Academics
GPA - 3.96 unweighted, 4.17 weighted
SAT I - 780 reading, 800 math
SAT II - 750 Math 2, 710 US history
Senior Courseload - AP Calc BC, AP Gov, AP English Language, AP French, AP Computer Science Principles A
Extracurriculars/Activities
Policy debate 3 years, captain of my school’s team, ranked 8th best policy debater in my state, reached top 16 and received top speaker awards at several national circuit tournaments
Founded and run a middle school debate program at my school, has students from outside my school. Wrote curriculum, organized funding and marketing for the program as well.
National Honor Society, charity and volunteer work. I hold the position of Sergeant in Arms.
Summer Enrichment Program at University of Oregon for 6 years, residential program with advanced coursework taught by graduate students and professors
Gonzaga Debate Institute Scholars Lab, top research lab at a very well-regarded debate camp, reached top 8 of the camp tournament among very competitive teams
Golf, played on JV for one year and now I play recreationally
In terms of getting “Chanced” for USC, it is virtually impossible for others to predict what may or may not occur in your specific case. With an admit rate now of only 13% and falling, and with 4K+ applicants with 4.0 unweighted GPAs and test scores in the 99th percentile among those not gaining admission, your success will instead likely depend on too many potential factors for anyone to correctly evaluate… making predicting admission nearly impossible.
Instead… it will likely come down to a composite and holistic analysis of your stats coupled with writing ability / essays, ECs, potential leadership roles, potential other unique qualifiers (URM, First Gen, geography, demographics, etc.), your Why USC? explanation/reasoning, etc.
I suggest possibly reading an excellent thread on the topic from the beginning…
@Hooninator - will you get in? My two sons had better stats than you and did not get in. Does that mean you will not get in? Nope. It means my two did not, for whatever reason. Without a strong hook, your chances are about 20% - the acceptance rate at USC. Last year’s hook was “student of color” based on the published reports of the admission’s process.
@usma87 Acceptance rate last year was 12.9% and likely lower this year due to the yield being higher last year so they’ll need a smaller class size this year. For @Hooninator that means nobody can predict and it will be more like a 10-11% overall acceptance rate!
I think saying “last years hook was students of color” is rather reductive. USC has a diverse student body that really does represent reality. They obviously are looking for something unique and also to build a class across all schools/departments.
Last year’s freshman class profile does not support the contention above…
Race/Ethnicity:
White 36%
Asian / Asian American 22%
Latinx / Hispanic 16%
International (student visa holders) 13%
Multiple Ethnicities 7%
Black / African American 5%
Native American or Pacific Islander <1%
Academic Distribution:
Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences 37%
Marshall School of Business 20%
Viterbi School of Engineering 16%
USC’s Arts Schools 15%
(Architecture, Cinematic Arts, Dramatic Arts,
Kaufman School of Dance, Roski School of Art &
Design, Thornton School of Music)
Annenberg School for Comm. & Journalism 5%
Undeclared Major 4%
Keck School of Medicine (Health Studies) 1%
Price School of Public Policy 1%
Iovine-Young Academy 1%
Occupational Therapy Program <1%
Davis School of Gerontology <1%
USC’s goal is to create a well-rounded and diverse freshman class. And yes… the School within USC that you apply to also plays a big role in terms of the competitiveness for a small # of limited spots.
@WWWard - Your numbers prove my point - 36% white - 63% students of color (22+16+13+7+5). This stat was emphasized (one of only three graphics) on several USC press releases after admissions were announced. I feel “diversity” is a focus in education in general. USC is adhering to this ethos.
At our high school, students from India and Middle Eastern descent are included in the white/Caucasian demographic figure. Seems they may be done that way in USC figures as well.
These are the 2018 figures:
Asians 16.8%
Black/African-American 5.6%
Hispanic 14.8%
White/Caucasian 30.7%
International 23.9%
Other 8.1%
@usma87 While I clearly get the point that you are trying to make, they do break down the ethnic categories in what seems like some detail, so I am not sure that anyone can simply assume that the remaining international students are all what you define as people of color. Having a student visa does not make you by definition a minority. Many are from Australia and the UK, for example.
But yes… efforts at diversity and inclusion do have their impacts. In reality, they lead to caps and quotas being applied. In the 1980s, for example, white males as a demographic category faced the greatest challenge when applying to highly competitive colleges and universities due to the fact that far too many overachieving white males were applying. If you fast forward to the last decade, the challenge has shifted to Asians & Asian-Americans (who now face the greatest obstacle) and white female applicants (who by many accounts now face the second greatest challenge). Too many quality applicants of both make-up are applying these days. There have been many articles on this topic in recent years. White males are now deemed fairly neutral in terms of applying, as their numbers have dropped off in terms of the total applying as a percentage.
But of course there are still inherent advantages when applying if you are deemed URM or FirstGen. There are also geographic and economic considerations at play. The program you apply to, especially in terms of applying to USC, can have a monumental impact as well. There are some degree programs at USC with only a staggering 1-2% acceptance rate. But… it is not all about USC simply favoring people of color. There is a lot more that goes into each individual’s holistic analysis of their application packet. Let’s face it, USC has recently had to turn away 90% of all legacy applicants and 4K+ applicants with 4.0 unweighted GPAs and 99th percentile test scores.
Clearly, anyone being rejected may wish to point to a simple reason why. And if you are white/caucasian, ethnicity or targeted diversity could be an easy target. But it could also be the case that a well-qualified candidate with stellar stats sort of coasted through the application process, assuming admission, and did not really put forth the proper effort in terms of essays, their well-researched Why USC? answer, etc. Or… it could simply be the #s. If you applied for a BFA in writing for film and television within SCA and faced rejection, well so did 98% of all applicants. In that case, it more likely came down to your creativity and writing ability. I have watched this all rather intently emerge over the last 5-6 years now. With the admission rates falling as they have, there is no easy answer as to why one quality applicant got rejected while others got in. But as long as any individual applicant can honestly look back at their application process effort and be content with all they did to try and succeed, then failure is actually more due to circumstances beyond your control. If you did your best, and USC did not deem the fit superior to others who received the nod, you will hopefully find a successful landing spot elsewhere. Steven Spielberg tried three times and was rejected all three times. Clearly USC missed the mark with that decision. They have likely also missed out on many thousands of other quality candidates. But there are many other quality colleges and universities to excel at elsewhere.
@WWWard - For all the elite schools there is no “magic formula”. My twins were both rejected last year. One of them had USC as his absolute first choice. He is loving Notre Dame - Go IRISH!