Chance me! Journalism hopeful

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
1

<p>I absolutely love USC, and since I want to major in journalism, USC's Annenberg would be an excellent place for me. However, I'm not at all confident in getting in. Please let me know what you think! Thank you so much!</p>

<p>I know my GPA isn't the greatest, which is my main concern. </p>

<p>TEST SCORES:
ACT Composite: 33 (I'm taking it again to try and get it to a 34)
ACT Reading: 34
ACT English: 35
ACT Science: 34
ACT Math: 26 (ha...getting tutoring for that one...)</p>

<p>SAT II Literature: 790
SAT II US History: 730
SAT II Spanish: 650 </p>

<p>AP Spanish exam: 5
AP English Language exam: 5
AP US History exam: 5
AP Art History exam: 4
AP Euro exam: 3 (bleh)</p>

<p>GRADES:
Weighted (w/freshman year): 4.1
Unweighted: 3.7
Weighted (w/out freshman year): 4.3</p>

<p>UPWARD TREND:
Will my upward trend in grades help? I took THE most rigorous courseload possible.
Freshman: 3.4/3.6 Soph: 3.8/4.0 Junior: 4.8/4.8 </p>

<hr>

<p>EXTRACURRICULARS:
School newspaper, 3 years
Founded the school literary magazine
Alternative Energy Organization, Secretary
Beta Club, Publicity
J-Club (Journalism club), President/Founder
Work experience: Stylist at a local clothing boutique
Internship: Reporter/blogger for a local online newspaper</p>

<p>LEADERSHIP:
Editor-in-chief/Founder of the school literary magazine
Section editor of the school newspaper, 1 year
Editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, 1 year
President/founding member of 2 clubs at school (see above)
Varsity cheer captain</p>

<p>ATHLETICS:
Varsity cheerleading (4 years)
Competitive dance (my whole life)</p>

<p>VOLUNTEER/SERVICE WORK:
200+ hours
Young Leaders in Health Care
Beta Club
Relay for Life</p>

<p>HONORS AND AWARDS:
Won writing competition awards in National Student Press Association journalism conventions
Honor roll
Scholar athlete
AP Scholar awards</p>

2

<p>Looks very solid! Write an original, interesting essay and I think you have a good chance.</p>

3

<p>Seems like you’ve got all the right credentials. Just be sure to relate your journalistic experiences (the newspaper, J-Club, internship) to the Annenberg and how you can use those skills to contribute to the school. Believe me when I say that they love students with unique endeavors (and a bursting passion for journalism, if you’re going for the journalism major!).</p>

<p>Grades/test-wise, they look just fine. :)</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the feedback guys :slight_smile: that makes me feel a LOT better!</p>

5

<p>Oh, and it’s great to hear you got writing awards at those NSPA convention competitions. What category did you write for? I had a ton of fun at them!</p>

6

<p>I absolutely adore the NSPA conventions!!! I’ve done the write-offs twice, and I wrote for the Feature Writing category both times (I won the Excellent distinction both times, too). Is that something worth mentioning in college apps?</p>

7

<p>You’re going to have a limited number of “awards” you can list on your applications, so if your write-off awards are among your best, definitely mention it. But prioritize your most important awards, for sure.</p>

<p>Alternatively, if you don’t have space in the awards section, you can always cleverly weave it into one of your essays. Don’t make it too obvious that you’re trying to slip in the mention (no admissions person wants to read a personal essay centered around just your awards), but all the better if it works!</p>

<p>Congratulations on your Excellent distinctions. I only reached Honorable Mention for News Writing, haha.</p>