Fall 2014 USC DECISIONS STATS ONLY THREAD

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
61

<p>]Decision: Accepted </p>

<p>Date applied: Nov 30</p>

<p>Date decision postmarked/received: March 29</p>

<p>Accepted at which school/major at USC: Viterbi - Chemical Engineering</p>

<p>Stats:</p>

<p>SAT Total: Did not Take</p>

<p>ACT: 33</p>

<p>SAT Subject Tests: Did not take</p>

<p>GPA-UW/W: 4.00/4.42</p>

<p>Rank: 5/404</p>

<p>AP/IB classes: Calc AB (5), Biology(5), USHistory(5), Spanish, Gov, Stats, Calc BC</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Essays: How being a national champion has affected my life and what I have done to reach my goals.
Teacher Recs: I think they are good. My calculus teacher says I am one of the students that he will always remember. Very close with him too.
Counselor Rec: Probably Generic level</p>

<p>EC highlights: Elite level gymnast (gymnast since I was 6). Volunteer over summers at a local preschool for autistic children. I have been working since I was 16 years old.</p>

<p>State or Country: San Diego</p>

<p>School Type: Public, in rural area</p>

<p>Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Other Factors, hook?: None</p>

<p>General Comments, scholarship chances, status info, going to USC…?: Super excited, I feel awesome, especially after being denied to UCLA and Cal Poly: Slo. Not sure if I will end up going here due to extreme price, but I will just have to wait and see. Good luck to everyone else and hopefully you all receive good news.</p>

62

<p>Decision: Rejected</p>

<p>Date applied: Before December 1st</p>

<p>Date decision postmarked/received: didn’t receive in mail yet</p>

<p>Accepted at which school/major at USC: Annenberg (rejected)</p>

<p>Stats:</p>

<p>SAT Total: 2250 (730 CR, 740 M, 780 W)
ACT: n/a
SAT Subject Tests: didn’t send
GPA-UW/W: 3.52
Rank: Not available
AP/IB classes: Calc AB, USH(4), Lit, Lang(5), Stat, Macro, Micro, Euro</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Essays: Common app was good, USC ones were ok
Teacher Recs: i assume very good
Counselor Rec: i assume very good
EC highlights: newspaper editor-in-chief, debate president, co- captain of varsity field hockey, interact club, 2 years of student council (voted off senior year haha), practicing studio art since 1st grade (but didn’t send portfolio bc not applying to talent portion), took journalism class at harvard for undergraduate credits
Location/Person:</p>

<p>State or Country: NJ
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: female
Gender: Asian</p>

<p>Other Factors, hook?:</p>

<p>General Comments, scholarship chances, status info, going to USC…?: USC is my dream school and I’m crushed. I know my GPA is low but I thought my extracurriculars could compensate, especially the ones aimed towards journalism. I think I will appeal my decision.</p>

63

<p>We benefitted from these threads last year during the application process, so I’m posting my son’s data:</p>

<p>Decision: Rejected – Dornsife Bio vs Env Science
Date applied: mid-November</p>

<p>SAT M760 CR780 W800 Total 2340
ACT: didn’t take
SAT Subject Tests: Math2: 780 Bio: 800
GPA: 3.5 unweighted (at a fancy-pants competitive nationally ranked private HS)
Rank: doesn’t rank
AP classes: School offers AP’s essentially only for seniors (w occasional exceptions). ?Taking two or three this year</p>

<p>Essays: It always cracks me up how kids note here that they wrote amazing essays. CA essay was very good. USC essays were very USC-specific
Teacher Recs: Prob OK
Counselor Rec: Same
EC: Community Service, some sports, Local Youth Group. Some leadership. Nothing too spectacular
Awards: When he played JV Basketball, he was voted most likely to become a coach!</p>

<p>State or Country: CA
School Type: see above
Ethnicity: Vanilla
Gender: Male</p>

<p>Accepted to Emory, Brandeis (w/ merit money), Tulane (w/ even more merit money)</p>

<p>Thoughts: It’s good that this decision came at the end of the decision cycle. At one point USC was my son’s first choice, but as time went by and some other schools showed him their love it dropped down a bit on the list. Historically (and in some ways surprisingly) USC hasn’t taken a whole lot of kids from his HS and he knew that with his GPA this was a bit of a reach. The rejection would have really hurt a few months ago. Now it resulted in just a slightly bruised ego. He feels like he has some good options. However, I do think he will now root against the Trojan football team. Good luck to all!</p>

