Chance me for USC

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
1

Just finished junior year
Lives in California
SAT: 1500
GPA: 3.4 (10-11 UW), 4.08 W
Have not taken Subject tests yet
Ap: APUSH, APP1, APPC, all scores pending (For senior year, AP Chem and Calc AB, Self Studying Ap Music Theory)
Major: Mathematics for computation
I did early college at my highschool, which is a program that lets you graduate with an Associates Degree from highschool, from taking college courses at a local community college
ECs: Eagle scout, Internship at USC relating to Chemistry, 4 years of Marching band as a sousaphone, section leader for 1 year, CM LVL 8 for Piano, Classical Karnatic Music for 9 years, KCA (Kannada Cultural Association) Youth committee president for 1 year (worked on organizing fundraisers, community activities), wind ensemble at school, trumpet for 4 years, Tae Kwon Do for 6 years and 2nd degree black belt (Not sure if this counts because it was in middle school)
Hooks: First gen, parents were immigrants from India,

PS: I wasn’t sure if this is important, but for the USC Internship, I have done 2 years, but I dont have much to show in terms of projects, just confirmation from the head of the chemistry department. The Intership only has 3 highschool students who just help out, but the work seems to be pretty important, the head of the project worked with a team to win a nobel prize in Carbocations via superacids, and the project right now is replacing normal fuel like gasoline with ethanol. Would mentioning or going into detail about this in my transcript be beneficial?

2

You’re very competitive but just make sure that you work on building your cumulative GPA. Trends in your grades matter a lot and so hitting it out of the park in your senior year will really matter. Beyond that, just remember to think holistically about your application in terms of essays and letters of recommendation.

3

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 below 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…

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/1558825-what-are-my-chances-read-this-first-p1.html

Moreover, it may be best to just read through the following very helpful insider’s guide to USC admissions…

https://tfm.usc.edu/a-guide-to-uscs-college-admissions-process/

Good Luck…