<p>hey guys do you think I have a chance at USC? I'd love to be a Trojan and would like to know if there should be any improvements in my area and see where I stand.</p>
<p>I'm a junior right now at at private catholic all boys school.</p>
<p>I have a 3.7 weighted GPA with 1720 SAT - 560 reading 600 math 560 writing. I'll take SATs twice more and ACT too to see how much I get more.</p>
<p>Almost all of my classes are Honors classes and I've taken 2 AP class this year and
planning on taking 4 next year.</p>
<p>I'm the advertisement manager in the school's Asian American Club, I'm also in the Leadership club, art club, environmental club, varsity swimming manager, and a student council officer and plan on running for school vice president this year, I've done my volunteer service work at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Hopsital and also at a local soup kitchen.</p>
<p>I'm also very into my school's art club, (and not to brag but) I'm considered one of the school's best artist and my teacher recommends that I go to Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) but I'd like to keep options open and art school isn't the biggest option for me since I'd like to major in psychology or environmental science, also since I'd like to go somewhere in Cali.</p>
<p>It looks like your ECs are good and it’s also good that you are taking 4 APs next year, but definitely work on the tests. You might find that you do better on the ACT.</p>
<p>swkim51, the average USC Admitted <a href=“UW”>i</a>* GPA last year was 3.8 so your 3.7 W certainly hurts. The bottom 25th%-tile SAT last year was 1950 so your 1720 jumps out negatively as well. You’ve got good ECs and the rigor of your classes will help, but even with a big jump in SATs I think USC is going to be a reach for you. If you haven’t already seen it, here’s a link to the '09-'10 freshman profile published by USC Admissions. </p>
<p>I don’t see how USC will be a reach if swkim boosts his SAT score. If you can get it in the 1950-2000 range, that puts you in a decent spot, as everything else is solid. Get that SAT score to a 2000+ and you’ll be good. :)</p>
<p>but just wondering, if my grades aren’t good enough and it’s a reach and I realllly want to go to USC, would I be able to get in to the USC art school? Do you still have to have 3.8UW with 1950SAT score to get in their art school? Or do they take into account your artwork a little more.</p>
<p>swkim51, I don’t know the admissions process for the arts program specifically. Typically art and music schools will make their own admissions decisions that they then send onto the university admissions department. While admissions may be more lenient on artistic majors, it’s still in their interest to admit the best profile just in case the student decides to drop art and transfer into the main school. I know of two cases at Northwestern where musicians were admitted by the school of music but rejected by admissions due to low for Northwestern GPAs. A visit over to the music/art forums here at CC will give you more examples of this. You need to check with USC and fully understand the admissions process for the art school. </p>
<p>MagicalMalik, swkim51’s GPA is a weighted 3.7 which I would guess translates to about a 3.4 unweighted; that is 10.5% below the average admit’s 3.8. Furthermore, even bringing up his SAT to 1950 will put him at the 25th%-tile, i.e., 75% of admits will have better academic profiles. I realize that admit rates are not probabilities, but it is reasonable to assume that applicants with higher statistics have a greater likelihood of being accepted than those with lower stats. Swkim51’s stats are in the bottom quartile at a school that rejected 76% out its applicants last year. If that doesn’t qualify as a reach, I don’t know what does.</p>
<p>Admissions to art, theater and music programs are different animals than straight admissions to college. But applicants still have to be in the ballpark academically; I’m not saying that swkim51 has no chance, but I am saying that his academic profile presents an additional hurdle that his artwork will have to overcome.</p>
<p>I’d say boost your SATs, and you’d be in the ballpark.</p>
<p>I have a 89.8/100 UW GPA (~3.5), and I still got in because my SAT was a 2180. So you can make up for a lower than average GPA with your test score.</p>
<p>Whoops, didn’t realize it was 3.7 WEIGHTED. Read it as UW. You can definitely make up for a somewhat low GPA with a very high SAT score, and if you can do really well this semester of your junior year, and your first semester of your senior year, you can bump your UW GPA too!</p>
I’ll be working on the SATs for the rest of the winter/spring then take one in June then another one in September.</p>