<p>My DS is in the process of going for the Naval Academy & NROTC scholarship. That being said his transcrips will show he is a good student. He follows an engineering study path and has doubled up in the sciences..current honors physics, chem. He also takes AP history and spanish 4, current GPA 3.86 over three years. </p>
<p>Many hours of school and community service. When he is finished with HS he will have 7 varsity letters, 2 sport athleet, leadership in sports and youth development.</p>
<p>He has only taken the SAT and ACT once and will be taking them again in May & June.</p>
<p>Current SAT:
Reading - 540 (Ouch!)
Math - 640 (okay, could be better)
Writing - 630
Over all - 1810</p>
<p>Current ACT:
Math - 26 (Ouch!)
English - 31 (okay, could be better)
Comb- 28</p>
<p>Current practice SAT: Reading - 580, Math -680 Writing - 670 (Total - 1930)
Current practice ACT: Math - 29 (is this enough) English - 32 (Comb - 31)</p>
<p>He would be applying for electrical engineering and coming from OOS.</p>
<p>Are the practice SAT & ACT in range to get into U of South Carolina, electrical engineering?
Should he apply with SAT or ACT.</p>
<p>I don’t think USC admits students based on major. Our most competitive programs (nursing and International Business) admit all students accepted by USC and make them reapply at the end of their sophomore year for admission into upper level.</p>
<p>I have several mechanical engineering friends. One of them was out-of-state, had average SAT scores, never took a single AP course, and had average grades in high school. He got into USC no problem and is doing just fine.</p>
<p>His ACT scores aren’t that bad. I got a 21 on the science section of the ACT and my combined was a 25. I still got a scholarship from USC. (My SAT was a 1230, though. USC doesn’t use writing, but if they did, mine would have been an 1810, just like your son’s.)</p>
<p>At USC, you have to send in all tests that you have taken. They’ll just use his highest SAT or ACT. They also super-score, so if your son gets his reading score up, then he’ll have a pretty decent SAT score.</p>
<p>I think your son will have no problem getting into USC. His stats might not be great for big scholarships, but I think he should have no problem getting into the school.</p>
<p>An ACT score of 28 will definitely give your son a scholarship - most likely the Woodrow one (valued at 52,500 for four years) but it could be a tossup because admissions get more competitive every year. An ACT score of 31 will give your son at least the Mckissink scholarship (instate plus 2000) and capstone admission. At that score he could possibly get in the honors program but I’m not sure.
Don’t worry about his general admission!</p>
<p>Forgot to answer this question: your son should apply to all his choices with his ACT scores. In my opinion, its easier to raise scores on the ACT and a 28 ACT looks better than the 1180 sat score.</p>
<p>Thank you… He just retook his SAT today. He said based on his practice test and the class he took he feels he did okay. He thinks he got a 600 on the reading, 680 in math, and 680 / 700 on the writing. A 1960 would be okay but his goal was 620, 700, 700…close!</p>
<p>He took the ACT & SAT once at the start of the year. He retakes the ACT in June. </p>
<p>He is hoping that with a year of honors physics, honors pre-cal and chem that all the math he did will help. If he can raise his math up 3 points it will give him a comp of 30. He has some practice ACT math problems he is also going to work on during the month.</p>
<p>He said that if all else fails there is always the Fall testing period but he hopes to bang it out in June.</p>
<p>If he brings up reading with this SAT it will help since they look at CR+math and that’s the number you’ll see on page with scholarship information. It depends on student, but I think easier to improve SAT since USC superscores that. I’m pretty sure they take the best single sitting of ACT. With AUgirl… you don’t have to worry about which ones to send…they will pick the best of what you send.</p>
<p>I got a 25 on the ACT and ended up receiving the McKissic scholarship (In state + 2k a year). Test scores aren’t everything. (Graduated #18 out of 700 at a competitive, suburban FL high school)</p>
<p>@NC I don’t know what year you are at USC but that kind of scholarship with a test score like that just isn’t possible anymore. Look at the USC website… you need at least a 27 ACT score just to be considered for any scholarship, let alone one as sought as after as the instate tuition one.
