<p>I'm a sophomore now, realizing that college is around the corner, i picked up my poor grades this marking period to mosly A's and some B's.Before this however, i struggled in some classes due to lack of effort. Last year I got some C's and a D average in Algebra 2/Trig. I really am open to learning whatever I can. USC has been my top school for about 10 years, since I first learned that SC meant Southern Cal and not South Carolina. My stats are very low for USC in general but is there anything I can do to raise my chances?
My projected stats are:
3.2 GPA (not sure about w/UW, I take honors english this year-senior year, expecting to take AP classes senior year (Calc,Psych,Gov,Econ are possibilities)possibly taking honors history next year, and taking honors business management next year)
SATs should be over 2000, i got a 1550 in 7th grade with no prep and not learning most of the material, and again with no prep got a 210 on my PSAT this year.</p>
<p>ECS:
Member of deca Junior-senior year
HS Rec basketball 4 years
Summer Camp Counselor 4 years
Big Brother Program participant
I worked as an Assistant at my mom's Real Estate Agency for a few years.</p>
<p>Take as rigorous of a course load as you can handle. Continue to show improvements (aka upward trend) in your grades. Do well in on your SAT’s and SAT2s. Have fun in high school xD</p>
<p>If my GPA steadily improves over my junior year, and my first semester senior year, would I have a solid shot of getting in? I really really really want to come here, more than any other school in the nation. If I apply ED or EA, and write a convincing essay would I have a solid shot? How could money make a difference, do you mean if I can pay full freight I would be able to get in?</p>
<p>it doesnt matter what major you put down because you can be accepted to USC without getting accepted to your major… you would just have UNDECIDED as your major instead of whatever major you put</p>
<p>I’d suggest you get a PSAT or SAT test prep book and study up before your junior year PSAT exam. With your current soph score, you look like you could make NMSF and that will look really great to USC and other schools. </p>
<p>USC will take into consideration grades that show an upward trend, so work your hardest to turn around your grades from here on out. Lots of students keep their progress private, but it can really help to get to know some teachers, so they can be on your side. Make an appt with your GC and tell him/her how you’ve woken up and are motivated to do well. Or tell a favorite teacher in a subject that you love. It would be ideal if you aren’t a “stealth” student, but have advocates who can cheer you on and maybe write about your growth in their letters of rec. When it comes time to fill out college apps, write a sincere essay showing why your early grades were low (no excuses, just the truth) and why you changed all that. </p>
<p>1) You get no advantage to applying to Gender Studies, for instance, because the first pass in admissions is to admit you to the university as a whole. Then the particular department (business, engineering, whatever) looks over your application. So it doesn’t matter what major you apply to.</p>
<p>2) This sortof goes without saying, but USC doesn’t offer any advantage to wealthy students except perhaps if your dad donated a building or something. And even that I’m not sure about. USC is need-blind, which means it does not consider your ability to pay when making admissions decisions.</p>
<p>3) Your best bet is to do bring your overall cum GPA above 3.5 UW by the time you graduate. A 3.5 UW/2000 SAT is better than a 3.3 UW/2150 SAT.</p>
<p>btbam91, are you telling this forum that is how <em>you</em> got admitted–that you and your family had a “special meeting” and offered a bribe? Because if you are not willing to post your real name and back up you comments, you are maligning a university with the sort of childish gossip that is both irresponsible and harmful. </p>
<p>Normally, this sort of outrageous slam is done by a ■■■■■–is that the case here?</p>
<p>If someone were truly rich enough to be a “developmental,” they would not be wasting time asking here how to improve their chances of being admitted the normal way. To be a developmental you have to be like the child of George Lucas or Spielberg, with dad ready to donate for something like a new cinema school. $100 Million would probably do it.</p>
<p>I personally know two people who were C students in High school and shocked everyone by getting into USC. They did it by first going to a community college and then transferring over sophomore year. Both were from wealthy families, but not sure if this had anything to do with it. One was a legacy and that may have had a lot to do with it. Both are Communications Majors. Both paid 100% full tuition.</p>
<p>I know another person who was a legacy and got in freshman year. This person had a 3.5 GPA and an average SAT and got into engineering. </p>
<p>I also know two people who did NOT get into USC freshman year, but tried again sophomore year and got accepted. They were not legacies and not wealthy. One got into a competitive major. </p>
<p>I think if you really want to attend and do not get in the first year, you will have a much better chance sophomore year. Colleges are trying to keep up their incoming frosh stats to get better rankings on US News and World Reports list. It seems (my personal opinion) that many lower the bar for incoming sophomores. </p>
<p>Also, Communications seems to be the “easy” major to get into for that school. Hope this does not insult anyone.</p>
<p>In terms of an “easy” major that will help you get into SC… not sure there really is one. Even communications - people say its easy because there are a lot of girls in it who aren’t exactly brooding intellectuals, but even this is a difficult major to gain admittance to. </p>
