Graduate Application Status Updates
On- demand application status updates are not provided. Applicants are sent an email shortly after submitting their application providing answers to some of their frequently asked questions. You should use the following as a reference when speaking with individuals who have applied to Annenberg masters level programs (except Global Communication). Global Communication applicants will need to contact the London School of Economics directly as all decisions are released from the LSE.
Copy from Now that you have submitted your application email…
What should you expect next?
Thank you for submitting your application for admission to USC Annenberg. We wanted to take this opportunity to enlighten you on the admission process at USC and the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Your application is reviewed by both the USC Office of Graduate Admission and USC Annenberg School Admissions Office.
What does each office review?
USC Graduate Admission receives, verifies and reviews all transcripts to calculate your grade point average. This office also receives and verifies your standardized test scores. In addition, they determine if an international applicant is required to submit English language proficiency test scores.
USC Annenberg Admissions screens your application to ensure that all required documents have been uploaded successfully.
What information can I expect to receive from USC Annenberg?
The Annenberg admission office will inform you when your application is released to the faculty admission committee for review. (Note: Only applications that have all transcripts, test scores, and supporting documents are released to the faculty admission committee for review.)
What information will USC Graduate Admission provide?
The USC Office of Graduate Admission will email you about submitting outstanding transcripts if they are not received within 30 days of application submission.
How can I check the status of my application?
You may verify that you have successfully uploaded transcripts, and the status of your recommendation submission by logging into your online application and clicking on the ‘Check Status’ tab. You may contact USC Graduate Admission to see if your test scores have been received via their contact form or by telephone at 213-740-1111. Please be sure to include your full name and USC ID in all correspondence. USC Annenberg Admissions will not provide status checks.
How and when will I be informed of my admission decision?
Admission decision notification dates vary by degree program, however faculty admission committees anticipate releasing decisions starting in March 2018. Official admission decisions are released from USC Graduate Admission. You will receive an email notification from the Office of Graduate Admission to the email address you used to apply informing you that a decision has been made. When you receive the decision notification, follow the instructions in the email to register and view your decision at youSC.
Welcome to 2018!
We hope you had a wonderful winter break and are ready to get back to work! Here are a couple of things to be aware of as you get settled:
We are missing team members! 😦 Pancho is abroad in London, Glazer is on the East Coast for his Winter Olympics internship, and Nick will only be joining us for January before he heads to South Korea for his Winter Olympics internship. I will be hiring 3 more interns to join. More to come on that this week.
The look of this blog has been refreshed! Make sure you read all tabs and let me know if you have any suggestions or changes that need to be posted.
We are now officially entering our processing/conversion mode. We will chat with you soon in our next intern meeting about what that means and the expectations of you.
The water shelf in the kitchen sink is no longer in use. Please make sure you stock the fridge in ANN 203 at the end of each shift.
More announcements this week as we settle in.
CLOSED – Freshman Interview Registration
All Annenberg on-campus freshman interview appointments have been booked. If there are cancellations, appointments will appear on the registration site. Prospective students may also inquire about the availability of interviews with USC Admission x01111.
Closed Additional Freshman Interviews
The freshman interview schedule has reopened with an additional 70 interview times. If prospective applicant does not have their USC ID number instruct them to enter a two or three digit number. You may also open the interview form and complete it with them on the phone.
https://annenbergadmissions.formstack.com/forms/freshman_interviews
After submitting the form, the student will receive an email confirmation with parking details.
Parking has been reserved for all freshman interviews in the USC McCarthy Way Parking Structure. Enter campus via the McCarthy Way entrance (formerly entrance 3) and let the attendant know they are there for an “Annenberg Freshman Interview” or give the RSVP-ID: 191868.
Freshman Interviews
Prospective freshman interviews have begun. The front desk will call the intern desk to announce that an interviewee has arrived. Ask the name of the interviewee and check the interview list posted above the intern desk to see who is scheduled to do the interview. Inform the interviewer that their interview has arrived.
