I am an Asian-American, instate student wondering what are the chances of me getting accepted into the honors college for Fall 2016? Any Fall 2015 admits who want to leave stats and tips for essays would be greatly appreciated! I could use any advice.
ACT: 32 (35 E, 30 M, 30 S, 31 CR)
GPA: 3.9 UW/ 4.59 W
Rank: 12/239
AP’s: US History, Language, Chemistry, Literature, and Calculus. I don’t have any scores back yet.
The only EC I have is piano lessons for 5 years.
Member of National Honors Society.
I plan on doing a double major in math and computer science.
Here is the latest info from USC admissions page:
"Honors College Class of 2014 profile (All data preliminary):
•Interquartile high school GPA: 4.6-4.8
•Interquartile SAT score: 1390-1470
•Interquartile ACT score: 31–33
Take time on essays. They are definitely considered strongly.
I got accepted into the Honors College this past year with a 32 ACT and around a 4.7 GPA on their scale. I believe I took 11 AP classes all throughout high school. I think your stats definitely give you a shot, but it will certainly come down to the 6 or 7 essays that you will be required to write. I suggest spending at least a week on each essay and having a trusted teacher or friend review over each one.
@Amt8787 Thanks! Since you filled out the honors supplement can I ask what length your essays typically were? USC describes them as short answer but are they more like one or two page papers? Also, do they need to be in a specific format like MLA or APA? I am hoping that the application is specific on these kinds of requirements but I doubt it so it is nice to know someone who has filled the app out!
P.S.- I retook the ACT and got a 33 does that make a big difference?
@GopherDog
My essays were pretty long. Next to each essay prompt is a character limit and a suggested word total estimate. I noticed that the word total estimate was way off from the character limit-- so I went with the character limit to make sure I fit everything I needed to in my essays. As far as I know there is no specific format they require. Obviously use paragraphs and whatnot, as no one wants to just read a giant wall of text.
I think a 33 is perfect for gaining admittance and I believe it puts you in range for the Top Scholar scholarships.
33 ACT and 1460 critical score on SAT put me just shy of top scholars, it really depends on who’s getting admitted that year and what the overall batch looks like I suppose.
Essays are HUGE. Make it as personal as you possibly can, and work long and hard on those. There’s usually 5 or so “short” ones (still nearly a page when I wrote each) and one big one where you choose the prompt.
Stats wise I think you’re good. Good luck! Message me for any more help or tips.
@scgirl786 Thanks so much!