64

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Date applied: 12/1</p>

<p>Date decision postmarked/received: Postmarked 3/26, Received 3/28</p>

<p>Accepted at which school/major at USC: Viterbi School of Engineering, for Electrical Engineering</p>

<p>Stats:</p>

<p>SAT Total: 2280
M: 720, CR: 760, WR: 800
ACT: 34
SAT Subject Tests: Math II 740, Biology M 670, World History 660
GPA-UW/W: 3.82 / 4.70
Rank: 3 / 300
AP/IB classes: Statistics 3, English Lang 5, Biology 4, US History 5, English Lit, Calc AB/BC, Psych, Physics B</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Essays: Common App 8/10, Supplements overall probably 9/10
Teacher Recs: 9/10
Counselor Rec: 10/10
EC highlights: Honestly nothing truly amazing! I’ve done things, but ALL on a school level and nothing extraordinary. So there is hope. lol</p>

<p>State or Country: North Carolina
School Type: Very average public
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Male</p>

<p>Other Factors, hook?: Um geography and sexuality? idk, nothing really</p>

<p>General Comments, scholarship chances, status info, going to USC…?: Half tuition scholarship because of NMF, but anxiously awaiting FA package because I still don’t know if it’ll be enough. Rejected at Duke and Tufts, so now it’s pretty much between USC and UNC Chapel Hill for me. My mom is extremely anxious about me going to school in California and hasn’t even given me the okay to visit yet, let alone attend. But I am very grateful to have been accepted and am really excited! Congrats to everyone accepted and go Trojans!!!</p>

65

<p>Decision: Rejected</p>

<p>Date applied: Late December (can’t remember exact date)</p>

<p>Date decision postmarked/received: 3/36:3/29</p>

<p>Accepted at which school/major at USC: Na</p>

<p>Stats:</p>

<p>SAT Total: 2140, 760W, 730CR, 650M
ACT: 32 Composite
SAT Subject Tests: Na
GPA-UW/W: 3.79/4.1
Rank: 10/160
AP/IB classes: 11 APs</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Essays: Pretty good I think
Teacher Recs: Excellent
Counselor Rec: Not sure, should’ve been good though as Counselor was also my quiz bowl coach.
EC highlights: Quiz Bowl (captain), Chess Team, Book Club, Mentor to freshmen students, 200+ hours community service, Community Service club</p>

<p>Location/Person:</p>

<p>State or Country: FL
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male</p>

<p>Other Factors, hook?: None.</p>

<p>General Comments, scholarship chances, status info, going to USC…?: A little surprised I didn’t get in but I have a full ride to St. John’s so I’m not too devastated.</p>

66

<p>Decision: Accepted </p>

<p>Date applied: Early December </p>

<p>Date decision postmarked/received: March 28 </p>

<p>Accepted at which school/major at USC: Dornsife, Philosophy Politics and Law </p>

<p>Stats:
SAT Total: 2120 M: 650, CR: 720, WR: 750
ACT: 35
SAT Subject Tests: too lazy to look up
GPA-UW/W: 4.00/4.45
Rank: 2
AP/IB classes: 10 plus 3 college courses</p>

<p>Subjective:
Essays: “outstanding”
Teacher Recs: 1 outstanding, 1 average, 1 very good from alumni
Counselor Rec: good
EC highlights: 4 years varsity tennis (2 years captain), audition choral ensemble, 2 clubs, volunteer hours</p>

<p>Location/Person:
State or Country: CA
School Type: small public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Other Factors, hook?: none </p>

<p>General Comments, scholarship chances, status info, going to USC…?: USC is in the top 3, waiting on financial aid from a few schools. Happy!</p>

67

<p>Decision: Accepted
Date applied: Jan. 15 </p>

<p>Date decision postmarked/received: March 26/have yet to receive package
Accepted at which school/major at USC: Marshall </p>

<p>Stats:
SAT: 1940 (very low for USC)
ACT: didn’t send in
SAT Subject Tests: none
GPA: 3.98/4.27
Rank: 3
AP classes: 2 last year and 3 this year - AP Language and Composition (4) and AP US History (4)</p>

