University of Southern California Program User Guide

Cycle Timeframes

Applicant Portal

The Applicant Portal opens in late June and closes in mid-September, over a 15-month period. You can view the specific cycle dates, including final processing dates (e.g., last date to submit transcripts, last date to request letters of recommendation, etc.), on the USC Application Cycle Dates page.

Configuration Portal

Between early April and late May configurations are entered into the prelaunch environment. The account team and University of Southern California review submitted configurations in June.

WebAdMIT

You can view new applicants and initiate a transfer settings shortly after the new cycle opens in late June.

Program Participation Requirements

The University of Southern California requires all programs to designate two contacts at your institution who will receive all communication from USC, including the configuration, application, and WebAdMIT launch notifications.

Applicant Portal

The first three sections of the USC application (i.e., Personal Information, Academic History, and Supporting Information) compose the core application. They contain questions that are commonly asked of applicants across all participating programs, such as an applicant's biographic information, standardized test scores, and experiences. The fourth section of the application is Program Materials, which is customized by you through the Configuration Portal (discussed in the next section).

You can access the USC application and USC Applicant Help Center to review the applicant experience. You can also create a test application in the Applicant Portal; we recommend creating a new account and adding "test" to your name (e.g., TestJohn TestDoe).

For a general overview of the applicant experience, review the following documents:

• Applicant Processing Reference Guide: learn how applicants move through the application and Liaison processes applicant materials, such as transcripts and official test scores.
• Application Statuses Reference Guide: review what each application status means and how you can interact with applicants at different stages.
  • Review the requirements for the USC Complete application status.
• USC Quick Start Guide and FAQs: a suggested timeline for completing and submitting the application, links to important pages including cycle dates and fees, and a FAQs section.

You can direct any applicant inquiries related to the application to USC Customer Service.

Configuration Portal

Use the Configuration Portal Quick Start Guide to make sure you configure your program(s) efficiently and completely in the prelaunch environment. Be sure to check out your CAS's configuration options and review the best practices found throughout. If any optional sections of the application are required for your program (e.g., experiences, test scores, etc.), you'll want to note this on your program home page.

Once you've configured your program, you'll need to have it approved by the account team and University of Southern California before it is available to applicants. If your program is reviewed after the cycle launches, University of Southern California will approve it.

WebAdMIT

Review the WebAdMIT Manual for any questions related to working in WebAdMIT. The Reference Guides and WebAdMIT Training and Support sections are additional resources as you configure WebAdMIT for your needs. Documents commonly requested include:

• Application Coupons Reference Guide: learn how to request coupons to offset application fees and disperse them to applicants.
• Application Coupon Codes FAQs: view answers to frequently asked questions about coupon codes.
• Data Dictionaries and Master Code Lists: a comprehensive list of all fields available in the Export Manager and Report Manager, including associated lookup tables.
• Deferring Applicants via the Liaison-assisted Deferral Process: learn how to transfer deferred applicants from one cycle to the next.
• Integration Help Center and WebAdMIT API: learn how to set up an API and schedule automatic data exports from WebAdMIT into your SIS/ERP.
• Invitation Codes Reference Guide: learn how to offer individual deadline extensions directly to applicants.
• Social Security Number (SSN) Documents Reference Guide: a guide on how to configure a PGP key to receive an encrypted file that contains the applicant's CAS ID and SSN.
• Transfer Settings Guide: a review of how programs and templates built in WebAdMIT are carried forward each cycle.

The Release Notes feature new enhancements in the Applicant Portal, Applicant Gateway, Configuration Portal, Letters by Liaison, and WebAdMIT, in addition to upcoming training opportunities.

For any questions, contact the Client Support Specialist Team.

Cycle Enhancements