Annenberg First Year Interviews
First year interviews opened this morning at 9:00 a.m. and were all selected by 1:00 pm today. Additional dates will be added on September 18th at 9:00 a.m.
Freshman Interviews
The USC Admission has opened the website for admission interview sign ups.
NOTE: Annenberg will offer on-campus interviews. Sign-ups will open August 28and interviews begin the week of September 18. The USC Admission website will direct to our link. To interview with Annenberg, students must use our link.
Only one interview is permitted either with USC Admission or Annenberg Admissions.
Interviews are not required.
This is the sign up link: https://www.formstack.com/forms/?1780714-GuSvr7fB2Z.
Graduate Journalism Summer 2018
Summer session for graduate Journalism, Specialized Journalism, and Specialized Journalism– The Arts all begin on July 2 and end on August 17. The immersion course and well as other requirements and electives will be taught during the summer session.
Digital Social Media Program UPDATES (6/15/17)
When perspective students are asking about the Digital Social Media graduate program, tell them the next available term is Fall 2018. Application guidelines will be posted on August 1st to notify of deadlines and requirements.
Scion Transfer Plan Counseling Through June 9th
Select undergraduate students who were denied admission for the 2017-2018 academic year were offered to participate in the Scion Transfer Plan. This plan is a 1-on-1 meeting with the students and a USC counselor that will help them select coursework at a Community College with the expectation to re-apply as a transfer student in the future. Scion eligible students were notified of their eligibility in their admission decision letter and can take advantage of the opportunity until the June 9th deadline.
Graduate Application Timeline (UPDATED 6/5)
All master’s degree applications are now closed with the exception of the Communications Management program, which remains open until July 23rd. Applicants must have all standardized tests completed and submitted to USC Graduate Admission prior to submitting an application. Please review the admissions timeline on the graduate applicants website for additional details for each program. http://annenberg.usc.edu/admissions/graduate-applicants
Change of Major Requests
Annenberg Admissions will consider change of major requests from newly admitted first-year and transfer students. Ask these students for their email address and forward them the following link to request a change of major.
https://annenbergadmissions.formstack.com/forms/change_of_major
Once the form is submitted, the student will receive an auto-response email of when they can anticipate receiving a decision.
Graduate Application Deadlines (UPDATED 8/15)
All graduate degree applications will open on September 1, 2017. Please review the admissions timeline on the graduate applicants website for additional details for each program. http://annenberg.usc.edu/admissions/graduate-applicants
Deferring Graduate Admission
We DO NOT defer admission. Applicants who have been admitted have the option of updating their application to be reconsidered for the next admission cycle. This is a one time option. There is no guarantee of admission, however most decisions are upheld. Instructions for updating:
Applicant should click on the statement of intent link in their decision letter on the you.usc.edu portal
Select the update option
Submit the form
In December, Annenberg Admissions will contact the applicant to confirm their interest in being reconsidered for admission.
Graduate Admission Decisions
April 1st has come and gone and there are still decisions that have not been released to date. If you receive calls from applicants inquiring about when they might receive their decision please inform them that the faculty admissions committee is still reviewing applications and we cannot provide a definitive date. We do appreciate their patience.
Commitment Deadlines
Graduate students must submit a commitment decision by April 30th.
Graduate students who have received a scholarship must commit by April 15th.
All Undergraduate students must submit commitment decisions by May 1st.
If prospective scholarship students would like to check their status they can visit: awardsdatabase.usc.edu
Graduate Application Deadlines Updated
Graduate Application deadlines have been updated on the Annenberg Admissions website. Applicants are encouraged to have test score results prior to application submission.
Public Diplomacy – April 2, 2017
Communication Management – April 5, 2017 (U.S. citizens and permanent residents only)
Specialized Journalism, the Arts – April 29, 2017
Specialized Journalism – April 30, 2017
M.S. Journalism – rolling
Strategic Public Relations- rolling
Global Communication – rolling
Freshman scholarship decisions are out!
