USC cuts back on merit scholarships — again
Tomo Chien
March 13, 2025
Good morning. It’s Thursday, and I’m reading about how Carol Folt is locking the fuck in. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles, and California stories you need to know for today.
1.
USC ordered several undergraduate programs to dramatically reduce the number of merit scholarships they offer to incoming students next academic year, citing recent financial woes. The continued paring back of merit aid, which started in December, could leave the university with fewer tools to woo the nation’s top college applicants.
2.
In case you missed it: USC hiked undergraduate tuition to a dizzying $73,260. Congrats to reader Colin S. for winning our tuition guessing game by predicting the exact number. Other answers I would’ve accepted: Whatever the goddamn football team needs. Still less than what Lori Loughlin paid. The cost of our next moronic legal settlement.
3.
Speaking of dumbfounding legal blunders, Sony sued USC for allegedly using more than 170 of its copyrighted songs in TikTok and Instagram videos promoting university sports teams. The label said it has repeatedly warned USC of the infringement for more than four years, and is now seeking $150,000 in damages per song.
4.
Chart-topping rapper Don Toliver will headline this year’s Springfest concert, which will be held outside the Coliseum for the first time since 2022. The event, which is free for students, runs Friday, April 4, from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. For the uninitiated: Here’s one of Toliver’s most recent hits.
5.
At Columbia University, which is largely seen as a bellwether for Donald Trump’s crackdown on higher education, administrators warned international students to avoid publishing work about Gaza, Ukraine, and their classmate’s recent arrest — lest they face deportation themselves. “Nobody can protect you,” one dean said. “These are dangerous times.”