<p>I am a junior in the Northeast. I have a 3.8-3.9 (UW) and 4.40 (W). I take all honors classes and am currently taking one AP class. </p>
<p>I have great ECs. I am a part of four clubs. I am president in one of them and I started one club. And I have attended an Ivy League's summer program and because of my EC I have been on the NY Times.com!</p>
<p>I was a lead volunteer at a prestigious hospital and have 200 hours of service. I am also a part of the student government. </p>
<p>I am a great writer so my essay should be good any teacher-counselor recs should be amazing also</p>
<p>I got a 1950 on my first practice SAT test!</p>
<p>I will get a 2000+ on the real test if I study hard enough!</p>
<p>Your ECs are “enough” I think (at least for applying to USC; keep doing them if you like lol). I think that it’s best if you focus on your SAT; USC doesn’t post SAT data on CollegeBoard, but I think the 75th percentile is around 2200, but you’ll see many people with 2100 get in. Luckily, USC also superscores. Your GPA is fine in my opinion. (One thing you should keep in mind is that it’s harder for out-of-state people to get in. The undergrad population is usually around 50% from California, 40% from other states in the US, and 10% International if I’m not mistaken.)</p>
<p>According to CollegeBoard, for USC:</p>
<pre><code>Admission requirements:
[ul]
[li] Required: SAT Reasoning Test or ACT[/li][li] Considered if Submitted: SAT Subject Tests[/li]</code></pre>
<p>Very important admission factors:</p>
<pre><code>[li] Application Essay[/li][li] Recommendations[/li][li] Rigor of secondary school record[/li][li] Standardized Test Scores[/li][li] Academic GPA[/li]</code></pre>
<pre><code>[li] Alumni Relation[/li][li] Character/Personal Qualities[/li][li] Class Rank[/li][li] Interview[/li][li] Racial/Ethnic Status[/li][li] Volunteer Work[/li][li] Work Experience[/li][li] First generation college student[/li][/ul]
</code></pre>
<p>In other words, academics > ECs slightly. As of right now, I think USC is a reach because you’re an OOS and your SAT I is relatively low. But other than that, you’re a really strong candidate. </p>
<p>Sorry if I just repeated a bunch of stuff you already knew lol.</p>
<p>Everything seems on point, so I think if you can work to get at least a 2100 on your SAT, get really good recs, and write a killer essay (assuming you haven’t already), you will have a really good chance of getting in! Decisions usually come down to the subjective stuff with USC.</p>
<p>Oh and I have to respectfully disagree with the above poster that it’s harder to get in from out of state. I think the student population just reflects the vast amount of Californians that apply (because, well, who would ever want to leave California :p). But USC is private, so they’re not allowed to give preference to someone just because they’re from California. So you shouldn’t worry about that aspect.</p>
<p>I agree with sclove. On a SC board I’m a member on, some people (mostly alums) actually believe that President Nikias is actually looking to increase out of state diversity. Just something to think about. Here’s his post:</p>
<p>Your GPA is golden. Your extracurrics have that “star power” that I think SC appreciates. Boost your SAT above at LEAST a 2050, preferably over 2100, and you’ve got a pretty damn good shot. Hope to see you here in 2012. </p>
<p>I’d shoot for at least a 2200 and then I’d think you stand a good shot.</p>
<p>The middle 50% of admitted freshmen last year had an SAT of 2020 – 2230. A 2000 or so would put you below 25% of admitted freshmen, which isn’t a good place to be. Just work hard man and I’m sure you’ll get there.</p>
<p>You can also try taking the ACT. Some people like it better than the SAT, so take both and see which one you do better on. If you do, shoot for a 32 or 33.</p>
<p>Good luck dude, and don’t stress about it too much. You’re already ahead of a ton of juniors for looking into college this early.</p>