<p>Subjective:
Essays: Not sure, but I had a very unique topic. Probably wasn’t too good, because I didn’t have anyone check it over for spelling/grammar errors. But it did display my passion for my intended major. My supplement about “Why I want to go to USC” was specifically-geared towards the school and really displayed why I wanted to go.
Teacher Recs: I had my Chinese teacher write my common app recommendation (didn’t see)
Counselor Rec: Probably very general (didn’t see)
EC: 3 years of NHS (Vice President), 5 years of Leo Club (officer for all 5 years), Concert Choir (2 years), Select Choir (1 year), 3 years of Big Brothers Big Sisters, Community-based dance group with over 100 members (founder/event coordinator), NSLI-Y (received competitive government-funded scholarship to study abroad last summer), Robotics, Korean Club (event coordinator), and summer school assistant math teacher</p>

<p>Location/Person
State or Country: HI
School: Small, private
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Other factors/hooks: first-generation college student, low income?</p>

<p>General Comments: Having been rejected from Berkeley (no surprise) and wait-listed at NYU Stern, my USC acceptance came as a complete surprise. I think one of the main reasons I got in is because of my USC supplement — perhaps also my essay? Again, it really displayed my passion for the school and my major. Hope you guys can see that test scores aren’t everything! </p>

68

<p>Decision: Accepted
Date applied: 12/1</p>

<p>Date decision postmarked/received: Received 3/28[
Accepted at which school/major at USC: Dornsife Psychology</p>

<p>Stats:</p>

<p>SAT Total: 2020 M: 660, CR: 660, WR: X,700
ACT: 30
SAT Subject Tests: None
GPA-UW/W: 4.0/4.475 by end of first semester senior year
Rank: ~12/390
AP/IB classes: 6 total, but two of my three senior year were double credit classes. Only took three AP tests, Psychology: 4 English: 4 World History: 3</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Essays: Sort of rushed, so maybe not perfect from a technical viewpoint, but I tried to make them unique and enthusiastic towards USC a lot
Teacher Recs: Dunno how to judge, but both teachers liked me a lot
Counselor Rec: Don’t know the counselor too well personally, but I’m sure it was nice
EC highlights: High up in All-State Band all 4 years of high school, lots of band stuff, meh community service</p>

<p>Location/Person:</p>

<p>State or Country: NM
School Type: Pretty good I guess
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: M
Other Factors, hook?: Not much I can think of, I showed lots of enthusiasm towards their band program in one of my essays</p>

<p>General Comments, scholarship chances, status info, going to USC…?: Very excited after UCLA and Berkeley rejections! Gonna have to wait out the financial aid now. Basically gonna have to decide between staying in state, or going out of state. If I do go out, it’ll be between UT Austin and USC. I love USC and would love to go, but I reaaaally hope I get some aid to make that possible! Congrats to all!</p>

69

<p>For my son:</p>

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Date applied: 12/1
Accepted at which school/major at USC: Viterbi/EE</p>

<p>SAT Total: 2220 M: 780, CR: 710, WR: 720,
ACT: 35
SAT Subject Tests: Math2 800, Physics 740
GPA-UW/W: 3.7/4ish
Rank: doesn’t rank
AP/IB classes: CalcAB 5, PhysicsC 5, Chem 5, US History 3 (junior year)</p>

<p>Essays: Fair
Teacher Recs: Probably OK
Counselor Rec: must have been above average
EC highlights: outside jazz band, sports team captain, political club president, AMC award, anchor for school video newscast, important sounding summer research, </p>

<p>State or Country: Oregon
School Type: Top public
Ethnicity: W
Gender: M
Other Factors, hook?: none really</p>

<p>General Comments, scholarship chances, status info, going to USC…?: No scholarships (?) but he’s glad to have the offer. Collected a few rejections this week. Deciding between USC, Santa Clara (with merit award) and CP SLO.</p>

70

<p>oh…USC is very prestigious Univ… I think it is almost equivalent with UCB,UCLA…Top Univ in California.
My son can’t enter these so much Prestigious Univ. It’s impossible because it is Top 1~2% students can enter.
But 2nd tier, just below UCB,UCLA,USC…My son entered famous Univ…Cal Poly SLO…I’m satisfied with Cal Poly.</p>

