Chancing help for USC?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
1

<p>Hi all! I'm new to having an account on this site, but I've been watching it for about a year now and with college app duedates on the horizon... I was hoping to be chanced for my dream school - USC. </p>

<p>I'm an Asian male from Arcadia HS in SoCal. As a beginning statement, I understand my GPA is not the best (especially compared to what seems to be the stereotype at my school...) and that USC is quite a big stretch for someone like me... Nonetheless, if anyone could help me at all, I would appreciate it very much.</p>

<p>GPA: 3.5 unweighted
GPA NOTE: 3.8+ Freshman, 2.xx Sophomore year, 3.7+ Junior, Hopefully improving Senior year once more. I had some difficulties in 10th Grade and the reasons are very personal... to be explained on my app and/or in an interview.
Class Rank: DNR</p>

<p>SCORES:
PSAT: 232.
SAT: 2190, 2190.
Using USC's add-the-best-subscores-together method: 780CR, 740M, 750W, 2270 Comp.
ACT: 34.
Teacher Recs: The best that I could possibly get.
AP Courses: 0 Sophomore, 3 Junior (5,4,4,), 4 Senior
SAT2's: Math2C 780, English Lit 760, US History 800</p>

<p>EXTRACURRICULARS/HONORS:
Cross Country - 1 year
Quiz Bowl (Academic Team) - 3 years (Captain)
Marching/Concert Band - 3 years
Science Bowl - 1 year
We The People / Constitution Team - 1 year
Various Volunteer Opportunities in the city - 2 years</p>

<p>Essays: I'm creative and having a great time with all of the past U-Chicago application essays. =D
Part Two app isn't out yet so I don't know how I'm doing, but I hope to do great. </p>

<p>2011 Graduate, I plan to do history at USC CAS</p>

<p>My father is a Professor at the college, my mother is an alumnus who constantly gives back, which would make me a SCion... but this seems unimportant.</p>

<p>tl;dr
Lower GPA, higher SAT/ACT, various ec's.</p>

<p>Thanks for reading all the way down here. If you have any words at all... please post. Thanks again.</p>

2

<p>You look fairly ordinary, in that there’s nothing really that makes you stand out. Don’t worry though, I think I was pretty ordinary too. Your test scores and whatnot look good. And if your dad’s a professor, well, I’d say you wouldn’t have much trouble getting in.</p>

<p>Are you planning on continuing marching band at USC?</p>

3

<p>Thanks for replying. Yeah, I suppose I haven’t done anything special to make myself the most competitive college student, etc. I do plan on continuing it… I heard that it was an activity/club so if that is true, definitely.</p>

<p>Does being an Eagle Scout / Senior Patrol Leader count for anything?</p>

4

<p>Definitely. If you’ve got that, put it in. That’s probably better than all the rest of your extracurriculars.</p>

5

<p>Thanks Hawkwings. I’ll keep that in mind. :)</p>

6

<p>I believe that you are a match for USC. I’m betting that you get in. Good luck.</p>

7

<p>As a somewhat separate question, I’d like to ask why you (Hawkwings) said “if your dad’s a professor, well, I’d say you wouldn’t have much trouble getting in.” I was under the impression that being a SCion had no effect on the admissions process. Is having a parent as part of the faculty something different? x_x</p>

8

<p>Yeah, faculty parents have a bit more influence than just alumni parents, or so I’m told.</p>

9

<p>Marching Band is definitely a big plus imo :)</p>

<p>I’d say you have a very good shot… faculty and alumni parents definitely doesn’t hurt either :P</p>

10

<p>faculty parents = big plus</p>

11

<p>Is there anywhere that specifically says faculty parents are a big plus? Or is this just based off of what people hear and from word of mouth?</p>

12

<p>I agree with all of the above - faculty parents do help A LOT, but I’m sorry to say that your stats aren’t out of this world (which I know you’re aware of). Make sure that you highlight a specific passion in your personal statements and I think that could boost your chances. But honestly you’re lacking a “hook” - which, even though the term is cliche, is a real thing that a lot of people don’t have.</p>

