Less Hawai'i kids getting into USC?

May 1st is quickly approaching - the deadline for high school students to decide where they will be going to college. Recently there has been a declining trend of Hawai'i students entering USC... In particular, 'Iolani and Punahou have always sent a large group of students to USC. Together, the two schools have consistently sent about 50 students each year - until recently. My graduating class (Class of 2008) at 'Iolani was 231 students, and 20 of us came to USC (and then 2 of our classmates transferred in later) - 22 out of 231 is almost 10% of our graduating class! I am not entirely sure about Punahou's exact numbers, but I think they sent about 30 students our year. They do have a substantially larger class than us, but regardless, 30 is a significant contribution. And then in addition to these two main contributing schools, public schools and other private schools sent students to USC, as well.

Why were there so many Hawai'i kids coming to USC? Of course there is no single answer, but some of the reasons include the following:

• USC offered a significant number of merit scholarships to Hawai'i students (money is always a big factor in decisions)
• LA/Southern California is an appealing place for those from Hawai'i (weather, general culture, location, etc.)
• There were already so many Hawai'i kids at USC - many people had friends and/or siblings who were already Trojans (and parents who are alumni of USC, too, maybe!)

But the numbers are quickly decreasing... The 'Iolani Class of 2009 sent about 17 students to USC, and the 'Iolani Class of 2010 only sent about 13 students.

So why the decrease in incoming USC freshmen from Hawai'i? USC is rapidly becoming a more and more competitive school, and this has several possible effects that result in a declining number of Hawai'i kids becoming Trojans -

• Less Hawai'i kids are being accepted in general
• But I wonder if this is due to USC becoming more competitive, Hawai'i schools lowering their standards, or Hawai'i students becoming less qualified relative to mainland kids... or something else...
• Less scholarships are being offered to Hawai'i students now that USC is trying to attract more students from the East Coast (who previously did not consider USC)
• Most of the Hawai'i students that USC admits now also get into other "more prestigious" schools - and end up going there

Hopefully the numbers will start increasing again - especially for the Marshall School of Business, which I think is one of the strongest parts of USC (of course, I am biased though, haha).