<p>I have a:
2350 SAT, 4x800 on SAT II's (chem, math, phys, apush) (and 790 on bio -__-), 11 AP tests, all 5's, a GPA around 3.9, siemens semifinalist, some olympiads, aime qualifierx3...etc...I guess my one major flaw was a B in physics in junior year (ow...that is the thing that probably killed my chance for top ivy schools)</p>
<p>All of my friends who had good stats like me (or a little worse) either got the tuition scholarship for USC or got into the school, so I'm wondering if I just wrote my essays horribly, incredibly, horrifyingly wrong or if USC just picked me to make an example of me/lower their acceptance rate. I got rejected...I was, truthfully, not really considering USC unless I got the scholarship, so it was a kick in my morale when I got flat out rejected after I had already received rejection letters from MIT, Caltech, Stanford, and a waitlist from Rice...basically every single private I applied to rejected me except CMU (for cs)...</p>
<p>Well I'll be going off to UC Berkeley with a Regents scholarship this year...USC is now on the list of schools I hate :P which sucks because the california state science fair is being held there and I get a free trip there to show off my beautiful research project -_-</p>
<p>Well, they’re trying to build a class. Perhaps the people in your niche they liked a little bit more. It’s really not all about grades and test scores. Maybe they didn’t feel you would be a good fit for their atmosphere? Their rejection doesn’t mean that you aren’t smart or that your essays were bad, by any means. I feel that at this “tier” (hate that word) admissions are a bit of a crap shoot almost anywhere. The only thing a rejection means is that at that moment in time in this admissions round when the admissions officers were considering you, you weren’t quite what they were looking for or needed in their class.</p>
<p>Congratulations on UC Berkeley! That in itself should show you that your applications were wonderful. Focus on the positive instead of dwelling on the negative. You’ve got a pretty great positive right there :)</p>
<p>You were rejected because USC didn’t think you were a fit for them. No one cares that you got a B in physics. What else do you have besides grades and test scores? Grow up, have fun at Berkeley.</p>
<p>well im just saying but there is nothing on the application other than test scores, grades, and essays…it’s not like I can tell them any more about who I am or what my personality is like…
You seem to imply that I am only test scores and essays, but I do know im much more. Its just that on a college application there isnt a chance to show much more…unless they can truly come up and have an interview and talk with every single person who applied, I dont think they can “like” some people more than other people since they haven’t really met the person…</p>
<p>It is true that some schools reject highly qualified students if they worry that the student will not take them up on their offer of admission. The school is concerned about their “yield”.</p>
<p>I think the lesson might be this:
no matter how great your credentials are (and yours are simply terrific), a school needs to know that you want them particularly for an exceptional student like you.</p>
<p>It is a hard lesson to learn. I bet if you appealed to one of the schools who rejected you and spoke of your genuine desire to become part of that community, you may have gotten in. </p>
<p>Fortunately you dont have to because you were accepted by an outstanding school where you will flourish.</p>
<p>Have a great time at Berkeley; they are lucky to have you.</p>
<p>Uh, extracurriculars are a HUGE part of every college application including USC and always have been.</p>
<p>“it’s not like I can tell them any more about who I am or what my personality is like…”</p>
<p>That’s what the essays were for. USC also does interviews, on campus and around the country. I’m not the one who seems to imply that you are only test scores, YOU ARE. It’s your job to show who you are to admissions, not their job to find out.</p>
<p>You wrote you were really not considering SC in your application process (without the scholarship ). Perhaps that feeling was conveyed in your essay.</p>
<p>everyone, no matter what our age or station in life can appreciate how strong one would have to be to accept rejections after years of hard work.</p>
<p>This is such a hard process, especially this year for so many highly qualified applicants. In talking to the admission counselors at Explore - it was very clear that they had an extremely hard time this year with turning down so many qualified candidates. The two that talked about this at our table said that they lost sleep over this - so as hard as it was for you, it was most likely equally hard for your admissions counselor to send the rejection. The goal is a diverse community and they can fill the class with students that have your stats and awards. That most likely was the cause more than anything else. This is a difficult experience because based on your post, you have been very successful and haven’t had many disappointments academically. I am sure you will look back on all of this next year and wonder why you even gave it a second thought. Best of luck to you at Berkeley - it is a great school.</p>
<p>Congrats on your acceptance at UC Berkeley with a Regents scholarship! You should be very proud. With 46,000 applicants this year, USC cannot possibly accept all truly outstanding applicants. UC Berkeley is a great school!</p>
<p>Your test scores are fantastic and way better than mine. USC was my number 1 pick; therefore, I did EVERYTHING I could (within my power) to get accepted. I traveled to the campus for an interview, I wrote and sent a cover letter with my transcripts expressing they were my #1 pick, as well as, making sure I researched what USC was looking for in a student and expressed that I would be a great match for the school in my essays. I, luckily, was accepted. </p>
