USC Class of 2029 — Regular & Early Action Decisions

Most/75% did not get dropped to 6k, but sorry that you did. USC is not “mean” they are just competitive and other students received the Trustee and Pres.

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I actually like the change to NMF. Not many schools give half tuition for NMF and many don’t give a thing. Frankly, I thought USC was overly generous with this scholarship all these years since it is rewarded just for getting a test score. And that score was never even across the states, as they had different thresholds for what score got NMF. So that seemed unfair. Just my opinion, but I think dropping that is a good thing if something had to get cut.

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lolll how do you know, you know a lot of finalists this year?? im a student and I do communicate with other finalists, are you USC?

and why do you have to be harsh, I have every right to be upset

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Sorry you are upset, but this is an anonymous forum with many regular posters that are here to help and dissuade misinformation. Talking to 5 or 6 finalists, even 20 of them, isn’t representative of the almost 1000 that interviewed and the hundreds that got great news. Being upset makes sense, the entire college process is full of disappointment for so so many. But I wouldn’t let this result stick with you for more than a day or two, I am guessing you have or will have other great options, so make it USC’s loss and go be amazing at another great school. There are a lot of them.

Good luck!

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of the 8 ppl I know, 6 of them got dropped to directors, it is a small sample but ofc I won’t get to know all 1000 ppl that interviewed, Even with a small sample size, if the trend is skewed heavily in one direction, it could still be indicative of the overall outcome. Of course, there’s always the possibility of selection bias—maybe the people i know happen to fit a certain profile. But if 75% of my small group got dropped to directors, that’s definitely a signal that something is wrong. did you talk to any finalists then?

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USC is definitely accounting for the reduction in scholarships this year turning people away, if that makes you feel any better. They plan to accept about 15% more people this year than last year, with the same anticipated incoming class. That only means they believe yield will drop significantly, and if financial aid doesn’t change that can only come from scholarships.

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I’m confident that you will be proven wrong this time. I understand you are intimately aware of their history but we are living in unprecedented times. My friends are faculty and the cuts are widespread across institutions. The data will be released sooner or later.

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Well, I suppose it’s easier to be ok with something getting cut when it doesn’t affect you.

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For this year, they are not impacted. Never said they won’t be going forward. We are only concerned with this class at this point in time and what is happening with this group of students. And I’m not using small samples or what someone’s friends say/predict, just the actual figures USC posts.

There is always a lot of emotion with rejection and disappointment, and a need to blame someone or something for it, it’s human nature, we see it every year. But the students that interviewed, regardless of results, have something special and other schools will see it too.

Congrats to those with great news and good luck with your decision!

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That’s just it. Have you seen anyone announce a Trustee Scholarship online yet? We haven’t. I’ve seen one President.

For this daughter it hurt but ultimately won’t matter. She applied far and wide and won’t be caught in the California trap my other daughter was. She has been accepted everywhere so far, with merit aid to boot. Hard to turn down a 36 ACT and all 5’s on AP exams, it turns out.

If what you’re saying is true and USC gave $20,000 scholarships to kids without interviews and then hyped up my daughter (and others) for an interview they believed would earn them $20,000-$73,000 a year…and gave them $6,000 instead, why even accept them early? $6000 is basically a rejection of their 15 minute interview.

A slap in their young faces. Demeaning.

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For those who are upset about the scholarships, I’m sorry for their disappointment. To put it in perspective, there are thousands of kids (mine included) who were deferred EA and would absolutely LOVE to be in your kids’ shoes and have an admission letter on March 26. Sincerest congrats to all those who were admitted EA!

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I completely understand your disappointment given what you and your daughter were expecting. However, keep in mind most of the EA students received $0 in scholarships (like my daughter). She would be thrilled with it.

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Upon reflection, perhaps her hurt feelings indicate how much she wants to attend USC. With her sibling in college at the same time, and likely no other aid coming her way, this merit aid would have allowed her to weigh her options without finances being a factor.

We’re in the final two weeks of a very long journey, and there will be lots of emotions, warranted or not. I didn’t mean to seem ungrateful. Good luck to everyone in RD.

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Same! We had to re-submit taxes also. We went ahead and submitted. My FAFSA application now shows “in review”. Is this typically for all applicants that filled out FAFSA? Or maybe it’s just random? I can’t imagine the FA having to do this for all applicants.

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Unfortunately they do. If you go back through threads from previous years, you’ll see people commenting about requests from financial aid all the way up to the date USC releases admissions decisions. For those who are admitted, sometimes the financial aid requests keep coming even after admission decisions are released.

Also, for those who are losing hope, I’ll share @Southoftheriver 's experience from a couple of years ago.

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I actually agree with you. There is no doubt in my mind that USC has cut down its Trustee/Presidential/Deans scholarships. My twins were invited, both got Directors and while I am disappointed I am not unreasonable or ungrateful. My daughter had a fantastic interview and still got $6k, my son did badly and got the $6k too. Every single kid we know that received that interview note got the $6k. Not saying no one got the big awards but I am willing to bet they were cut. I am surprised no one else see’s a pattern here.

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USC Alumni here, and I am a little surprised by these volumes.

Our daughter is applying next year, she is 8APs, 4.0uw gpa, 4.4 all-in GPA, varsity athlete, musician, and has a superscored SAT of 1480. She has planned on applying during EA.

Is that the right move, or should she apply RD? Many thanks.

Dad of S22; junior at Marshall.. there is absolutely no downside to applying for EA. They don’t reject anybody; but are deferred. You just have to choose deferred and then she’s part of RD.

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I think this was the last year for legacy being a factor in admissions. It is now outlawed by the California legislation.

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