, it is what it is. The combination of the common application, test optional and (at USC) NMF presidential scholarships have made the competition brutal. Your daughter is, clearly, brilliant and I truly believe everything works out in the end. She will find her way. Fight On!
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Wait, are you saying that every applicant who was denied admission had the following language included in the rejection letter?
“all students not offered admission will be given the opportunity to sign up for a Trojan Transfer Information Session during the summer.”
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Could anyone speak to the differences between USC (Viterbi Mech Eng) versus Harvey Mudd (Engineering department)? Differences in opportunities, student experiences in STEM internships, career outcomes, etc.
Congrats to your daughter for being accepted. It is my understanding that USC distributes all merit to EA students. Even among those accepted EA, only a percentage of those students were offered merit. It is a big price tag without merit or financial aid. My D24 was accepted EA without merit. We are still waiting to hear about whether she will be awarded a Tuition Exchange scholarship. But this is only for students who have parents who work at universities that are part of that network (it is also highly competitive and hard to get). Good luck with the decision making!
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S24 is NMF, so he will have the Presidential Scholarship and we really want him to live in McCarthy. Does it fill up quickly or is there generally space available for students who are eligible?
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All Trustee/Presidential Scholars are pretty much guaranteed a spot in McCarthy. Some Deans Scholars also get spots as well. The order of preference as far as a spot in McCarthy goes (1) Trustees, (2) Presidentials, then (3) Deans. Within each category, applicants are ordered by when they get their housing application submitted.
Note that EA admits already got their housing application submitted last month. It’s important that you submit your housing application ASAP once the housing app opens for RD admits (probably in a week or so). That will give your student the best chance at getting one of their top room configuration choices.
D22 was a NMF Presidential RD admit. We got her housing app in as soon as the application portal opened (for us it was exactly one week after she got her decision). She was able to get her first choice (single in McCarthy) and it was a beautiful room which she absolutely loved!
Good luck!!!
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Thank you so much! This is very helpful!
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You’re welcome! Note that the USC housing app portal opens before the SIR deadline. Submitting a USC housing app costs something like $55 (non-refundable even if you later choose not to attend USC). For us it was well worth the $55 to save D22’s spot in the USC housing queue even if she wasn’t 100% sure at the time that she would attend USC.
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Thank you for the kind words. My head knows that this is just the reality but it still hurts my heart to see this great kid get rejected repeatedly. But she really does love the school she’s admitted to (UW-Madison) and will be really happy going there. So it’s OK and I don’t think it really is bothering her as much as it is me!
Congrats to everyone who did get in!
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My daughter was rejected (BCA) as well. Test Optional. 4.49 WGPA
She committed to Chapman University - TV/Film Production Major 
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i think USC is my top choice now (im between USC and Michigan) but i have no way of getting to either campus. any suggestions for virtual tours or reasons to pick either one? thank you!