Hi, what’s everyone doing regarding scholarships???
@smileesarefree @Pantafootball plenty of people have transferred to USC from 4 year schools, I just think that there’s a enough evidence to infer that if a 4 year student is put head to head with a CC student, both of whom have all the same stats, credits, etc., the CC student would have a higher likelihood of being accepted because with very basic logic, a counselor can determine that the student from the 4 year is lacking commitment to their current university, thus being the reason they want to transfer. I guess this is a matter of opinion but I feel that a lot of people would agree. Either way, no 4 year university student should be discouraged from applying because of this, since there are so many other factors that go into the counselors’ decisions.
@penntousc yeah I see your point maybe saying priority is the wrong term. My bad.
@smileesarefree hi, I think the majority of us here are first worried about getting an acceptance rather than stressing about scholarships.
@smileesarefree I bombed the Topping Scholarship - even though I was like their target demographic (seriously, one of the questions on their application asked if you attended schools from a certain zip code and mine was there lol) and I had a friend that was a Topping Scholar. It was one of the only scholarships that I saw open to me after being admitted for the spring. One of the current scholars stressed that USC would take away money from my current financial aid package if I were awarded the scholarship, so she made it seem like it wouldn’t exactly matter all that much (that USC doesn’t believe in leaving you with “extra” money), but I wanted to be part of the community (especially if it meant getting to do volunteer work at my old CC).
@MechEngr18 Yes. It was also due to inconsistency in the classes I took. I did not prepare my classes well and took a language course instead of a GE which could fulfill one or two categories. The reasons why they want you to finished most or all GE is so that you can focus on your core major classes once you’re at USC and not finishing up your GEs. However, take note that you’ll have to take two additional GE at usc as a transfer regardless if you finish all your GEs before transferring. My admission counselor refuse to tell me why I was rejected and this is what I propose was the reason for my rejection. I also hypothesized that my lack of EC and poorly written essay also contributed to my rejection. I received a SGR and had all A’s, including major prerequisite for business, if I had lots of EC and a strong written essay to back up my lack of GE’s I could’ve been admitted to Spring of 2017. I was only a first year college student when I applied and I am applying again this year. I am very confident this time that I will be admitted because I have more ECs to add in my application, letter of recommendation,polished and refined essay(have many people proofread my essay), strong grades (3.9 gpa), all prerequisites completed, and will finished ALL GE’s by the end of winter session. If I do not get accepted, CSUN is my back up since its accounting program is rigorous and on par with USC’s accounting program. I hope this works. Your situation might be different because you’re engineering major, but I’m sure the GE rule still applies.
@pomeranian4rich I thought GEs were completely irrelevant to the transfer admissions process? That’s what I was told by my counselor at least, and almost everyone else said that on last years thread as well as this years. Unless you mean that you think even though they tell you that, they can still make a difference, in which case I completely understand what you’re saying. I hope they don’t make too much of a difference for me because I literally have none lol
@penntousc I’ve been to many usc tours from my club and talked to many usc counselors at my school event and they keep saying to focus on your GEs and make sure we complete most if not all of them with your major prerequisite. When I applied last year as my first year in college, I did not go to any usc tours or events to understand more of their admission requirements. I thought their requirements were the same as UC schools like ucla, uci, ucsb, until I found out that accounting and economics were not prerequisites for USC. They rather have you take those classes at their school instead. If I had known this, I would’ve taken most if not all my GEs and the major prerequisites for my spring semester, instead of taking accounting and econ. I do not regret not making that decision because staying one more year at a cc will ultimately save me a lot of money, and I’m in a good standing position now than I was when I applied.
@pomeranian4rich alright thanks for clarifying that, I think it’s about time I stop stressing about whether or not I’ve done as much as I can for a first year applicant and just sit back and see what happens. As I’ve said before I’m pretty sure I will have completed 6/8 core literacies and 1/2 of the other odd ball GEs, and right now it looks like this semester is a 4.0 (with calc) so I’m pretty sure that’s as good as it’s going to get for now. Just worried because if I don’t get in as a sophomore, my chances would be even lower as a junior because my CC doesn’t even have enough courses on the articulation to fill up one more semester, let alone a full year. I’m just eager to see how it all pans out for us on here, hopefully we’ll see quite a few acceptances! Good luck, you seemed like a strong applicant last year so I’m sure you’ll be a shoe-in for this year!
@penntousc Thanks! Honestly, when I look back I wasn’t a strong applicant last year. I have noo ECs or impressive essay or anything else that makes me unique from any other applicants. It was my first time applying to USC so I wasn’t sure what they were expecting. Now I feel confident this year since I have experienced what it’s like applying to usc and waiting so long to hear back. I just hope my gpa, EC, and my letter of rec. will be enough this year. A good advice for you is to write a really good essay. Try to stand out in your application. Be honest and authentic in your essay, it doesn’t hurt to be who you are. USC would love bringing diverse students to their school.
@pomeranian4rich alright I will definitely keep that in mind. Thanks!
@pomeranian4rich wow 3.9 that’s great ! Plus almost all ge’s done.
Does anyone on here know if we’re able to send two recommendations? I’m going to have my current counselor send one because she saw all of the research I did to prepare for a transfer to USC, but she recommended that I also have a professor send a recommendation to vouch for my academic performance.
@penntousc you can send 3
So my college doesn’t charge a flat rate tuition fee for anything that’s full time and I can’t financially afford to take the full 15 credits per semester my freshman year (I’m out of state for tuition purposes this year). My plan before I decided that I wanted to transfer was to just make it up in the summer when I would classify as in state. Anyway, I took 12 credits my first semester and will probably take 13 credits my next semester. I have a 4.0. Do you guys think i should bother applying? I’m afraid they’ll think I’m a slacker or something or that I simply haven’t finished enough classes. I mean I used the free time to learn Persian so maybe that could make a difference? How should I go about this?
@USofAwesome definitely not a waste of time to apply! I would just explain to them in the additional information box (I think there’s one besides the personal statement) your circumstances and why you were unable to complete the 30+ credits. Worst case scenario, they would bring into account your high school grades and test scores, but I think they would understand if you explained your situation. Good luck!
Thanks 
I really hope everything works out for all of us haha
Btw since I have less than 30 credits should I retake the SAT? I got a 1950 in HS…
@USofAwesome 1950 seems like it’d be high enough for USC, but definitely explain your reasoning for not completing 30 credits because if they take that into consideration they might not consider test scores and high school stats.
I’ll have 39 transferable credits by the end of the winter semester and expect a 4.0. However, 20 of those credits will be from APs. My High School gpa was a 3.0, and my sat was a 2210. Do you think USC will focus on the 4.0 and SAT?
If it matters, I’m at a CC as a freshman, but I’ll be graduating with 63 credits in the spring with an associate in math and will be applying to the Dornsife.
Heard back from csuf today. I wish USC decisions were as fast as cal states or UC 
inb4 wait till mid-July again ;-;