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All I can pass on are the observations I have made over the last several years on this forum and in the USC transfer thread. I encourage you to ask on the transfer thread linked above - many former transfer applicants check in and they will be able to pass on their experiences and observations. Please also consult USC’s official Transferring to USC brochure <a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/private/1314/TransferringToUSC_2014.pdf”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/private/1314/TransferringToUSC_2014.pdf</a> for the official notification date:
Actually, four months (Feb, Mar, April, May - the decisions/SGRs are sent June 1st-ish, so you only count from now until the end of May). But yes, in general your time frame is correct. Between freshman and transfer applicants USC will receive around 60,000 applications this year. It will take some time.
Yes, it is 
Try not to be too stressed.
This becomes an issue particularly for our California applicants who are also applying to the UC system where the commitment deposits are DUE June 1st. The strategy I have seen many employ is to wait until the very last moment to see if they get their answer from USC just before the 1st OR to make a commitment deposit to a school to which they have been accepted while they wait for an answer from USC. If accepted by USC they withdraw their intent to attend and forfeit the deposit.</p>
<p>Note: Please don’t blame the messenger - I don’t make the rules/policies, I just pass on the info :)</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>