A few USC questions from a recent applicant

<p>I first started looking into USC after seeing that it had the #1 international business ranking according to USnews so I decided to check it out. I decided to apply, so here I am now. </p>

<p>First question: Do I have a good shot at getting in (I am an Ohio resident)</p>

<p>SATI: Cr: 660 M: 690 W: 730 12 on essay composite: 2080
GPA: 3.82 at a hard public school and a schedule consisting of 8 AP classes and the rest honors
SATII: MathI: 680 Spanish :670</p>

<p>Secondly, will I know if I am qualified for the honors college after I receive an acceptance because as I filled out the application I found no place to indicate that I was interested in that.</p>

<p>Third: I applied to "pre-international business acceptance after one year" How hard is it to get into that program after 1 year? If I don't get into that, what do I do? Also if anyone could provide any information whatsoever about this program it would be appreciated.</p>

<p>Lastly, what are my chances at possible merit scholarships? </p>

<p>Any general comments about the school would be appreciated as well as I have not had a chance to visit yet.</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

<p>THEAjay - I'm not an expert but let me throw in my 2 cents anyway on two of your questions.<br>
First - you've got an extremely high probability of getting in.
Lastly - general comment is regarding scholarships. If you get even a small scholarship (which you also have a great chance of being awarded) you get the even bigger consideration: you are deemed to be an in-state student. That's worth a fair bit of money.
Good luck.</p>

<p>oh wow, that just bumped up South Carolina to #2 on my list (#1 is the other USC lol) but yeah, I also did some research on their IB major and wow it seems competitive. They only take 50 a year I guess and you apply in the spring of your freshman year. They look for internationally focused kids which I think I am (4 years of Model UN, travel experience to almost 20 countries, 5 years of Spanish, 1 year of Chinese so far) so I am fairly confident about getting into that if I work my butt off my freshman year. </p>

<p>Thanks Hayden</p>

<p>Does anyone know how many students generally apply for the IB major? Also if anyone can answer any of my other questions it would be great. Thanks!</p>

<p>To be considered for the Honors College you need to fill out a separate application from the regular admissions form. Thus you fill out two admission forms--one for regular and one for the honors college. The honors college application has several essay questions. You should apply early--I can't remember when you can start applying for admissions---October? With rolling admissions I believe it helps to turn in the form as early as you can. The earlier you turn in your application the faster they will respond to you.</p>

<p>Am I able to turn in the honors college form before I receive acceptance to the University? Or do I need to wait on a decision? I just looked and they said the honors college form is due like 12-1 or something. I should hopefully have a decision by the end of October.</p>

<p>You just need to meet the deadline for the Honors application. It is a difficult application (one of the more difficult I have seen for an Honors program) so don't wait until the last minute and not allow yourself enough time. </p>

<p>If you do find out about acceptance to USC before the Honors appl deadline you will still not know about merit awards until the mid Feb to early March.</p>

<p>the Honors App also serves as your app for the scholarships.Don't delay on filling it out when it becomes available.Its time consuming and difficult but so worth it.Don't be one of those who say...oh I won't bother.....
You'll have no admittance problem and stand an excellent Honors chance.Your experiences sound good for IB but it is so competitive.I know they like language background,so multiple languages and travel are excellent for you. Look into the stats/criteria/perks of the McNair Scholarship ( highest level for out of state students).USC doesn't count the writing portion of the SAT.Were you planning a retake this Fall? It would help your Honors/Scholarship chances tremendously if you could crack the 1400 on the non writing composite score.This USC is liberal in their granting of credit for AP exam scores. S did 8 AP's in HS and went in to USC with 24 credits from them plus summer program credits. He's actually a soph with junior standing now.</p>

<p>Thanks guys,</p>

<p>and yes I do plan to retake the SAT this fall. I have one question about the honors college.</p>

<p>generally how large are the classes? One of my concerns about USC was the possibility of a lot of classes being like 40+. I'm generally one for smaller classes.</p>

