The advantages of scholarships are more than monetary

Reasons to support undergraduate students

Increasing undergraduate student support means the university will be able to offer more need-based and merit-based financial aid for students across the income spectrum—particularly those from families who are finding it increasingly difficult to pay the rising costs of a college education.

Financial barriers should not be a deal-breaker for students with the merit and motivation to attend a top-tier research university like USC. Your gifts to support undergraduates will help make our incredible university community more accessible to a wider range of individuals from diverse financial, geographical and cultural backgrounds. In that way, we are opening the door wider to make a USC education possible for talented students from all walks of life.

Read more about President Folt’s Affordability Initiative

What’s more, scholarships make better students and better citizens, on campus and beyond. Receiving scholarships means they may not have to get part-time jobs—freeing them to concentrate more on their academic life. And it means they will graduate with less debt, so they can follow their passion, not just a paycheck.

Endowed Student Support

When you make a gift to create or help fund an endowed scholarship, we don’t spend it. Instead, we invest it and only spend the interest earned, usually amounting to four to six percent annually. That way, your gift funds student support each year in perpetuity.

Non-Endowed Student Support

When you make a gift to USC for a non-endowed, or current-use fund, we immediately spend your gift on the use you specify, until it is fully expended. This kind of support is a great way to allow the university to respond to immediate needs, unexpected opportunities and fresh ideas.

USC General Scholarship Fund

Your gift to USC’s general scholarship fund provides the university with maximum flexibility to support deserving students.