<p>I'm thinking of applying to USC next year (I'm currently a senior.) I'm wondering if you guys could give me an outside opinion, because I think it's a pretty high reach for me, and I'm not sure if applying is even worth it</p>
<p>GPA (u/w): 3.4
SAT: superscore is 2110, 690CR, 670M, 750W (I'm taking it again and most likely getting around 2200-2300)
ACT:33</p>
<p>My courses for high school were pretty rigorous, I will have taken 12 APs by the time that I graduate. So far I've passed all of them except 2, and I plan on passing the 5 that I'm taking this year. I'm male, I live in Florida. </p>
<p>ECs:
Tennis-3 years (captain senior year), coaching for 4 years (including special needs for 2 years and kids from 4-18 years old)
JSU (Jewish Student Union)-3 years, president senior year
Model UN-2 years
AIPAC-1 year
Cofounder recycling club in 11th grade, won county-recognized awards, was funded by Pepsi and Waste Management
Mu Alpha Theta-1 year
Have been tutoring students for about 3 years
Over 300 volunteer hours
Organized a charity drive involving several different drives, however didn't end up raising much
Worked in an office for an entire summer</p>
<p>I don't really have any idea what I want to major in, not sure if this will hurt me. I'm not sure if this is enough info, but I just want to get an idea about my chances of getting in. THANK YOU!</p>
<p>Your scores are in the middle 50% for USC and you have good course rigor and ECs. The part that is tough is that USC had over 46,000 applicants, and the average GPA for ALL applicants was 3.56 unweighted, so at least 23,000 applicants had a stronger GPA - you already know that makes it a reach. Everything else looks good, so it is worth a shot to apply - just be sure to have good safeties on your list.</p>
<p>Alright, thank you for your reply, it’s by far the most useful reply I’ve gotten. Do you think my chances are the same, or even slightly lower, for Tufts or Duke?</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about Tufts or Duke - sorry!</p>
<p>I do think you have a great EC for an essay topic - teaching tennis to special needs kids. You might be able to write something along the lines of how working with the kids changed your definition of “success” or your perspective of your own accomplishments. Might set you apart - good luck!</p>
<p>I actually just started to write an essay about pretty much that exact topic, more along the lines of never giving up, even when you’re at a disadvantage and how that changed my life. And thank you for your time, I really appreciate your responses!!</p>
<p>I would recommend applying. I am a current USC student with a GPA not much higher than yours and I still got in. Then again, my SAT score was extremely close to 2200 and I got an 800 in one of the subjects so that was definitely a factor. If you can bring the scores up o</p>
<p>Alright, thanks walnorte! Do you think you had an aspect that made up for your relatively low GPA (if it’s very close to mine)? Like were your essays of ECs spectacular in any way?</p>
<p>Adamolly, the SAT score certainly helped. Other things that did it though probably the essay (a college counselor said it was one of the best essays he ever read,) and I had some really strong ECs. I wasn’t sure I would get in because of my GPA but I think the SAT score, the ECs and the essay really helped me get in.</p>