Chance me!

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
1

<p>I am a junior, USC is my #1 choice. My college guidance counselors both say it is a pretty hopeful school for me, but i wanted to see what others think.
I go to the a school in a big city that is very very prestigious- probably top 3 in the city. The name carries alot of weight, and USC really favors my school.
My GPA is about a 3.4, however it should be increasing to around a 3.5/6.... I have almost all B+s for all of high school taking very challenging classes - when i graduate i will have taken 5 honors and 4 (possibly 5) AP's. I would normally acknowledge that a 3.4 is a joke for getting into USC, but my school (and my teachers...!) is REALLY hard. On a normal night i have like 5 hours of homework, minimum.
Besides the lowish GPA, i just received a 34 on the ACT and with a little work can raise that to a 35 (hopefully!)
I got a 2120 on my SAT but thats not a good score so i don't plan to submit it. I did however get a very good PSAT score and know i am going to be a National Merit Commended Scholar. I take SAT 2's in may and hope to get high 700's, we will see...
My teacher rec's are going to be very positive, for though my grades don't always show it i work extremly hard and am favored by my teachers..
Activities:
12-15 hrs a week:
Feild Hockey freshman, soph
Dance team freshman
Triathalon Team - soph, junior
2 hrs/ month (or more)
school literary magazine fresh, junior
JCL (junior classical league) soph
Film club soph
SADD - junior (running for pres senior year.. good chance of winning)
Art club - junior</p>

<p>350+ hrs total:
Community service
(4 yr presidents award recipient, mission trip junior/ sr summer to costa rica, internship at charity organization)</p>

<p>8 hr's a week or more junior year:
Internship at MADD Exectutive offices </p>

<p>very possible internship senior year at prominent corporation that manages private assets... hopefully consistent w/ my major.. </p>

<p>NHS
My school is in the Cum laude society</p>

<p>I know my GPA is horrid, but im hoping good recs, extra curriculars, and test scores can offset that. My interview should help because i can explain that i spent the end of the firs semester / beginning of 3rd quarter in the hospital and so had a resulting grade drop. also, i forgoed taking a 4th year of language etc in order to take challenging / interesting classes. Next year instead of a classic history class i am taking 2 AP Maths (possible major.) and 2 sciences.. </p>

<p>so summary:
GPA - 3.4/5 at well known, challenging school
ACT- 34 (could get to 35)
lots of extracurricualrs including 1, maybe 2 internships, NHS, 350+ hrs community serivec, national merit commended</p>

<p>let me know what you think..! thank you</p>

<p>ps - i don't need / won't apply for financial aid, which i have heard helps.</p>

2

<p>also-
white female
school doesn’t rank, but out of 100 ish i am in the top half or higher
looking at other peoples’ chances depresses me!
just keep in mind that my school has a solid USC hookup and a veeery good reputation, be honest!! thank you! will rate back</p>

3

<p>ahh last thing -
senior year sched</p>

<p>AP AB Calc
AP stat
microbiology
forensics
intro to eingineering, maybe AP econ second semester
english</p>

<p>huge workload for 2 maths at my school </p>

<p>does it look bad to have W/p withdraw passes in classes? soph year. i withdrew honors chem in september and sadly lasted in honors algebra 2 until late 3rd quarter… </p>

<p>also got national awards 8th -10th grade in national latin exam</p>

<p>work 1st semester junior year as a nanny - 6 hrs a week</p>

<p>does SAT prep count as extracurricular? if so i would have like 10 hrs / week for all junior year. </p>

<p>major thoughts: ( i will double major , probably double minor and plan to attend grad school) Math (probably) , Physcology or Art History or PoliSci, minors in some of those / engineering / sociology - i just want to explore my interests before i try to go to Columbia Business school. might do a minor in BA? </p>

<p>if i plan to go to business school (ivy leagues) should i have business as one of my majors?</p>

<p>in my spare time i try to learn dutch / have a huge passion for travel</p>

<p>essays about near death experience / hospital time (defining moment in life) </p>

<p>parents income several million</p>

<p>private school</p>

<p>honor roll etc</p>

<p>bahh stressful</p>

4

<p>Honestly it sounds like you know pretty much what your chances are.</p>

<p>First of all, USC is need-blind, meaning that your financial situation has no impact on your chances of getting in.</p>

<p>You seem to be doing all the right things and working on what matters. Be aware that USC likes to see dedication and commitment to an activity more than just involvement in a whole bunch. Emphasize leadership and giving back to the community, as those are big things that USC focuses on itself. If your school really does has good relations with the university, your guidance counselors will likely be able to judge your chances a lot better than we can.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>