Graduate Profile Page Updates

As mentioned earlier this week, faculty directors were asked to provide any updates or new recommendations of students to be add on the Graduate Student Profile site – https://annenberg.usc.edu/admissions/graduate-student-profiles

For this task you will

1. Review the listing in the OneDrive

 Profile Listing.xlsx

Graduate degree programs are separated by tabs on the bottom of the spreadsheet. Please review each tab and make any updates.

• You will then email student who has yet to be contacted. You may use the following template to message the student:

Dear (Insert First Name),

(Introduce yourself and your title). You were selected to provide a bio and headshot to be added in the Graduate Student Profile page. The intent of this page is to share your story with newly admitted graduate students. For the bio, please complete the attachment provided on this email. Additionally, if you have a headshot available, please provide one with the completed bio. If they do not have one, you may schedule a time to take one with an Admissions Intern.

Best regards,

(Your name and Title)

Attach the bio questions –  Bio Questions.docx

• Once you receive a reply from the student, enter all that is collected in the excel.

  • If scheduling a headshot, please offer the following times:

Wed., February 1 at 12-1 p.m.

Thur., February 2 at 12-1 p.m.

Tue., February 7 at 12-1 p.m.

Wed., February 8 at 12-1 p.m.   

Cynthia will be assisting with headshots. Please follow up with Bryant with confirmation of the scheduled headshot.

• Make sure all files received have the student’s name on it.

• Upload all items to the appropriate degree program folder: 06 – Graduate Conversion -> Student Bios -> 2023

• Inform Officer of the Week of the completed file.

OneDrive Admissions Folder

The formally known “Y Drive” has now been upgraded to the OneDrive. Admission staff have full access to all folders. This access enables Admission staff to delegate files and folders among the team and interns. Interns currently have access to folders 4 – 10.

To access the Admission Folder in OneDrive:

1. Login to your individual Office 365 account

2. Click on the 9 dot square on the top left of the screen

3. Click on OneDrive

4. You will find the shared folders under “Shared”

Extended Graduate Application Deadlines

The following graduate degree programs have extended deadlines.

Specialized Journalism – January 31, 2023

Specialized Journalism, the Arts – January 31, 2023

Public Diplomacy – February 1, 2023

Zoom Voicemail

The voicemail is operational once again. You must access voicemail online at  usc.zoom.us using ascadm login credentials.

Financial Aid Email

Applicants may have received an email asking them to submit documents for financial aid although they are international and did not indicate an interest in aid. USC Financial Aid has confirmed that an e-mail was sent in error. Please ask callers to disregard the message.

Deadline for Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation (LOR) must be received within 10 business days of the email notification from the graduate admission application platform. Graduate applicants must inform their referees of this expectation. All LORs must be received to complete a graduate admission application, and only complete applications are reviewed by faculty admission committees.

Graduate Information Sessions

Limited graduate degree information sessions are scheduled during the spring semester. If application deadlines for master’s degree programs are extended, then new sessions will be posted on the “Connect and Visit” page on the Annenberg Admissions website. Go to the page for dates/times for each graduate degree program.

These sessions are designed for prospective graduate students seeking to learn more about each of the graduate degree programs. The sessions include an academic overview by the faculty program director, a review of the admission process by a USC Annenberg admissions officer, and Q&A.

Every Shift Checklist Update

For interns with at least three semester-experience in the office, the shift checklist on Formstack is no longer required. From now on, please refer to the checklist posted on the intern desk bulletin.

All other interns must fill out and submit the Every Shift Checklist located on the left tab of the Admissions blog. If you have any questions, you may ask the officer of the week/day or Allyson.

Undergraduate Admission Application Updates

For fall 2023, USC Admission added an Early Action (EA) option for first-year applicants. The application deadline was November 1, 2022. EA is non-binding, so admitted students have until May 1, 2023 to accept their offers of admission. Decision letters were released on January 20.

January 15, 2023 is the Regular Decision (RD) application deadline. Applicants not admitted through EA will be fully considered for admission in the RD pool. Decision notifications will be released in late March 2023.

The transfer application deadline is February 15, 2023.

The Annenberg writing sample is no longer required.

Progressive Degree Program (PDP)

Refer to the Progressive Degree page under Students on the Annenberg website.

No additional mandatory information sessions will be held spring semester 2023. Students planning to apply may attend virtual office hours with Allyson Hill in February. See the Annenberg Student Progressive Degree for dates/times and to join the Zoom meeting link.

Six critical points about PDP:

1. Must be a USC student.

2. Apply in the junior year and start to take graduate classes along with undergraduate courses in the senior year. Graduate with your bachelor’s degree and return to USC Annenberg to complete master’s degree.

3. The application deadline is March 1, 2023 for all Annenberg PDP degrees. Late applications will not be accepted and incomplete applications will not be reviewed by faculty admission committees. Find the application on
   the USC Undergraduate Education website at https://undergrad.usc.edu/programs/progressive/requirements/

4. Seniors graduating December 2022 and May 2023 must apply for graduate admission through the regular graduate application process. Refer to graduate applicants on the Annenberg Admissions page.

5. No online degree programs are offered as PDPs.

6. The Annenberg PDP coordinator is Allyson Hill, associate dean of Annenberg Admissions. Email her at ascjpdp@usc.edu

Student Services Suite Safety Procedure

In light of a recent incident where an unknown individual entered our suite and made his way into one of our staff member’s office, please be vigilant and stay alert to any activity that seems suspicious.

Please remember to greet any visitors entering past the front desk.

If you see something, say something. The safety of our faculty, staff, and students is our top priority.

Contact the USC Department of Public Safety:

Emergencies (213) 740-4321

Non-emergencies (213) 740-6000

Transfer Applicant Essay and Application Deadline

USC eliminated the writing supplement. Annenberg no longer requires an additional essay from transfer applicants, so the essay requirement was removed from the Annenberg transfer guidelines.

The transfer application deadline is February 15, 2023 for fall 2023 admission. Applications are not accepted for summer or spring terms.

TOEFL Department Code

International applicants frequently inquire about a department code for their TOEFL registration or to send official TOEFL scores to USC. This department code, which was created by TOEFL for their internal use, is 83.

However, for TOEFL scores to be sent electronically to USC, the USC institutional code 4852 must be used. The TOEFL department code is has no relevance to how scores are processed by USC.