13

<p>Thanks, marmar! I’ll keep that in mind while writing.</p>

14

<p>I do not usually pop in on the chance threads, but </p>

<p>Hmmm… SAT 2270, ACT 34, probable NMS, Eagle Scout, 7 APs, a 3.5 unweighted GPA (which isn’t all that bad, AND you have an explanation for sophomore year), subject tests of 760, 780 and 800…</p>

<p>mrtaco, when you are accepted to USC please do not think it was only because you have a parent on the faculty. You are a very well-qualified applicant. The GPA will probably keep you out of the running for the “big” scholarships - but guess what??? YOU don’t need 'em because you get full tuition remission (equal to a Trustee Scholarship) as a child of a faculty member!</p>

<p>It is my belief that you will be accepted on your own merits.</p>

<p>Stats threads (look at those accepted from March-April for the most pertinant comparisons):
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/852880-stats-only-usc-decisions-2010-a.html?highlight=stats+usc+decisions[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/852880-stats-only-usc-decisions-2010-a.html?highlight=stats+usc+decisions&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/642272-stats-only-usc-decisons-2009-a.html?highlight=stats+usc+decisions[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/642272-stats-only-usc-decisons-2009-a.html?highlight=stats+usc+decisions&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/454785-stats-only-usc-official-decisions-fall-2008-a.html?highlight=stats[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/454785-stats-only-usc-official-decisions-fall-2008-a.html?highlight=stats&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>If you also have an interest in applying to other schools, but the idea of tuition remission appeals to your parents, here is a list of schools that will offer you large discounts on tuition because you are a child of a faculty member of a participating institution: <a href=“http://www.tuitionexchange.org/[/url]”>http://www.tuitionexchange.org/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Good luck!</p>

15

<p>Thanks for the very (and I mean very) informative post, alamemom! I highly doubt that you really are, as you seem to think, ‘lame’. It’s all a matter of perspective, isn’t it? :slight_smile:
Thanks for the positive outlook because generally, looking at colleges is depressing work.
I really appreciate all the links and statistics as well. I’ve already seen the tuition exchange website (and my father told me about it), but I never really looked into it. Now that I do, it seems highly probably that I could expand my college choices at this late time. </p>

<p>As a random side question… Because I really think that my GPA is the thing that is killing me… What if my GPA were at this time a 3.2-3.3 level GPA? I’m curious to know how much a .2 GPA decrease would affect me at this time. Obviously this is a very nitpicky question, but I’m interested in knowing what people out there think.</p>

<p>Many thanks to all the posters who have helped me thus far!</p>

16

<p>

The thing with college applications is they use actual GPAs rather than theoretical GPAs or the GPAs you wish you had.</p>

<p>According to your opening post, you are a rising senior so *your college application GPA is what it is. *It would be a waste of time to wonder what your chances would have been with a higher GPA (I am guessing that the “3.5” listed in post #1 is a bit higher than your actual GPA).</p>

<p>To answer your question in post #15: A lower GPA results in lower “chances” at any school to which you apply. The key is to include 2 or 3 safties where you are confident your *actual qualifications *will result in admission (and there are LOTS of those on the tuition exchange list) along with schools like USC.</p>

17

<p>I was afraid last night, because I dug up an old transcript that had me marked down as 3.36.
I looked at my current scores to this date this morning and saw that that was wrong. However, you are still correct: a quick recalculation shows that I only have 3.44. </p>

<p>Seeing as senior year is my last chance to really bring my grades up to the level that I know they can be at, it would be devastating for me to drop my GPA. I’m pretty much done with the chancing, I suppose, because the only thing truly left to do is fully flesh out my college list (actually, I just did that), get organized, finish preliminary apps, and just get work done.</p>

<p>Thanks, everybody!</p>

18

<p>You should have no problem with your standardized test scores, but a 3.44 UW really isnt very nice on your app, the average admits are 3.8 UW. Your extracurrics could use something more special as well, but with an alum mom and dad working there, it may offset the weaknesses in your app.</p>