The University of Southern California or USC is a private research university in Los Angeles, California. It was established in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, and it is the oldest private research university in California.
In This article, I will expose the tips and tricks to getting scholarships for USC both US and international students.
About The University Of Southern California
The university is composed of one liberal arts school, the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and twenty-two undergraduate, graduate and professional schools, enrolling an average of 19,500 undergraduate and 26,500 post-graduate students from all fifty U.S. states and more than 100 countries. USC is ranked as one of the top universities in the United States and admission to its programs is considered highly selective.
Fun fact, USC was one of the earliest nodes on ARPANET and is the birthplace of the Domain Name System. Other technologies invented at USC include dynamic programming, VoIP, image compression, DNA computing, and antivirus software.
USC’s notable alumni include 11 Rhodes scholars and 12 Marshall scholars. As of January 2021, 10 Nobel laureates, six MacArthur Fellows, and one Turing Award winner have been associated with the university. USC has conversed degrees upon 29 alumni who became billionaires and has graduated more alumni who have gone on to win Academy and Emmy Awards than any other university in the world by a significant margin, in part due to the success of the School of Cinematic Arts.
The University of Southern California is the largest private employer in the Los Angeles area and generates an estimated $8 billion of economic impact on the state of California.
Scholarship for USC
Scholarship for University of Southern California
Applying for a scholarship at USC is easy. For domestic students, you only need to submit one application form to be considered for most USC scholarships and bursaries.
The following application process will apply during the Semester 1 and Semester 2 scholarship application periods:
Simply log in to the ApplyUSC portal:
- If you do not have USC login details, create an account. You can actually apply for a scholarship before you even receive your offer to study.
- If you are a new or continuing student, sign in using your USC username and password. Where you are asked for an application number, add your student ID number.
Complete and submit the application form, including the required supporting documentation and USC will assess which scholarships you are qualified for.
You can also use the scholarships finder to search for other scholarships. Ensure to check the requirements and application process for each one.
You may have to supply some of the following documentation to be considered for certain scholarships or bursaries. Some of them are:
Personal Statement:
- This is where you will outline your community service, volunteering and/or leadership experience
Financial need:
- Three recent consecutive payslips
- Centrelink statement
- Three recent payslips from partner
- Other income information (eg rental income)
Medical reasons (one or a combination of the below):
- Medical report from your doctor/psychologist
- Centrelink statement showing Disability Pension
- Learning Access Plan (LAP) from AccessAbility Services
- Indigenous heritage (one or a combination of the below):
Living status:
- Sole Parent – Centrelink statement showing the percentage of care (of dependents)
- Carer – Centrelink statement showing Carer Payment/Allowance
These are some of the things that you might have to provide to meet some requirements for a scholarship.
For a more detailed look into the scholarships offered by USC check out this page
University of Southern California Scholarships for International Students
Undergraduate Scholarships
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Trustee Scholarship
Scholarship Amount: Full Tuition Fee
Sadly, International students are not eligible for the need-based scholarships at the University of Southern California and can only apply for Merit-based scholarships like the Trustee scholarship. The Trustee Scholarship offers financial assistance to 100 outstanding first-year students per year. You must apply before December 1 to receive this scholarship. They will also notify you by April 1 if you are part of the grantees.
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Presidential Scholarship
Scholarship Amount: Partial Tuition Fee
Although it provides half of the financial aid provided by the Trustee Scholarship, the Presidential scholarship has twice the number of applicants or 200 students each year. The students are automatically selected for this scholarship at the University based on their application requirements. The Office of Admissions will contact successful students directly if they get selected to be part of their growing pool of scholars.
There are many merit-based scholarships for international students at USC, aside from the given above, and you can view most of them here.
For Graduates, we have:
Graduate Scholarships
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Assistantships
Scholarship Amount: Full Tuition Waiver + stipend
This is one of the many scholarships at USC for graduate international students. There are various types of USC assistantships, including, teaching, research, instructional and staff/administrative. Every graduate student who is enrolled to a minimum of six graduate students can apply for the assistantship as long as they have attended GTA/GIA training workshop and are proficient in the English language. As a graduate assistant, you can enjoy tuition discounted tuition and stipend. You will have to work for a maximum of 20 hours per week where you will gain experience in teaching and research.
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USC Fellowships
Scholarship Amount: Varies per Fellowship
There are several Fellowship programs available in USC for Master and PhD students, including the Luce Scholarship, the Boren Awards for International Study, and much more. Applicants from qualifying graduate programs are all considered for this scholarship, and most will receive at least one year of financial aid. The funding varies according to the department, school, and fellowship program.
The University of Southern California offers numerous graduate scholarships, which you can check on this page.
