Chances I'll get into USC?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
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Hey everyone! One school I’m really interested in learning more about is USC (Southern California). From what I understand, though, one thing they look at is how involved you are in extracurricular activities. Of course I know every college looks at that, but it seems like it matters more to USC. That’s my area of weakness, in my opinion. By itself it’s not so bad, but when compared to what other kids have on their resumes, I don’t think I will be much of a match. Anyway, here are my stats.

GPA: 95.639 unweighted, 100.334 weighted. Our school doesn’t go based on the 4.0 system. This is just freshman and sophomore year. I’m a junior, but I don’t think my grades this year will affect my GPA too much. My unweighted GPA this year is like a 95 so far. Freshman year I took all honors except science. Sophomore year same thing, except I took AP Psychology as an elective. This year I’m in regular math and science, but AP history and english. Next year I plan on taking regular math, but AP physics, macro/gov, and english. As for foreign language, I took Spanish honors up until junior year. Senior year I’m taking a Spanish elective, but I’m second guessing myself and considering going into the honors class. I started taking ASL too this year and I’m taking it next year. So that’s two languages junior and senior year.

ACT: 32 composite, 6 writing. Clearly my writing is not good. I’m not really sure how much that will undermine my composite. I’m still taking the June ACT though and I just took the May SAT, so hopefully I can/did do better. But that’s what I’m at right now.

Extracurriculars: Freshman year I played volleyball, basketball and lacrosse. Lacrosse was varsity. Then sophomore and junior year I only did volleyball and basketball, both varsity, and I got an award for All Class in volleyball (it’s a type of county award). Junior year I did volleyball and basketball again, varsity, and got All Conference in volleyball. Again, that’s just another level of a county award. Senior year I plan on doing volleyball, basketball, and then rejoining lacrosse because why not. Sports are definitely my main highlight. I’ve done some community service stuff along the way, including a trip over the summer where I got 45 hours. I also am doing this thing called School of Rock, where I sing and play guitar in like a band setting. It’s 3 hours once a week for 4 months. My biggest weakness, however, is clubs. I’m only in 2, and I joined this year: World Language Honors Society and National Honors Society. Junior year is when you get invited. I knew that I was lacking in clubs, so I wanted to get a position in NHS. I didn’t win the election though, which, not gonna lie, inspired this post. I’m worried my lack of clubs will set me back.

Of course WLHS and NHS will look good, but at my school, it’s more common to be in those societies than not. I might seem like a good student, but compared to the people in my school, I’d say I’m just above average. Academically and also in terms of involvement. There are a bunch of people who do just as well as me and are also in multiple clubs, several of them they have positions in. I feel like it’s kind of bad to compare, but it’s also necessary. After all, that’s what colleges are doing - comparing you to the other applicants. I don’t know if colleges take how prestigious your high school is into consideration that much, but we don’t have class rankings, so I think that’s an advantage for me.

That’s basically it. If you guys have any other questions, I’ll answer them, but I appreciate any help. Thanks!

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Did you mention what you plan to major in? I may have missed it. Some majors are more competitive at USC.

Don’t take the writing section on the ACT unless it is required (and I don’t think USC requires it). You would be better off focusing on one or two subject tests and taking the ACT again. A 32 is great, but USC is tough. And they don’t super score.

I honestly don’t think honor societies matter to USC. They want to see that you are doing what you love at a fairly high level. Your sports may count towards that, but you may want to branch out this summer and look to expand your horizons in some way. Get involved in research or leadership, perhaps. Maybe coaching sports at a summer camp? Something that you can continue at USC. They really want people who see themselves getting involved and making an impact. Also build relationships with teachers you plan to ask for rec letters. @CADREAMIN and @WWWard are experts in all things USC, so perhaps they have some better suggestions. Good luck!

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I would first suggest looking through this excellent thread…

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

I also concur with the sentiment offered by @jmek15

USC is not really interested in a laundry list of clubs, honor societies or activities. USC also turned away 1000s of kids this year with near perfect stats. They want to see how you can differentiate yourself somehow in an applicant pool of 55K+. USC would prefer to see how you dedicated yourself to one true passion, possibly exhibiting leadership or responsibility roles in that one key area. Admissions will expect you to have a solid, well-thought answer to “Why USC?” And they will want to be able to picture you there at USC in the future, helping the greater USC community by your involvement and interactions in some manner. So… to balance “Why USC?” from your perspective, maybe also think a little in terms of what USC can expect to be getting from you and your involvement there. If what you may be able to offer is something unique or unexpected, even better.

Good Luck

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Hi!
Your stats are pretty solid! You have a good GPA and an ACT score that lands somewhere between the 50-75th percentile for USC applicants.

However, you should mention what you want to major in. That may significantly impact your chances of admission. If you are interested in cinema, USC will be extremely hard to get in to. Dornsife majors are generally a bit easier. I was accepted to USC for political science, which is in Dornsife. My stats were similar to yours (3.87 GPA, 33 ACT).

Now, after determining what you would like to major in (or after thinking about possible career paths that interest you), you should get involved in more extracurricular activities that are related to your fields of interest.

For example, I was interested in political science, so I wrote about a trip I took with the KCC (Korean Church Coalition) to Washington D.C to lobby for H.R 1771 (North Korea sanctions act) in Congress. This activity was very relevant to the field of political science, so I think that’s what might have separated me from the applicants with a 4.0 GPA and a 36 on the ACT.

If you are interested in, say, environmental science, I would strongly advise getting involved with some beach cleanups (removing invasive species, cleaning rivers, etc.) and taking AP Biology.

Unless your field of study is somewhat related to athletics, I don’t think sports will boost your application that much. Sure, it’s nice to have athletic programs on your application, but it doesn’t have much of an impact on your chances for admission.

TL;DR: State which academic field you are interested in and get involved in activities that can be linked with that field of study (this makes for a great essay on your application). Also, take a few AP classes (or honors classes) that are related to your field of interest. I don’t think AP classes should matter too much though (I only took 3 AP classes total, and I was admitted). Maybe retake the ACT one more time (I wouldn’t sweat it though, a 32 is pretty solid).

ALSO, don’t worry about clubs. USC doesn’t care if you just join a bunch of clubs just to “look good.” I literally never joined any club at my high school, yet I got into USC and Vassar. It’s all about quality over quantity. You have to selectively join clubs that are relevant to subjects you are interested in.