<p>Also it would be great if any more information about IB can be given.</p>

<p>Thanks guys, your replies have been incredibly helpful.</p>

<p>S knows one girl accepted nto IB after freshman year.She's a Carolina Scholar recipient in the Honors College and lived on his floor of Maxcy last year.They will look at your HS record plus what you have accomplished in your freshman year.If you are accepted into the Pre IB program and the Honors College, you will have two academic advisors helping you prepare yourself for their admittance process. He does know she continued with language classes and was active in community service activities on campus.
He was supposed to have one roommate in his on campus apt this year whi is a junior IB who had been studying abroad in China last Spring and was slated to study in Thailand this coming spring (08) but the guy moved off campus before S could get to know him.
S's Honors classes have ranged from >10 to about 25.I think they are capped at 25. This semester he has a range of sizes from that >10 (Philosophy/Honors) to 300+ (Intro to Management,Regular class)He likes having a range of sizes,the 300+ is unusual though.I think he said his largest up till now was about 50 for an Intro to Music.</p>

<p>thanks cathymee</p>

<p>but yea, I do definately plan to continue both languages and I may even pick up another one (I'm good with languages) and I will certainly get involved on campus.</p>

<p>anyone have a general idea about how many applicants try for the IB major?</p>

<p>thanks!</p>

<p>Thea
I was mistaken about the girls admittance to IB...she was a soph not a freshman.You need to have completed 45 college level credits.This is what else I've found out...they took in 60 this year,raised it from 50 prior.Don't know how many applied. The average college GPA was 3.80 of the admitted group.Half of the admittances were from the Honors College.Theres a committee that reviews your application.GPA is most important,essay next.They want to see continuance of foreign language and student leadership whether in campus organizations or work experience.</p>

<p>hmmmm, how long does it generally take to complete 45 credits? Can I apply for this in the spring of my freshman year?</p>

<p>normally 45 credits would take three semesters (average 15 cr a semester) It seems set up so that you apply during your soph year and they accept you during spring of your soph year and they take you in as a junior. This is common with pre professional programs</p>

<p>My suggestion to you and everyone! </p>

<p>I cannot say enough about getting your apps in early! The cut off is in December, however, last year a friend told me that her D (who was very qualified), did not get her app in until near the cut off date. She was told that she did not get in because there was such a large number of qualified apps and that they were already full, and that they did NOT OPEN any of the apps in December for fall admission consideration...she was offered spring admission. She ended up going to UGA.</p>

<p>If your DD or DS really wants USC my best suggestion is to get your app in ASAP - A good thing is that you will hear sooner than later if the app is in early (on an admittance to the school). My D had her app in by the 2nd week of September, and she was received admittance by the end of October. Of course, the other info regarding awards came later. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>okay great thanks, yeah I have already submitted my application and my transcript will be sent out in the next week. I have already requested that an SAT score report be sent.</p>

<p>also, i cannot find the honors college application anywhere on the website? Has it been released yet? Is it something I can only fill out offline? Any help with this would be great appreciated. Thanks</p>

<p>Thea
I dont think its out yet.Look for it sometime around Oct 1. I believe you can do hard copy or on line. Good luck with that and let me know if you want S's contact info when you're ready to do it..he helped three kids this past year, all of whom were accepted as 2007 McNair's and two of whom are now attending (the third took a great offer at UNC-CH)</p>

<p>thank you very much cathymee</p>

<p>i looked at last years application and it looks quite involved.
Thanks!</p>

<p>Last year I told me D to get her Honors application in early but she did not listen and waited until the deadline to turn it in. She did not get accepted and we really don't know why except for her being too slow with her application and probably not having high enough board scores. I have the impression they really weigh heavily on board scores, gpa and AP courses. Daughter had many extracurriculars and writing awards but that did not do the trick alone.
Keep checking for the honors application as it takes them awhile to get it posted online. Try to apply as soon as you reasonably can. Take time to answer the essay questions because i assume they like to see that you have college goals in mind. Good luck. If you took this much initiative to find out about the application process and the IB program you must have a head start over other applicants.</p>

<p>I would get the honor's college application in before Nov 15th. We were told to get it in by then to have the best shot at the "big" scholarships. D received a lot of scholarship $ from USC, but has a friend with a 1520 SAT(M +CR) that did not get much(not even Honor's College admittance--did get Capstone scholar)...and we think a lot was due to the fact that he applied on Dec 1st.</p>

<p>Hmmm i heard from someone that the honors application was attached to the regular application. Yet I never noticed this. Can I still apply for the SCHC? I could've sworn I didn't see anything about the honors college on the regular app.</p>