I applied to 6 schools: 1)La Salle, 2)Manhattan College, 3)St. John’s, 4)Temple U, 5)USC and 6)Fordham. I received scholarships to attend the first 3 and was simply accepted to the fourth.
Quick stats:
1750 SAT
CR:670 WR:630 M:450 (I really struggle here)
-Leadership in 2 clubs, in 4 clubs total
-Attend private school on merit scholarship
-Won a Scholastic writing award
-Work experience
-Minority (African-American), low income
What I’m really worried about is my UW GPA which is only a 3.3. But here’s the thing: My grades are like this:
9th-3.5 10th-2.7 11th-3.8 12th: 3.7
Sophomore year, there were a lot of bad personal issues in my family. 2 members of my immediate family were in the hospital for months on end. I explained this in my essay. I also wrote how similar things occurred junior year but I had learned how to cope. I have 2 letters of reccomendations from department heads at my school. One said I was one of the best students she ever taught. My guidance counselor has told me that colleges love to see upward trends. Will this help my chances rather than if I was someone who’s had a 3.3 every year? I am beyond frustrated because sophomore year is really not an accurate representation of who I am and I feel like it’s weighing me down so much. Also, I’ve completed 100 hours of community service. I didn’t mention that in my application because a) Mostly because I don’t have all the documents for it. B) there wasn’t really a slot for it on the common app. I have a small amount of hours at about 10 different charities. Should I include this info when I submit my mid-year grades?
Lol I did not mean to add an emoji in my question, for anyone who sees it. But I forgot to add my AP scores: AP Euro: 3, AP U.S History: 4, AP English Lang:4. I’m taking 2 APs this year. And I’ve taken honors courses as well.
Also interviewed with USC admissions counselor and it went really well. He complimented me for not being nervous.
GPA is not the only aspect of your application you need to worry about, your SAT is below the average for USC. Your URM status will help, but probably not enough to overcome low GPA and SAT. Upward trend is good but USC will not give you a full-ride scholarship to attend, unless your GPA/Scores are competitive and it looks like you are in need of FA. I wish you Good Luck and I hope you prove me wrong, but USC is a Reach…