71

<p>Decision: Accepted !!!</p>

<p>Date applied: I got my app in the day of the scholarship deadline (December)</p>

<p>Date decision postmarked/received: March 29 (online)</p>

<p>Accepted at which school/major at USC: School of Dramatic Arts (BFA Acting) !!</p>

<p>Stats:
SAT Total: 2070 Math: 670 Reading: 670 Writing: 730
ACT: N/A (didn’t send)
SAT Subject Tests: Math I (660) … haha
GPA UW: 3.94/4.00 (school doesn’t weigh GPA)
Rank: Top 10%; school doesn’t rank.
AP/IB classes: School only offers 2 APs.
-AP Statistics (my lone AP credit)</p>

<p>Subjective:
Essays: CA essay won a Scholastic Silver Key, unique supplements that demonstrated knowledge of school and world culture.
Teacher Recs: Great, I think!
Counselor Rec: We’re good friends. Most likely a good rec.
EC highlights: 35 hours of theatre a week, attends prestigious arts academy, NYU Tisch Summer High School, Questbridge National College Match finalist, film award, theatre internship</p>

<p>Location/Person:
State or Country: VA (boarding school in Michigan)
School Type: small boarding school
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: female
Other Factors, hook?: First gen college student, first gen immigrant, low income, Asian theatre performance major (?)</p>

<p>General Comments, scholarship chances, status info, going to USC…?: It’s my dream school! So glad I got in. :slight_smile: </p>

72

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Date applied: November 21</p>

<p>Date decision postmarked/received: Received March 28</p>

<p>Accepted at which school/major at USC: Viterbi for Computer Science (Games)</p>

<p>Stats:</p>

<p>ACT: 35
SAT Subject Tests: 800 Math II, 800 Chem
GPA: 3.9 UW
Rank: School doesn’t rank
AP/IB classes: AP Music Theory (5), APUSH (5), AP Micro (5), AP Calc BC (5), AP Stats (4), AP Lang (4), AP CS (5), AP Comp Gov (5), AP Chem (5)
Senior course load: Multivariable Calc, AP Lit, AP Bio, Spanish 5, AP Physics, AP Gov, AP Macro, Psychology</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Essays: Pretty proud of them.
Teacher Recs: Haven’t seen them
Counselor Rec: Haven’t seen it
EC highlights: 4 years on the boys’ high school swim and dive team, senior year NHS</p>

<p>Location/Person:</p>

<p>State or Country: MN
School Type: Public school that graduates about 800 per year
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male</p>

<p>Other Factors, hook?: Nope</p>

<p>General Comments, scholarship chances, status info, going to USC…?: After a brutal Ivy League D-Day, I was soooo happy to get the big envelope from USC! However, I didn’t see any merit aid in there, so this is most likely a financial rejection. :frowning: If only I lived in the beautiful state of California… Anyways, congrats to everyone admitted!</p>

73

<p>Decision: Rejected from Dornsife</p>

<p>Objective:

[ul]
[<em>]ACT (breakdown): 31 Composite; 35 English, 30 Reading, 30 Math, 29 Science
[</em>]GPA (out of 4.0): 3.878 UW, 4.042 W
[<em>]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 24/273 (Top 8%)
[</em>]AP (place score in parentheses): European History (3), Language (4)
[li]Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus BC, AP Government, AP Biology</p>[/li]
<p>Subjective:

[list]
[<em>]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): National Honor Society (VP), Varsity basketball (2 year captain)
[</em>]Job/Work Experience: First student employed by school district to work with special needs students during sports
[<em>]Volunteer/Community Service: Lot of time volunteering at after-school program in low socio-economic area
[</em>]Summer Activities: Worked at summer school program with special needs students
[<em>]Essays: Pretty good
[</em>]Teacher Recommendations: One pretty good; one average
[<em>]Counselor Rec: Really good
[</em>]Interview: Bad
[/ul]</p>

<p>Other

[ul]
[<em>]State (if domestic applicant): CO
[</em>]School Type: Competitive public
[<em>]Ethnicity: White
[</em>]Gender: Male
[<em>]Income Bracket: About $160,000
[</em>]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Double legacy
[/ul]</p>