<p>Your scores are amazing. Be proud. Berkeley is a great school. Congrats and enjoy college. :)</p>
<p>You are not alone. There are threads from years past about USC rejecting NMFs etc. My D was in the same boat – though her stats arn’t quite as impressive as yours. Still she had 2230 SAT (single seating) and 4.4/3.95 GPA, and other than receive a Nobel prize or cure cancer her extracurriculars were very good. I think Georgia Girl has a point. We also were counting on the presidential scholarship to even consider USC. My D wasn’t all that enthusiastic about the campus feel, etc. It may have been picked up in her supplemental essays, or maybe it was her “undecided” choice of major – who knows. She has friends with much lower grades, and scores and less outside activities who were admitted to USC and not Cal nor UCLA. The thing is you will never get inside the heads of those who made these decisions. They have only a limited number of spots and they dole them out according to whatever process they like. Anyhow, plenty of great schools to go around and amazing opportunities for you wherever you go. No point in bitterness since this happens at every school.</p>
<p>There is, back East, what is known as the “Tufts Syndrome,” in which it appears (and I emphasize, “appears”) that some universities will either reject or wait list some high stats students because there is a likelihood they will go elsewhere. Universities have to deal with yield and a way to ensure higher yield is either reject you outright or wait list you and then make you essentially beg to get admitted. We all know Admissions is mysterious and opaque, and yes, there could be any one of a dozen reasons why USC rejected you and UCB took you. I have learned an interesting tidbit, however, and find it quite disturbing. Based on accurate information I have of one of private university back East (from phone calls to Admissions myself), there is no question any longer in my mind that you can get “Tufted.” The wait list game–and it is truly a game if you are supposed to call in on a certain day and get grilled by an Admissions Officer–at the privates seems wholly different from the UC wait list situation where they expressly tell you NOT to call or do anything but wait. The entire process this one university back East uses to take you off the wait list amounts to little more than a hard sell on the order of a time share sale, where you must unequivocally state you are going to go to that institution if they offer you admission off the wait list. I am still reeling from that conversation yesterday.</p>
<p>So SC wasn’t the only school that failed to see the fullness of your brilliance?</p>
<p>Maybe your essays were horrifyingly awful or mind-numbingly pretentious. Maybe all your ECs had the words ‘Math’ or ‘Science’ in them. Maybe your recommendations talked about your academics but left readers concerned about your ability to fit into an overall community. Regardless, all your ‘privates’ came to the same conclusion - given your overall profile, you weren’t qualified for their schools.</p>
<p>Somehow USC will have to muddle through the science fair without the wonder and glory that is your presence. The horror. The horror.</p>
<p>Good luck at Berkeley. Oh how we envy them.</p>
<p>Stop feeding the ■■■■■■, it only encourages them.</p>
<p>I am with Vinceh. Having read much (and posted little) since S1 was accepted last year, I find some self-serving hypotheticals to be a bit frustrating to read, one after another. what is more frustrating are the ‘it’s okay’ comments that follow, I assume mostly from parents. Helicopter parents, I am sure (otherwise why are we on here). This is why I comment very little - USC has provided incredible information for those that actually read it. Same thing for these denial questions and hypotheticals.
Asking strangers to judge on a process they are not experts in, simply to help justify hurt feelings, is not productive.
Handling rejection is a very valuable part of adulthood. You will never always know why and if you need that, you will never be happy. A very valuable lesson to learn while you have the comfort of other excellent opportunities before you.</p>
<p>My advice to OP, focus on the positive, not the negative. There will be disappointments. Learn from them if possible and move on. You will never know why you were not accepted by USC. But, you will be attending Berkeley!</p>
<p>Kids are applying to 10, 15, 17, 22 schools. You can’t attend 20 schools, just one.</p>
<p>Actually I’m pretty tired of the gratuitous mean comments made to kids on this forum. All the superiority. These kids - I don’t know the OP but in general- have just been through the most competitive college admissions process in history. The lack of grace by people who had an easier cycle (yes, last year was easier, and 10 years ago was way easier) speaks volumes. Not about the OP, who is venting a temporary disappointment.</p>
<p>Venting about not getting into your dream school is healthy. Venting about not getting into a school you “weren’t really considering” is obnoxious.</p>
<p>Like many Us with a low acceptance rate, USC is looking for whatever it needs to round out its class. When we went to hear President Sample speak at USC during parents weekend in 2007, he told us of some of their students, including one who was accepted at all her Ivy schools and USC but was having to choose among them. It was tough for her to decide but ultimately she chose USC because they told her she could get a bachelor’s in BOTH music (which she loved and excelled at) as well as whatever else she wanted to to go into medicine. They do love well-rounded students and I believe ECs do play a significant role for them. </p>
<p>My nephew was rejected from USC this year, despite being above their average SAT score & average GPA; he thinks it was because he didn’t have that many ECs; he’s going to Creighton with a very large renewable merit award. (He was also accepted by Uof MI, also with a significant merit award.)</p>