Tips for getting a scholarship
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Craft captivating essays
The merit scholarship committee ranks essays and extracurricular activities higher and over standardized test scores. It is imperative to understand that the merit scholarship committee seeks students who have the capacity for leadership and change.
Your essays should highlight meaningful and functional experiences you had while partaking in your extracurricular activities. They should explain why you are involved in these activities and how they might shape your future endeavours. Additionally, describe how you will continue these activities at USC. Naming specific programs, faculty, departments, and clubs, that you plan to take advantage of will help validate your sincere interest in what USC has to offer.
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Pick your recommender wisely
Successful USC merit scholarship recipients have recommendations that speak to their genuine curiosity in learning more about the world. A strong recommendation will honestly vouch for your character and back up any claims you made in your application. You should choose someone who knows you well inside and outside of the classroom. The scholarship committee may use the recommendations to remove applicants who look good on paper, but less so in person.
For a scholarship where demonstrated personal qualities is prioritized over test scores, your choice of a recommender is important. Try and find a trusted adult who knows you well enough to write a personalized and unique recommendation.
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Be genuine
Any strong college application should present a narrative about who you are and what you might like to become. In many ways, the college application process boils down to storytelling: your ability to tell a unified and genuine story about yourself. Your essays, test scores, extracurriculars, and transcripts are all plot points in this story describing who you are.
This is particularly true for the “short questions” essay section of the USC application. Questions like “what is your favourite movie and why?” or “what TV show do you want to binge-watch next?” might seem silly or difficult to answer well, but they are meant to provoke an authentic snapshot of your personality and character. In your response, it is important to be distinctive and true to yourself.
Your genuineness will always shine through to the committee reading your college application.
Watch More Information on Scholarships For USC Students | Video
University of Southern California Campuses
The University Park campus is located in the University Park district of Los Angeles, 2 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles. The campus’s boundaries are Jefferson Boulevard on the north and northeast, Figueroa Street on the southeast, Exposition Boulevard on the south, and Vermont Avenue on the west. The University Park campus is within walking distance of Los Angeles landmarks such as the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Shrine Auditorium, which is run and managed by the University.
Widney Alumni House, built-in 1880, is the oldest university building in Southern California. In recent years the campus has been renovated to remove the remnants of old roads and replace them with traditional university quads and gardens. The historic site of the main campus was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
Besides its main campus at University Park, USC also runs the Health Sciences Campus, which is about 2 miles northeast of downtown. Furthermore, the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is staffed by USC faculty from the Keck School of Medicine and is often referred to as USC’s third campus.
USC also operates an Orange County centre in Irvine for pharmacy, social work, business, and education, and the Information Sciences Institute, with centres in Arlington, Virginia, and Marina del Rey. For its science students, USC has the Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies on Catalina Island just 20 miles off the coast of Los Angeles, and home to the Philip K. Wrigley Marine Science Center.
The Price School of Public Policy also operates a satellite campus in Sacramento. A Health Sciences Alhambra campus holds the Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research (IPR), the Primary Care Physician Assistant Program, and the Masters in Public Health Program.
In September 2014, the university began construction on USC Village, a 1.25-million-square-foot residential and retail centre directly next to USC’s University Park campus on 15 acres of land owned by the university. The USC Village has over 130,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor, with student housing on the four floors above. The $700 million project is the biggest development in the history of USC and are also one of the largest in the history of South Los Angeles. With a grand opening held on August 17, 2017, the USC Village includes a Trader Joe’s, 400 retail parking spots, a fitness centre, a community room, restaurants, and outdoor dining, and housing for 2,700 students.
University of Southern California Faculties and Degree Programs
USC employs about 4,706 full-time faculty, 1,816 part-time faculty, 16,614 staff members, and 4,817 student workers. 350 postdoctoral fellows are supported together with more than 800 medical residents. Amongst the USC faculty, 37 are members of the National Academy of Engineering, 17 are members of the National Academy of Sciences, 97 are members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 16 are members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 34 are members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 5 to the American Philosophical Society, and 14 to the National Academy of Public Administration.
The university offers 95 undergraduate majors and 147 academic and professional minors. The graduate program is classified as “comprehensive” and offers 134 master’s, doctoral, and professional degrees through 20 professional schools.
University of Southern California Acceptance Rate
The University of Southern California acceptance rate is 16%. This makes USC a very selective school.
University of Southern California Tuition Fees
At the University of Southern California, 38% of full-time undergraduates receive some kind of financial aid, and the average scholarship award is $42,474.
The tuition fee for the university is $60,275 and is the same for both in-state and out-of-state residence.
Other fees such as the room and board are $12,366, and for room only, it is $15,437.