<p>Reflection

[list]
[<em>]Strengths: Extracurriculars and essays
[</em>]Weaknesses: ACT score, no SAT subject tests, not enough AP classes
[<em>]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Not a good enough academic record
[</em>] Accepted: Wake Forest, University of Richmond, Boston University, University of Rochester
[<em>] Waitlisted: Tufts, Michigan, NYU, Lehigh
[</em>] Rejected: Penn, Brown, Cornell, Vandy, USC, Rice</p>

74

<p>Decision:Accepted!!!</p>

<p>Date applied: February 18th (i applied through Bocconi instead of USC)</p>

<p>Date decision postmarked/received: March 27th
Accepted at which school/major at USC: World Bachelor in Business</p>

<p>Stats:
ACT: 30 (31E 34M 27S 26R)
GPA-UW/W: 3.6/4.0 (4.0W)
Rank: None
AP/IB classes: Full IB program with 38 predicted points</p>

<p>Subjective:
Essays: great[/noparse]
Teacher Recs: did not have a chance to read but im assuming great
Counselor Rec: did not have a chance to read but im assuming great
EC highlights: Bunch of leadership positions + clubs + sports + summer jobs + internships </p>

<p>Location/Person:
State or Country: FL
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: White
Gender: M</p>

<p>Other Factors, hook?: very international background and i feel that is what WBB really wanted</p>

<p>General Comments, scholarship chances, status info, going to USC…?: Im so excited to have been accepted. This is a great opportunity and i will definitely attend! WBB is really looking for kids with an interesting story rather than kids simply with high test scores and awards. If they were looking for that, then i would 100% not have gotten in. Congrats to everyone for getting accepted and cant wait to see you all in the fall!!! :slight_smile: </p>

75

<p>Decision: Accepted </p>

<p>Date applied: November 30</p>

<p>Date decision postmarked/received: March 24</p>

<p>Accepted at which school/major at USC: Roski/Art BFA</p>

<p>Stats:</p>

<p>SAT Total: 2090 M: 650 CR:780 WR: 660
ACT: none</p>

<p>SAT Subject Tests: none</p>

<p>GPA-UW/W: UW 3.75/W 4.5</p>

<p>Rank: top ten%</p>

<p>AP/IB classes: AP Bio, AP Gov, AP Art History, AP Euro, AP Art Portfolio, AP Lit</p>

<p>Subjective:
Has worked in family owned businesses, full-time every summer and vacations, wrote essays surrounding work experience and contributions to family</p>

<p>Teacher Recs: was told from counselor they are excellent</p>

<p>Counselor Rec: strong</p>

<p>EC highlights: All-American track, National Qual track </p>

<p>State or Country: NY</p>

<p>School Type: Public High School</p>

<p>Ethnicity: white</p>

<p>Gender: female</p>

<p>Other Factors, hook?: strong art talent, very strong portfolio. Brother Presidential Scholarship at USC, hoping the financials come out OK. Beyond excited!</p>

76

<p>Decision: Accepted </p>

<p>Date applied: 10/14/13
Date decision postmarked/received: March 26/March 28
Accepted at which school/major at USC: Viterbi School of Engineering, Biomedical (Mechanical)</p>

<p>Stats:
SAT Total: N/A
ACT: 31 (English 30, Math 34, Reading 28, Science 33, Writing 9)
SAT Subject Tests: N/A
GPA-UW/W: 3.8137 UW. 4.3235 W
Rank: top 10%
AP/IB classes: AB Calc (5), Biology (4), Language and Composition (3), Psychology (taking currently), BC Calc (taking currently), Statistics (taking currently), Environmental (taking currently)</p>

<p>Subjective:
Essays: Pretty strong. Made sure the supplements were very specific to USC and were interesting.
Teacher Recs: 2 excellent ones according to me counselor
Counselor Rec: Excellent
EC highlights: Danced 7 days a week (9,10th), 6 days a week (11,12th), part of a dance ensemble, demonstrator and assistant dance teacher for younger kids, working senior year about 10 hours/week, part of tutoring program at my school, awarded several department awards, state Scholar, AP scholar</p>

