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Undergraduate dependent children under the age of 26 of full-time faculty, full-time staff with 2 years of employment, and in some cases employees with 15 years of service (whether working or not).
USC employees must apply the summer before their child’s senior year of high school or the year before their child’s anticipated fall enrollment, if not currently in high school. The TE application is available July 1 online at Tuition Exchange page and is due by November 30.
The TE application and a copy of your child’s state certified birth certificate (as a pdf).
You will be notified of the next step by USC’s TE Liaison Officer (TELO) after your application is received and once eligibility is determined, usually in mid-to-late October.
YES. All students must formally apply for admission to each college by the college’s posted admission deadline, with no reference to tuition exchange eligibility.
The TE Member Schools are listed on the TE website. Click here to view all the member schools.
DEPENDS. Specific policies such as “freshmen only” are noted by individual schools on the TE website, although most schools consider students at all undergraduate class levels: telo.tuitionexchange.org/search.cfm.
TE awards are based on class levels with an 8 semester maximum for entering freshmen. sophomores would be awarded 6 semesters, juniors would be awarded 4 semesters, and seniors would be awarded 2 semesters to complete degrees OR graduate, whichever comes first.
The TE website reflects the TE Scholarship award amounts at each school, which vary: telo.tuitionexchange.org/search.cfm.
As the largest private employer in the city of Los Angeles, the number of USC TE requests is very high. Because our TE program requires a balance of outgoing and incoming students, we are not able to consider applicants after the deadline. The following academic year would be the next option to apply.
TE scholarship awards are approved for a full year. There are no openings in spring terms for exports.
YES. A new TE application is required for the next academic year.
There is an annual recertification to verify that the employee still has education benefits. TELO’s re-certify continuing students annually, typically in February/March.
If an employee leaves USC with 15-years of service, there is no impact to the student’s eligibility. For employees without 15-years of service, the TE scholarship terminates at the conclusion of the semester in which the employee ends their employment relationship with USC.
Notifications of admission must be made before TE decisions are made. Each school provides their TE announcement date on the TE website: telo.tuitionexchange.org/schools.cfm.
The early admission process does not mean that the TE decision will be made sooner than the announcement dates. All applicants are ranked academically to determine awards.
Students who accept TE awards are committed to earning degrees at the other TE institution, and therefore aren’t eligible for Tuition Assistance (TAB) should they transfer to USC.
The two programs may not be combined. Students and parents sign TE contracts with the understanding that TE is a commitment through graduation at the TE Member School.
The program is available for Bachelor’s degrees only.
Each school sets its own guidelines for students. If there is a GPA requirement, the school will note it in their offer letter.
Students apply independently for admission to USC with no reference to TE. The USC Admissions office is not aware of a student’s applying to other universities through TE.