I think everyone is having an issue… we are down to the last few weeks before the hammer drops… I haven’t contacted mine lately but the last time I emailed him with a question he was pretty good at responding back to me (1-2 day turnaround minus weekends)
I wouldnt take it personally… however if you need something i would try calling the office.
@1HopefulTransfer Glad everyone validated that age can be irrelevant, in fact it may add diversity which they love love love. The lack of response from an AO has no correlation, it just means there are unresponsive AO’s, which unfortunately is a reputation USC has justifiably earned to some degree. There are plenty in constant contact with a responsive AO that are ultimately rejected, so it swings both ways. There are AOs which are amazing and respond no matter how busy and take great pride in knowing their applicants. There are also some with quite the entitled attitude (my least favorite). But they are a small department with lots of responsibility and likely get zillions of emails - but again, they could be more consistent overall and do better here for sure. Once in, advisors are terrific. Wish you luck in your quest for USC and more education/opportunities in life!
do our counselors make our decision?
@transfer20241 Is it really a low grade? Are you sure it needs explaining? Agree, if you feel it needs explaining, you may upload it to your portal. Just be careful, some excuses aren’t good ones to use, for example, never blame a bad professor, it’s hard to make that ever come across as a good reason for a low grade, even if fault does in fact lie there.
Personally, I don’t think the decision is solely on our AO. I think they may have those applicants in their region that REALLY stands out to them so they may put them aside for further discussion with the office and they may do this process repeatedly… only the USC Admission knows how they go through their applicants…
@CADREAMIN gives excellent advice. I work in higher education. Blaming a professor won’t go over well. Focus on struggles in your own life. The pandemic has had a widespread effect on students’ progress the past year. People are aware of this.
@transfer20241 I agree with @LACali and @CADREAMIN I think focusing on your internal struggles instead of reflecting blame on outside influences is VERY good… in my opinion, being aware of your shortcomings and finding a solution to that shortcoming shows resilience and that outside influence have minimal effect on your goals and aspirations… Life is FULL of outside influences and if you show your effected by those things might come off negatively… if you are going to explain the grade, just be mindful how you are going to present that explaination.
I would imagine it’s a combination or group of them; not just your own. However, that’s just speculation from a post on here many years ago. I always say somebody should do their work study in the admissions office and come back here to give the inside scoop. I applied twice and had a different counselor the second time. I was accepted the second time around.
You might have had a stronger app the second time around with a record of more classes/grades! 
Anyhow, hope people hear something soon - perhaps this week -so you can put the angst behind you!
Im hoping for this week if not next week good luck everyone!
My GPA was (slightly) worse and I had a W, haha, but yeah, I did have another two semesters of full-time attendance. I had 100 units by the end of it.
anyone here a transfer looking to start at USC their sophomore year?
Can W’s affect your application. I had one W because of personal circumstances but I retook it and got an A in the course.
me but i didnt get my decision yet lol only got SGR so far on May 4
oh ok! are you transfering from a cc or 4 year?
4 year, San jose state university. We should talk more bout this somewhere else lol. my snap is suj_splash and my instagram is suj_splash also so just hmu there
ok I will follow you on insta and dm you
Too many can have a negative impact. About 3+ can look bad. However, if you’ve already taken the class again and got a good grade, it’s really a non-issue. They just don’t seem to like a pattern of dropping classes every semester and seeing lots of W’s.
Thank you! I only received one W