Details:
This year nearly 32,000 high school seniors applied for admission in time to be considered for merit scholarships. USC Admissions is notifying this population of the status of the scholarship competition, as well as some additional points about remaining admission processes.
The bad news: On Wednesday night USC Admissions will send approximately 30,000 e-mails notifying students their application will not move forward in the scholarship competition.
The good news: 1,480 students will receive good news: an offer of admission, and opportunities for scholarships. We send admission packets via priority mail, and we send follow-up e-mails shortly thereafter.
Students who applied after the December 1 scholarship deadline are not notified of any status at this time. Other than routine requests for additional information, we do not plan additional updates to first-year applicants until late March.
Communication challenges:
This notification raises the level of contact from applicants and their families. Students and parents are often sad or disappointed, and conversations can be difficult. Expect calls volumes to rise soon, and be prepared to route them appropriately, as noted below.
Some common themes:
Is any space left? Though we have only issued approximately 15% of our admission offers, some seem to believe that spaces are going fast. It is appropriate to assure students we are still considering all candidates for admission, that no student has been denied admission, and thousands more admission offers will be sent in late March. We have much work to do.
No scholarship? Others may be confused about our decision to award no scholarship, or to award one worth less than they expected. Assure these students that the process is highly competitive, and based on both quantitative and qualitative factors. These can be difficult conversations, which we are happy to handle.
Routing to Admission
If you need to route a caller to the Offices of Admission or Financial Aid, there are several options:
The Student-Services Contact Center is a general service center for admission and financial aid. This office can be reached at 213-740-1111, or via e-mail at www.usc.edu/contactadmission.
Students may contact their admission counselor at www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate (click “admission counselors” in the lower right).
For sensitive or particularly difficult calls, feel free to refer calls to my office, at 213-740-6753 and we will route appropriately.
Please see Fern if you have any questions and route difficult conversations to the officer of the week or an admissions officer.
MUST READ: USC Graduate Admission Updates
Please read these carefully:
1) For students sending in e-transcripts from their institutions, please direct them to provide rtimmins@usc.edu as the email address to the vendor/institution.
2) We have recently updated our contact form and created a customer service portal. Students can now click on the “Ask USC” tab on our website (gradadm.usc.edu) to be taken to http://uscesd.custhelp.com/app/home. Here they will be able to select Graduate Admission under the “Filter by Area” tab and type in their question to find the answer. If they are not satisfied with the answer they are receiving, they always have the option to click on the Submit a Question tab and email us after making the appropriate selections. Please redirect all students to http://uscesd.custhelp.com/app/home. You are welcome to share this URL on your website as well.
3) We also have new protocol in place for submitting financial documents and passport copies. Please encourage your students to submit their financial documents and passport via the USC UniCAS application in the appropriate segment. This will ensure that the documents make it to the Image Viewer immediately and are reviewed in an expedient manner. Students also have the option to use this function after submitting their application. If they have already submitted these documents but have additional financial documentation they would like to send over they may do so via our website using the Ask a Question tab at http://uscesd.custhelp.com/app/home.
4) We have received several concerns from faculty and students about technical bugs related to Liaison’s recommendation portals. In most cases, these have been browser issues so please encourage students to ask their recommenders to update their browsers. However, users have also reported that in some cases the upload button is not showing up or the recommender is not receiving the email notification to submit the recommendations. We have made Liaison aware of these issues and they are working on improving the user experience. In the meantime, if students report such issues please ask them to contact Liaison’s Tech Support directly. In most cases, they will be able to help them resolve it immediately. Here is the contact information for Liaison’s Tech Support:
Hours of Operation: Monday through Friday (9 am to 5 pm Eastern Time)
Email: uscsupport@liaisonedu.com. When contacting via email, please include full name, USC ID number and detailed question.
Phone Number: 857-304-2092
Annenberg freshman interviews are full
Annenberg freshman interview appointments are completely booked both on-campus and off-campus. Prospective applicants may visit the USC Undergraduate Admission website to see if additional interviews with admissions are available.