Chance me!

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
1

<p>Hi. I am currently an Asian-American male junior going to a pretty competitive public high school in Virginia. Going to major in engineering. Please chance for USC!</p>

<p>Objective:
* SAT I: Math 800, CR 690, CW 760 Total: 2250-one sitting *retake in September
* SAT II: 800 (Math II); 760 (Chemistry); 800 (Chinese)
* PSAT: 239 (National Merit Finalist)
* Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.78 (Yes very low, I’m well aware)
* Weighted GPA (out of 5.0): 4.40
* Rank: Top 25%
* AP (place score in parenthesis):
European History: 4
Calculus AB: 5
U.S. History: 4
Chemistry: 4
Psychology: 5</p>

<p>Subjective:
* Extracurricular (place leadership in parenthesis):
-National Honor Society, National English Honor Society, History Honor Society, Math Honors Society
-Math Club, Invisible Children Club, World Culture Club
-Varsity Indoor Track
-Varsity Basketball
-Varsity Scholastic Bowl Team
-Varsity Football
-Leadership Class (Sophomore-Senior Year)
-Piano (10 Years)
* Awards:
-Honor Roll all years
-Piedmont Virginia Regional Science Fair Winner (Math Category 2010)
-National Merit Finalist
* Volunteer/Community service:
Habitat for Humanity (100 Hours)
Local Library (50 Hours)
Projection Work (100 Hours)
Hospital (150 Hours)
TOTAL: 400 Hours
* Summer Activities:
Summer Internship at Pathology Department assisting in Lab experiments (2009)
Junior Tennis Team (2009)
* Teacher Recommendation: One from English teacher (11th) and AP Chemistry teacher (11th)
* Counselor Rec: Loves me
* Additional Rec: N/A</p>

<p>Other
* State (if domestic applicant): Virginia
* School Type: Public
* Ethnicity: Asian
* Gender: M
* Income Bracket: >250,000
* Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation</p>

<p>COURSES TAKEN: (TOUGHEST COURSE LOAD POSSIBLE TO MANKIND.)</p>

<p>7th Grade:
Honors Algebra I: A/A
8th Grade:
Honors Geometry: A/A</p>

<p>Freshman Year:
Honors English 9: A/A
Honors World History I: A/A
Honors Algebra II: A/A
Honors Biology I: B/A
Spanish I: A/A
Info Tech Fundamentals: A/A
PE/Health: A/A</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:
Gym/Health: A/A
Honors English 10: B/A
AP European History: B/B
Honors Math Analysis: A/A
Honors Chemistry I: A/A
Spanish II: A/A
Computer Science I: A/A
Leadership I: A/A</p>

<p>Junior Year:
Honors English 11: B/A
AP U.S. History: C/A
AP Calculus AB: B/A
AP Chemistry II: C/A
Honors Physics: A/A
AP Psychology: B/A
Spanish III: A/A
Leadership: A/A</p>

<p>Senior Year Course-load:
AP English 12
AP Government
AP Calculus BC
AP Biology
AP Statistics
Astronomy
Honors Spanish IV
Leadership III</p>

<p>How do these stats look? I might have forgotten something, so if there are any questions, feel free to ask. Also if there's anything I need to improve on, please say. THANKS!</p>

2

<p>oh, also I have heard USC is not a very safe school because it is located in a bad part of L.A. Is this true?</p>

3

<p>Hey Lollerblades,
My daughter is at USC Viterbi now. Your stats look competitive and admissions loves new Trojans from out of state. You have some great community service experience. Maybe you can highlight some of it in your application essay. Be sure to find out who the regional rep is so that you can talk to her when she comes to your high school in the fall. USC offers interviews in metro DC in late fall and she will tell you about those so you can get an interview date. USC likes to see a lot of interest on your part. If you get in, NSFs automatically get a presidential scholarship for 1/2 tuition! My daughter loves Viterbi and all of the other activities offered at USC. The area is urban, an amazing opportunity for more community service. There are several new dorms that opened in the last few years and an amazing group of students from around the US and the world.</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the wonderful input!</p>

5

<p>looks really good.</p>

6

<p>I had similar stats, a bit higher GPA (around 3.85 I think), and fewer community service things, and I got in. I will say though I don’t immediately see any leadership positions on your list. If you don’t have any, then now’s the time to apply yourself, get into the leadership of your favorite club or group, and meaningfully contribute to making the organization better. Right now you look like a stereotypical “smart asian” which is an unfair characterization but people make it anyways.</p>

<p>Oh, and definitely highlight your summer internship work too.</p>