USC cuts back on merit scholarships, citing financial woes

USC ordered several undergraduate programs to dramatically reduce the number of merit scholarships they offer to incoming students, according to employees with firsthand knowledge of next year’s scholarship selection.

It was not immediately clear how widespread the cuts are. USC’s full-tuition Trustee Scholarship and half-tuition Presidential Scholarship are typically used to woo top college applicants to the university.

At the Keck School of Medicine, the Global Health and Health Promotion programs previously awarded a total of six Trustee and Presidential scholarships. Starting in the fall, they’ll award none.

The programs’ scholarship committee had already chosen next year’s recipients when it was informed of the cuts, according to a faculty member with firsthand knowledge of the matter.

At the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, undergraduate programs issued a total of one Trustee and 10 Presidential scholarships this academic year.

Next year, the school will award just one Trustee and three Presidential scholarships, according to a person with firsthand knowledge of the scholarship selection.

A USC spokesperson affirmed that the university is reducing the number of merit scholarships it offers, but did not answer questions about how many university programs were affected by the cuts.

“New merit scholarships beginning in fall 2025 will be at a more modest level,” the spokesperson wrote in a statement, noting that current scholarship recipients will not be affected.

The spokesperson said the cuts are part of the university’s broader effort to address its recent financial woes. Cutting merit awards will allow the school “to protect the need-based aid pool,” the spokesperson said.

This is not the first time in recent months that USC has slashed spending on merit aid. In December, Morning, Trojan first reported that the university dramatically reduced the value of a scholarship it offers to students who earn elite scores on their high school PSAT exams.

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