IN at USC Class of 2014 - University of Southern California Forum

[Arelikefoxes]

Any idea what USC placement is like in the NorCal markets? It seems overwhelmingly LA-centric! I'm in at both USC and Cornell, but would ultimately like to end up on the west coast (but not LA) so I don't know which choice is the safer bet in terms of job placement pull.

Good question. As I mentioned, most of USC's marketing efforts are in SoCal. Not a huge number of students have ended up in NorCal, but I think a lot of that is a self-selection bias. That said, I do not think Cornell has any better pull up there, and I do know that there are some people in recent years who have ended up in biglaw in NorCal, and lot more who are looking to do so in the near future.

This issue with NorCal hiring, though, is that you have two t10 schools in the area to compete with. In hiring, most firms look closely at both your school ranking, and your ties to the area. A USC/Cornell grad is going to have a hard time up against any Cal/Stanford student in a market that is not really equipped to absorb that many grads (except maybe in patent/IP law.) I'm basing this only on instinct, but I would bet that USC is still a better choice than Cornell, if only because it is in the same state, and there is a core of SC alums in some of the V50 firms in SF. But look into Cornell's placement in the SF market -- I could be wrong.

[Puttanesca]

How generous is USC with scholarship money? Do you have a rough sense for what the numbers floor is for scholarships?

They tend to be fairly generous. I know many people who are in the 25-50% scholarship range. Of course, there is no magic equation, but based on my anedotal evidence/LSN, it seemed like if you were over medians you would be offered somewhere in the 30-60k range. Over the 75 percentiles, you would get 75-90K. They generally do not do many full rides (something like 3-4 per year.) Based on my sense of the awards, it seems to be almost exclusively awarded on a merit basis, as opposed to need based, which seems to make sense given that there are very few people who can pay $45k/yr without batting an eye. URM status also probably influences the amount offered. They also seem to be somewhat willing to negotiate (they did for me), so it's worth a shot if you you have competitive offers from peer schools. Also, note that they tend to be fairly slow in awarding scholarships, so most won't come out until next month.

This is a repost - I think my original post was overshadowed by all the posts that came after it. Foxes, do you know of anyone who was not awarded any scholarships despite significant financial need because their numbers were too low? I am concerned b/c one of my numbers is below median (maybe even below 25th). The other number is considerably above the 75th percentile, and my index number combination of LSAT/GPA is at the 75th percentile. But if I have to be above both medians...well then, I'm screwed.

[Arelikefoxes]

Foxes, do you know of anyone who was not awarded any scholarships despite significant financial need because their numbers were too low? I am concerned b/c one of my numbers is below median (maybe even below 25th). The other number is considerably above the 75th percentile, and my index number combination of LSAT/GPA is at the 75th percentile. But if I have to be above both medians...well then, I'm screwed.

Well, to be honest, there is not much data on that sort of thing...no one shares their level of financial need with other applicants/students. Based on your information, though, it would seem to me that being in the 75th percentile as a combination would put you above the students who have median in both (who are presumably the 50th percentile), who have been known to get decent scholarships. I would be guessing though if I told you anything more specific than that...I personally do not know many identified splitters, or their scholarship offers. Honestly, the best place would be to look back at the past 1-2 years on LSN and do a search by your parameters and see what comes up. Or you can just wait for the next month or so and see what they tell you. If you don't get an offer, though, you sound like a candidate who might be able to get them to budge if you have any peer comps / a compelling story to explain your numbers, combined with a good explanation as to why you want to go to USC.

[Puttanesca]

Well, to be honest, there is not much data on that sort of thing...no one shares their level of financial need with other applicants/students. Based on your information, though, it would seem to me that being in the 75th percentile as a combination would put you above the students who have median in both (who are presumably the 50th percentile), who have been known to get decent scholarships. I would be guessing though if I told you anything more specific than that...I personally do not know many identified splitters, or their scholarship offers. Honestly, the best place would be to look back at the past 1-2 years on LSN and do a search by your parameters and see what comes up. Or you can just wait for the next month or so and see what they tell you. If you don't get an offer, though, you sound like a candidate who might be able to get them to budge if you have any peer comps / a compelling story to explain your numbers, combined with a good explanation as to why you want to go to USC.

Thanks for the info!

[lisjjen]

Will they match UT?

[Arelikefoxes]

Will they match UT?

No clue. Obviously, UT is a peer in terms of the rankings, but given that it's in a totally different market, it might mean it has less pull than other CA schools. Just a guess, though.

[lisjjen]

Will they match UT?

No clue. Obviously, UT is a peer in terms of the rankings, but given that it's in a totally different market, it might mean it has less pull than other CA schools. Just a guess, though.

I apologize, I phrased that ambiguously. Are they likely to match a scholarship offer from the University of Texas?

[Arelikefoxes]

Are they likely to match a scholarship offer from the University of Texas?

That was what I was referring to. I do not have any evidence one way or the other on this, but I would imagine that answer comes down to weighing the fact that UT is a higher ranked school (therefore making them interested in matching) versus the difference in markets of the two schools (they might well feel that the CA market is unique enough from the TX market that matching won't have a significant impact on your decision.) ITE, I bet they would be receptive to trying to offer competitively against a UT offer. But USC does not "match" offers -- they tend to have tiers of offers, and it might help bump you up some.

