<p>When we spoke with Ad Officer during Explore USC weekend, she commented on the number of applicants, and the number of rejections that will be made this year. One thing that struck me was the struggle that she felt whenever she had to turn down a student, especially when "there are so few spots left to fill". However, her coping mechanism was the self assurance that "at the end, this wonderful student will end up in another fine institution, and everybody will have a place to study". Just a point of view from an admission officer who had to decide on who to admit vs waitlist vs reject.</p>
<p>45000 isn’t bad in comparison to ucla.</p>
<p>USC has a smaller freshmen class than UCLA and will have a lower admit rate.</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing this comment from the ad officer. D and I were talking yesterday, and every school she has applied to claims to have a record # of applicants this year. We figure it’s probably not because any one school has soared in popularity. We are thinking that students simply applied to lots of schools, possibly as a result of the economy. Students are hoping for the best aid package and are comparison shopping by putting a lot of aps out there. Also, schools try to get lots of applicants, admit the ones with the highest scores, (remember, not all those admitted will attend) so they can say the average GPA/SAT score of the admitted freshman class last year was X+++. This makes the schools look better in the official college rankings. </p>
<p>Thoughts? How many schools did you/your student apply to?</p>
<p>Shakespeare, that’s an excellent point. I’d like to add 2 thoughts: that the mediocrity of today’s high school teachers, and particularly guidance counselors, results in the “steering” of kids to a four year degree: that’s the experience these professionals had personally and that is all they seem to know. So when the kids ask for advice, they are told to “go to college” without much other information.</p>
<p>My second thought is the nature of people to exaggerate numbers like “45,000 applicants.” My kids are in music and I’ve heard these crazy numbers for years: “8000 auditioned for 5 spots”…“my son was one of three out of 2000 to get the part.” So perhaps the real numbers are something quite different.</p>
<p>Common app. made for a huge boost.
Here in CA there are many outreach programs to encourage non traditional applicants. AVID , Gear up. I sub teach and last week the AVID Jr. high kids had returned from a trip to USC. It was exciting to see them all psyched about going to USC. The school is 75% free lunch so very poor area.
I had a USC hat on as my son had just been accepted. They were full of questions :)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/private/1112/USCFreshmanProfile2011.pdf[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/private/1112/USCFreshmanProfile2011.pdf</a></p>
<p>Colleges report their actual numbers. The above link shows that the 2011 applicant number was 37,210. A 25% bump on that supports talk of 45-46,000 applications. As prouduscdad said, a switch to the CommonApp typically results in a jump in total applications. SC’s jump of 25% is nearly identical to what Michigan experienced last year. Furthermore it’s not unusual for this growth to continue for a year or two more. It’s being rumored around town that applications at Michigan have gone up another 5-7% this year. If that bump holds true for SC then next year could see an increase to the 47-48,000 range. </p>
<p>Whether due to financial aid shopping, marketing to more international candidates or mere ease of electronic application submission, more students are applying to more places.</p>
<p>Without a doubt, processing this large number of applications at any selective school is an impossible task. When you consider the huge variation in the instructional quality of different schools, it complicates things even more. Finally, the GPA has become an elastic thing in the age of bonus points for AP courses. Personally, I think the USA would be better off if all classes were “AP” and four grade points were all you could get. However, to make that work, we would have to actually treat secondary education as though it was critical to our success as a nation. Sadly, we do not do that now and have not for a very long time.</p>
<p>Shakespearefan,</p>
<p>S2 only applied to four schools. Likewise,S1 only applied to four schools. Their peers all applied to tons more. We didn’t think it was right or fair to apply to schools for which they have minimal interest, that may have been very important to someone else. S1 went 4/4 two years ago. Thus far, S2 was accepted to 1, wait-listed for another and we’re still waiting on 2. If I had known how much the climate has changed in just 2 years, I probably would have encouraged him to apply for a few more. If he gets into USC, nothing else really matters…wouldn’t care if he got rejected everywhere else</p>
<p>S1 only applied to 4 also. Accepted to 1, waiting to hear from the rest. I think we are the exception, with most kids applying to many more schools.</p>
<p>Well, at least we know they have one if all else fails! Good luck to you, OhioMom. May we hear good news soon. I am such a neurotic mess I started crying yesterday, just thinking about all the hard work he has done and it all comes down to a letter in the mail. I suppose if that is my biggest worry for my kids I am a lucky woman. I just attended a meeting the other night where a couple had 2 kids battling mental illness, one of which is extremely suicidal. No matter what, we are blessed to have good, healthy kids. Fight on!</p>
<p>Agree 100%. Best of luck to you too!</p>
<p>The top music schools and theatre schools are not inflating their application numbers from what representatives post in the CC music and theatre forums. We are not talking about schools which are new or have non-audition programs.</p>
<p>Highly selective music schools such as Thornton have so many applicants there is a system of pre-screening for the performance majors. Composition applicants must present a portfolio and resume. Performance majors send in a video/CD, according to each school’s requirements to desired schools/conservatories. Each school considers these, which may be in the hundreds, and then selects the students they wish to come for an audition. The audition is in person and may be at the school or “unifieds” at central locations across the country. These auditions are key to admission. Some famous teachers only take two or three students. James Walker, the premier Thornton flute professor, only took two students last year. That is one reason students feel it is necessary to apply to a range of schools, including a safety that is both an academic and financial safety.</p>
<p>If you can find the time Thornton has YouTube videos of some of their performers. I think you will enjoy the talents of these students.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Initially my D was applying to four: USC, UCLA, UCSC, and UGA. Guidance counselor (“college placement specialist”) told her she had no safeties and needed more.
As of today she’s 2 for 2 (admitted to UCLA and UCSC) so I consider the extra almost $300 spent on the super-safety applications mostly a waste.
One of the super safeties offered her a ton of merit aid though so it is still in the mix. Fight on…</p>
<p>Nothing in the mail, will rejections arrive one day later?</p>
<p>Just got a rejection. Kinda surprising considering my scores are higher than their averages, but it wasn’t ever really a choice for me–too close to home. Good luck everyone!</p>
<p>nope, same day for all</p>
<p>But acceptances are priority mail and the thin envelopes regular mail right?</p>
<p>Really? What were your scores @maddyc123?
My scores are within their averages. Man, I think the nervousness is just starting to hit me.</p>
<p>My d has high test scores too but still expects a rejection. It’s hard to get your hopes up too high when you have to beat out about 38,000 students who are probably very well qualified to be there.</p>