This is coming from someone with a 28 ACT score and 4.0 uw gpa at a competitive high school who only got the woodrow scholarship.</p>
<p>^It really depends on the year and the individual student. I have friends with much higher test scores/GPA’s than myself who received absolutely no money from USC, even though we’re all in the same class. At best, I was an average candidate. 3.4 weighted GPA and a 1230 super-scored SAT. I had a 25 on the ACT as well. My unweighted GPA was probably a 2.9 and I got the Thornwell.</p>
<p>A strong personal statement, imo, can help your case.</p>
<p>And there isn’t a minimum listed on the Admissions page info for scholarship consideration. Every student who applies to USC is considered for every scholarship but McNair. That one requires a separate application.</p>
<p>As an example about how strange scholarships are: The average SAT was a 1223, ACT was a 27, and the weighted GPA was 4.15 last year for the scholarship I received from USC. My GPA was a good .6 lower than the average, my ACT was 2 points lower, and my SAT was only 7 points higher.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, I think this was a pretty tough year, with no one being taken off of the waiting list. Next year might be better.</p>
<p>Based on last year’s numbers, the OP is looking at getting a Woodrow or a Sims scholarship. If they can get either the ACT or SAT up higher (as their practice tests suggest), then McKissick is a possibility, though the GPA is lower than the average (unless the given GPA is unweighted, In that case they’re right in line for McKissick).</p>
<p>Great information…thank you!! This really helps a great deal. Can you please tell me what the area is like around the school. We are flying down no matter what I’m just trying to get ideas.</p>
<p>Examples:
Naval Academy - WOW!!, very nice campus, seaport town, just like home.
UCONN is in the sticks - very nice area.
BU - Boston is a fun city and the school sits right on the Charles.
PENN ST. Place a brick on the gas peddle and wake me when we get there. Nice area…lots of cows!
Villanova - Very nice!
University of Maryland - The entire family loved it.
College of William & Mary - I could only wish one of my children liked that school. We all loved Williamsburg and my wife and I loved the school. The kids said it was to quiet! </p>
<p>We visited a couple in areas where we could not get home quick enough but I need to be respectful of the schools.</p>
<p>USC, in my opinion, has the perfect blend of a campus feel within an urban environment. When you’re on campus, you feel like you’re on campus. With that being said, The Horseshoe, is only a block away from the State House. It’s within walking distance of the main downtown area (the Vista). Russel House (our student union) is on Greene Street. The walk from Greene Street to Five Points (the local college hangout with lots of bars, cool shops, and good restaurants) is really nice. I love all of the houses on Greene. USC also has a lot of trees. That may not seem like a big deal, but its nice to find some shade during the hot months! Right now, it’s pretty cold. (This weather is so strange.) However, it can easily be 80’s-90’s during the school year.</p>
<p>The downside is that parts of USC are pretty spread out. Everything was within five minutes walking distance for me this semester, but I did have a class last year a mile from my dorm. (I lived at the very edge of north campus and my class was in Swearingen, which is at the very edge of south campus.) Another is that it is in the city, so you do have to be careful walking at night.</p>
<p>I think you said you’re going in July. Be forewarned. Columbia is famously hot. Make sure to drink lots of water and wear light clothes. The humidity makes it even hotter. Good luck! :)</p>
<p>^Yes. I totally agree. My point was that USC doesn’t set a minimum to be considered for a scholarship and having X GPA and Y SAT score aren’t going to guarantee you for any scholarship. They’re also not going to knock you out of the running either.</p>
<p>From talking to other students within my own class, it seems to me that the scholarships might weigh more than just your GPA and test scores. It’s the only way I can explain my friends with weighted 4.0+ and SAT’s in the 1200’s+ not getting scholarship money, while I did.</p>
<p>My son got in with lower than average test scores, and still got a scholarship based upon a specific skill (not grades or test scores). So yes, statistically about half of the accepted students will have lower than average stats. </p>
<p>Apparently it is a little harder for out of state students though, and there have been a few out of state students posting on here that they didn’t get accepted, even though their stats were average or a little above average. And I suspect that being ranked #1 for the honors college will probably push those “average stats” up somewhat as that likely put USC more on the radar for some top students - of course that might not have an effect at all on the acceptance rate for marginal students (like 1,050 pt 2-part SAT or 24 ACT students)</p>