Remember, adcoms tend to treat this like a business -- they want to do only as much as they need to sway the best students to attend USC, while limiting their exposure to excessive scholarship commitments to students that will not likely come or will overtax their budget. To that end, a lot of their "interest" in matching other offers will depend on a number of factors that I cannot really quantify for you: your stats, your interest in USC, their past efficacy in swaying students away from UT based on matching, how much money they are committing, etc.

In general, most schools will give you their initial scholarship offer completely based on their own metrics, independent of other school offers. "Matching" only becomes relevant if the student's numbers are fairly close to their metrics for that scholarship range anyways, and they have a reason to think it will have a tangible effect on your matriculation. Most people, if you go back on LSN, do not end up with scholarships appreciably outside those with similar numbers / financial need / URM status at that school, whether or not they negotiated through "matching" offers. School are, for obvious reasons, very hesitant to get into bidding wars over students that cause them to "overpay" for them.

[lisjjen]

Well I hope they do match. I've made up my mind. If they match it, I'll be in LA in 7 months. If not, I'll be in Austin.

[Arelikefoxes]

Well I hope they do match. I've made up my mind. If they match it, I'll be in LA in 7 months. If not, I'll be in Austin.

Right on -- well good luck, keep us posted, and hopefully we will see you in the fall!

[leopardRAWR]

Has anyone filled out the supplemental financial aid form? If so, when it asks about housing, do you know if it matters what you put? Like if you put USC housing, are you stuck with that if you end up going to USC, and are you similarly out of luck if you end up going and decide you want USC housing but put that you'll be in non-USC owned housing?

[lisjjen]

Has anyone filled out the supplemental financial aid form? If so, when it asks about housing, do you know if it matters what you put? Like if you put USC housing, are you stuck with that if you end up going to USC, and are you similarly out of luck if you end up going and decide you want USC housing but put that you'll be in non-USC owned housing?

I'd be interested to know this as well. I put campus owned housing down, but that might have been a mistake.

[Arelikefoxes]

Has anyone filled out the supplemental financial aid form? If so, when it asks about housing, do you know if it matters what you put? Like if you put USC housing, are you stuck with that if you end up going to USC, and are you similarly out of luck if you end up going and decide you want USC housing but put that you'll be in non-USC owned housing?

The financial aid office is only interested in that information for estimating your COL (USC housing is cheaper than off-campus housing for their estimates.) People's plans change, and I am sure that that form will not commit you to your future housing plans.

[leopardRAWR]

Has anyone filled out the supplemental financial aid form? If so, when it asks about housing, do you know if it matters what you put? Like if you put USC housing, are you stuck with that if you end up going to USC, and are you similarly out of luck if you end up going and decide you want USC housing but put that you'll be in non-USC owned housing?

The financial aid office is only interested in that information for estimating your COL (USC housing is cheaper than off-campus housing for their estimates.) People's plans change, and I am sure that that form will not commit you to your future housing plans.

Thanks for clearing that up.

[JJDancer]

Another question for the USC students - just for fun...

I realize that LA's downtown dies down at night/on the weekends so where is most of the nightlife located?

[Arelikefoxes]

Another question for the USC students - just for fun...

I realize that LA's downtown dies down at night/on the weekends so where is most of the nightlife located?

Well there actually are a lot of good bars in downtown (go check out the Edison...one of my favorite bars in the U.S.), but there is also a lot of fun to be had on the Westside (WeHo, Santa Monica, etc....which I mostly did back in my undergrad days), so long as you are willing to do a bit of travel. Los Angeles has a bit of everything -- the goal is to really find places that are your style. Our Thursday night "Bar Reviews" are actually really good at giving you a sampling of a bunch of different bars throughout the L.A. area.

[nonprofit-prophet]

Anyone hear anything about money yet? I'm getting a bit anxious, but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, given our experience with USC thus far.

[JJDancer]

Anyone hear anything about money yet? I'm getting a bit anxious, but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, given our experience with USC thus far.

Think the earliest anyone will hear about money is this week.

My prediction - first $$ wave on Thursday/Friday of this week or Monday next week..

[lalu]

Could anyone who got in share their numbers? I'm at the median and got a fee waiver so I'm hoping that's a good sign...

[tlslsnlsp]

Could anyone who got in share their numbers? I'm at the median and got a fee waiver so I'm hoping that's a good sign...

sure, 3.67/172.

[JJDancer]

168, 167
3.7x

[santoinettea]

Yay at last, I'm in! DF 2/28 : )

Can anyone let me know when you USC e-mailed the finaid forms we need to fill out? About how many days after acceptance. I wanna get on it! Thanks!

: ) : )

[Puttanesca]

Yay at last, I'm in! DF 2/28 : )

Can anyone let me know when you USC e-mailed the finaid forms we need to fill out? About how many days after acceptance. I wanna get on it! Thanks!

: ) : )

DF 2/7, and USC sent me the finaid email on 2/11.

[santoinettea]

Thank you!

[theturkeyisfat]

Well I hope they do match. I've made up my mind. If they match it, I'll be in LA in 7 months. If not, I'll be in Austin.

i think you should tell them this