<p>My advice - find a major that interests you and do something in high school that demonstrates that interest. Like IR? Become an active Model UN member or work to raise money for a third-world country. Admissions will inevitably ask why you chose your major, and you’d better have a good reason.</p>
<p>Work to raise your grades, become involved in focused extracurriculars, and work on your relationships with teachers so they’ll be happy to write strong recs for you. SC loves their softs - an excellent, telling essay can go a long way. It wont carry your application, but if you can score 2200+ on your SATs, it just might be enough to give your GPA a little boost.</p>
btbam91, are you saying that you are an unqualified student who “bought” their way in to USC? I am sure future applicants would like to know more. With whom did you arrange your “special meeting?” What is the department or individual one should call to request such a meeting? How much of a bribe did you pay, and to whom did you make out your check? Who are the “so many” who have successfully used this method to be admitted?</p>
<p>I agree with madbean that btbam91 has made outrageous allegations against USC.</p>
<p>Let’s look at logic for a moment. What would Steven Sample do?</p>
<p>Would it help USC more to accept students with higher GPA and test scores to help their stats? When rankings are higher: demand for that school goes up: fundraising goes up.</p>
<p>or
Would it help USC more to accept wealthy students with lower GPA and test scores so they can get a few more donations? How much are we talking about here? </p>
<p>Think about the big picture. What helps USC more in the long run?</p>
<p>I agree that btbam91 makes a ridiculous allegation that makes no sense. It is sour grapes. (I do empathize, I tried to use it when my daughter didn’t get in- silly me- but we humans say outrageous things under stress/embarrassment/jealousy.) There are VERY RARE exceptions but the general statement is just not true.</p>
<p>Any highly regarded university needs a student body that will thrive academically and graduate. If a student does very well in high school, their hard work may convince the adcom the student will fit well at their college. They will not accept many students into their freshman class who have lesser credentials, unless those students bring something else of significance to their class–including diversity, special artistic talents, sports talent, leadership, etc.</p>
<p>Students with lower high school GPAs or less than great SATs and achievements will often get their wakeup call when they receive their letters of rejection. For those to whom this jolt becomes a chance to mature and face their past mistakes, there is always community college where they get a second chance to prove what they can do academically. This is precisely why the UCs (public) and USC (private) have articulation agreements with California’s community college system. Per the comment made above that disparaged a kid with a 3.5 at community college transferring to USC, any student who can achieve a 3.5 at community college has proved they can do college level work. And by the way, that doesn’t mean they are any less talented than the student who did well in high school. </p>
<p>It is easy for hard-working high schoolers to feel slighted when they see their peers who were not as hard-working get ahead by using a stepping stone (cc) before they enter USC or other universities. (The UCs take a huge number of transfers–look at the figures for Cal and UCLA, for instance.) But I suggest such students get a new attitude. Not everyone takes the same path in life. How much fun is it to go off to a community college if you were dreaming of a great university experience? Those who take the cc path must grow up, learn to get serious about their studies, buckle down and do the work, after which they get to suffer through another long wait to see if they get accepted to their dream college–after their recent rejections of senior year. </p>
<p>I know folks criticize when they imagine transfer students get it “easy”, but USC is not accepting anyone who won’t do well at college. Where is the point of that? The price hopeful transfers pay is a bumpier road, but everyone who attends USC (or the UCs) as a transfer is worthy.</p>
<p>Sorry for the length but I get really peeved to see the pettiness of these debates. Put your judgment on hold and enjoy being a Trojan!</p>
<p>No one disparaged a kid with a 3.5 in community college. What was said was “…another person who …got in freshman year…had a 3.5 GPA and an average SAT and got into engineering.” (This was a high school student)</p>
<p>Typically high school students earn well over a 4.0 in high school for placement into rigorous engineering departments. </p>
<p>I also get peeved when people misquote others to try to prove a point.</p>
<p>Sorry for the mis-quote, lagunal. According to USC’s website, to be a viable candidate to transfer “You are expected to have at least a “A-/B+” average on transferable work.” Therefore, the 3.5 figure (which you did not mention, I realize) and higher are GPAs we often see in admitted transfers. That level of cc grades is impressive, and commensurate to the high school gpas of admitted freshmen. What you said (I’ll try to get it right this time) was:
[quote]
It seems (my personal opinion) that many lower the bar for incoming sophomores.
[quote]
</p>
<p>I realize it is your personal opinion. Mine is that students who get 3.5 and higher GPAs in cc are not less capable than those accepted out of high school, or at any rate none of the facts we can check can prove or disprove that notion. Forgive me if I misunderstood you, because most of your post seems clear and I agree with you up to this point. But, to me, those whose achievements don’t happen when they are 14-17 years old don’t necessarily indicate they are less worthy.</p>