USC slashes scholarships for National Merit Finalists

USC will dramatically reduce a merit scholarship it offers for students who earned elite scores on their high school PSAT exams.

Those students, known as National Merit Finalists, have historically enjoyed half-tuition scholarships — $34,952 this year, according to financial aid documents viewed by Morning, Trojan.

That number is now $20,000.

Students who currently receive the scholarship will not be affected by the roughly 43% reduction, a university spokesperson said.

Still, the cuts will no doubt factor into the college decisions of some of the nation’s highest-performing high school students as the peak of the admissions season approaches.

“The university is diverting more financial support to incoming students with demonstrated need,” the university wrote in a statement. “The new award amount, $20,000 per year, remains one of the largest financial stipends offered to National Merit Finalists by our peers in higher education.”

USC is yet to formally announce the cut. The only reference to the reduction is a document on the school’s undergraduate admissions page, dated December 19, that lists the new value.

The award has historically fluctuated yearly for existing students, financial aid documents show. However, those past fluctuations have represented increases to ensure the scholarship continued to cover half of the school’s rising tuition.

135 students in this year’s freshman class received the scholarship.

The decrease is the latest in a recent torrent of cost-slashing measures as the school seeks to avoid falling into yet another $158 million budget deficit.

Notably, in October, the school reduced a key benefit that paid tuition for the children of faculty and staff, then partially walked back its decision just a week later. USC also recently ordered its first permanent layoffs in over a decade, and has pulled funding from student newsrooms like the Daily Trojan and Annenberg Media.

Such cost slashing appears unlikely to end. The provost warned in November that the school should expect “difficult decisions” as central administration looks to balance its books.

The scholarship reduction also comes as the university continues to jack tuition at a rate that far outpaces national inflation. USC is the most expensive college in the United States.

This is not the first recent scholarship on the chopping block. Last semester, the school axed two awards that let eligible students enroll in extra courses for free.

It later partially walked back the cut, after which USC President Carol Folt told Annenberg Media that she “sat down and took a breath” before recognizing that the award was “one of the more important programs.”

That “breath” was likely encouraged by a 3,100-signature petition, indignation from the student government, and a litany of nasty Instagram comments.

Colin Stillman contributed reporting to this story.

RELATED: What people get wrong about USC’s endowment. Also, check out our recent story about a stunning cybersecurity failure at the university.