Hi, today I received an email from USC that I was chosen as a Trustee Scholar. I am grateful to have received such a prestigious opportunity. However, after researching USC’s scholarship policies on the official website, Reddit etc., I have a question.

It apparently seems that in order to receive a trustee/presidential scholarship, you needed to have had an interview? I saw Reddit posts written back in January about how the op’s were notified as a scholarship finalist and asked for some interview tips. On USC’s official site, “By mid-February, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions will notify candidates chosen to move forward in the scholarship process about their next steps.”

Well, I had never heard from USC regarding any scholarships news nor had had an interview, so I am super confused as to how I got chosen. I briefly thought that that might have been since I applied to a major requiring art portfolio, but that shouldn’t be an exception. I’m becoming more suspicious that the Admissons team made a mistake😬 Would appreciate some explanation.