Chance me? (Don't be angry)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
1

<p>I know I might get flamed for this, but I couldn't find a standard chance me thread for USC. Yes, yes, I know that it might seem silly to ask for a chance after I've already submitted my application, but I just want to hear what you all think, especially since Jr transfer threads seem minimal. I appreciate what anyone has to say.</p>

<p>Connecticut Resident
White, 24 yrs. old
Junior Yr Transfer Applicant
Attend #2 best rated Community College in the Country (yes they do rate them)</p>

<p>Married, No Children
Wife working on her PhD dissertation in Political Science at UCONN (I know this really has no bearing, but shows I keep good company )
Disabled Veteran (no educational hinderance)
Will receive FULL tuition plus stipend for any school I am admitted to. (Through a vocational rehab program by the VA)</p>

<p>GPA - 3.9ish with nearly 80 credits
Currently taking full load (12 credits)</p>

<p>AS in Laboratory Science from George Washington University (I should note that this was through a partnership with the Navy, in case anyone might say "If you can get into GWU...")</p>

<p>HS - Started with 4.0, Honors track, slipped severly in junior year due to extreme personal problems (explained in essay), ended up barely graduating.</p>

<p>AP Tests/classes</p>

<p>Junior Year
Biology: C in the class, 5 on the test</p>

<p>Senior Year
Calc AB: C in the class, 3 on test :(</p>

<p>SAT/ACT</p>

<p>Never took them. This is sort of embarrassing, but I was in a really bad place during the last two years of HS. Plus, USC doesn't require them for Junior Transfers.</p>

<p>Essays: Very unique and strong. Writing has always been my saving grace, and I have won more than one (HS level) writing award. Also, I've my fair share of interesting material to share from my life.</p>

<p>EC's:
Current:
-Asst. Editor of award winning student run college newspaper
-Wrote, directed, and edited informational video series for college library
-Collaborating with local documentarian on a new project
-Videographer, editor, and DVD author for a statewide Step competition.</p>

<p>Past:
- Staff writer HS newspaper
-Theater - in 11 HS productions (2 while still in JrHS), directed 2</p>

<p>Volunteer service:
- Started, organized, and ran a program that brought Service members to work at local Soup Kitchens in San Diego.
-Nothing currently</p>

<p>Job: 40(+) hrs/week 3rd shift (10pm to 8am) as a Medical Laboratory Scientist at a large hospital in Springfield, MA.
-Asst. Editor at college paper (noted above)
-Freelance Videographer</p>

<p>Notes: I've heard of poor high school/great college transfer success stories, but I am not sure how I stack up. I understand that most schools don't look much at HS transcripts for Jr transfers, but my past still makes me anxious.</p>

2

<p>based on what i've read on the official stats thread and ur current gpa and ecs u got a pretty good chance. good luck</p>

3

<p>I'd say you have a very good shot, your personal life experiences are impressive. The only negative aspect is your lack of SATs - even though USC doesn't require them per se, they are still implicitly recommended. Good luck, I hope you get in!</p>

4

<p>Thanks to you both for your responses. I realize that lack of the SAT or ACT can hurt me, but I have been hesitant to take them. I just hope that they recognize that I have worked hard to turn my academic life back in the right direction.</p>

<p>Thanks again for the well wishes.</p>

5

<p>Gd luck. I think you have a good shot. It's not set, but good shot.</p>

6

<p>Your essays and recommendations will play a large part in the decision. A chances thread without SAT/ACT scores is difficult. A chances thread for a transfer applicant that fails to state one's intended course of study or major makes guessing even more difficult as USC may not be a match for you based on your interests. USC admissions might think that you would be better served by attending another school that more closely matches your intended area of study. Have you applied to any state supported universities? Why USC? What is your intended area of concentration?</p>

7

<p>Thanks portege and icy9ff8.</p>

<p>Icy, I am a Cinema Arts applicant. Specifically film production. As for state schools, I applied to one of the other obvious film schools UCLA. I also applied to U Texas at Austin (I like their program), as well as Emerson College in Boston near me. </p>

<p>I am pretty confident with UTex and Emerson. UCLA and USC were always more of my long shot schools.</p>

<p>I realize that w/o SAT/ACT the chancing is tough, I just wanted some general opinions. I appreciate any comments, really :). Thanks again icy.</p>

8

<p>Many universities like community college applicants, although I don't know about USC. A 3.9/4.0 GPA is outstanding and USC is the school for your intended course of study. Without SAT/ACT scores, USC may want to see evidence of your talent, ability or accomplishment in cinematic arts--such as a short film or screenplay or internship experience--to bolster your stated interest in this major. Having recently received a $300 million gift from George Lucas, the film school at USC should be the nation's best. Emerson is also wonderful, but schools like USC, UCLA, NYU & Northwestern University are the Harvard, Yale, Princeton & Stanford for your major. Good luck! I think that you will get in.</p>

9

<p>From what I've seen/heard, USC accepts a lot of transfers for such a prestigious school, especially juco students, which I think is great. With that sort of GPA, etc. I think you have a great shot. </p>

<p>Of course you're applying for a tough program, but my money's on an acceptance letter for you.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

10

<p>


</p>

<p>Not trying to start a fight, but I am curious --- what is the relationship between the first and second part of the statement above? It is akin to stating in the late 90s "The AOL-Time Warner merger is the richest in history, hence it is the best company ever". Money does not necessarily equal greatness, though in academics there usually is a decent correlation. However, building greatness takes time even with money. And the size of the grant has little to do with the quality of the school. Rich dudes and dudettes give money to all sorts of schools for all sorts of reasons.</p>

11

<p>While that's a valid point, your analogy doesn't work. The education "industry," if you will, is a LOT more stable than the tech one, especially the dot-com field. AOL was on top of its game years ago, now look at it.</p>

<p>Whereas Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc. were on top and never looked back. Giving money to a school does, in fact, help it immensely by allowing for them to hire top-notch professors, lure top students with new resources, etc. </p>

<p>And USC is a prime example of this theory at work, not just at its film school but everywhere. Look at its incredible climb up the rankings, and look at how much its endowment has increased. And this is not me confusing correlation with causation- the endowment was key.</p>

12

<p>Agreed with all points you make, except that my analogy is bad :-). I can name plenty of examples of unsuccessful mega-mergers in the textile and steel industries. Money does help, but as I said it takes time. Quickly built-up institutions sometimes fall just as quickly. NCSU's sciences/materials program is a case in point. In the mid 90's they hired a bunch of "stars" that were leaving Bell Labs and IBM Yorktown, only to see them leave by the early 2000's. The quality of their program went up dramatically, but now they are just another university doing the same as everybody else.</p>

<p>USC's climb is taking 15+ years and is still ongoing. And some would argue that the climb in the academic rankings and money is more driven by a rise in the football rankings than anything else. People do stupid things for sports. Once when I was visiting Duke's Physics Department I was amazed to learn that the year after they won their first basketball championship, the number of GRADUATE applications in Physics went up 100%.</p>

13

<p>Certainly that is not particularly applicable to the film school, which has been arguably #1 for a long time, even before the meteoric rise of USC in the past 15 years. The additional money can only increase the gap between SC film and other film schools.</p>

14

<p>Thanks everyone. I have made certain decisions since hs with transferring specifically in mind. We'll see if it has paid off.</p>

<p>Now the long wait for the transfer decisions.</p>