<p>Location/Person:
State or Country: IL
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Other Factors: Visited campus in spring of 2013 for an information session, walking tour, and Viterbi presentation/information session. Went to a USC reception nearby and met with Matthew O’Pray (associate dean of admission). Attended USC informational visit at my school and talked with Risa Tewksbury (midwest representative).Had an interview specifically for Viterbi with Louise Yates (sr. associate dean of admissions) </p>

<p>General Comments:
Strengths: Letters of rec, commitment and dedication to extra curricular activities, shown interest in USC
Weaknesses: ACT score, no SAT subject tests, not as much involvement in school
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: In the range of admissions statistics and showed lots of interest in USC.
Accepted: University of Michigan, UC Davis, Boston University, USC (all in the college of engineering)
Waitlisted: Washington University in St. Louis
Rejected: UCLA, UC Berkeley, Duke, Stanford
Did not get offered any scholarships</p>

77

<p>[noparse]Decision: Accepted [/noparse]</p>

<p>[noparse]Date applied: 30th Nov 2013[/noparse]</p>

<p>[noparse]Date decision postmarked/received: Online portal[/noparse]</p>

<p>[noparse]Accepted at which school/major at USC: Marshall (Business Administration) [/noparse]</p>

<p>[noparse]Stats:
[/noparse]
[noparse]
SAT Total: 2070 did not send M: 780, CR: 660, WR: 630,[/noparse]
[noparse]
ACT: 34[/noparse]
[noparse]
SAT Subject Tests: 780 Math 2, 740 Chemistry[/noparse]
[noparse]
GPA-UW/W: No GPA[/noparse]
[noparse]
Rank: Not ranked[/noparse]
[noparse]
AP/IB classes: Predicted 43/45 IB Diploma candidate [/noparse]
[noparse]</p>

<p>Subjective:
[/noparse]
[noparse]
Essays: Run-of-the-mill let’s say 7-8/10 [/noparse]
[noparse]
Teacher Recs: First one should be pretty good second one soso. both quite generic probably. 8/10 and 6/10 [/noparse]
[noparse]
Counselor Rec: Generic 7/10 [/noparse]
[noparse]
EC highlights: A bit of everything except sports - choir, piano, volunteering, academic clubs…nothing phenomenal but quite sufficient
[/noparse]
[noparse]Location/Person: Hong Kong
[/noparse]
[noparse]
State or Country: Hong Kong[/noparse]
[noparse]
School Type: Private[/noparse]
[noparse]
Ethnicity: Asian[/noparse]
[noparse]
Gender: M
Other Factors, hook?: As unhooked as possible[/noparse]</p>

<p>[noparse]General Comments, scholarship chances, status info, going to USC…?: Still waiting for merit aid…it is expensive lol[/noparse]</p>

78

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Date applied: 12/1</p>

<p>Date decision postmarked/received: 3/28/14 Mail</p>

<p>Accepted at which school/major at USC: Dornsife/Economics</p>

<p>Stats:</p>

<p>SAT Total: 2050 M:670 , CR: 700, WR: 680
ACT: N/A
SAT Subject Tests: N/A
GPA-UW/W: 3.94/ 4.4-ish
Rank: 17/194
AP/IB classes: 8 AP Chem (4), APUSH (4), AP Gov (5), AP Calc AB (5), AP Lang (5), AP Stats, AP Enviro, AP Lit</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Essays: Wrote them in a rush but used other polished essays as a template. Thought they turned out pretty strong. Wrote about working at a summer camp and extensively about how I got interested in my major through life experience. Made the calculated decision to call myself whimsical and I think it payed off. I tried to be humorous whenever possible and the 3 words to describe myself were pretty funny. Didn’t take the essays too seriously
Teacher Recs: Both teachers knew me both inside and outside of the classroom and helped me recover from the loss of my father last year, so we have a lot of mutual respect.
Counselor Rec: She loves me more than I think is natural. Helped me with my dad just like the teachers. Knew me throughout the years.
EC highlights: ASB Treasurer, Key Club President and Treasurer, Swim Team Captain, Boy Scout Life Scout and summer camp lifeguard for 2 years, tech crew at local theater for last 3 years, and founder of an unofficial philosophy club</p>

<p>Location/Person:</p>

<p>State or Country: WA
School Type: Small Public (800)
Ethnicity: White (Jewish American)
Gender: Male</p>

<p>Other Factors, hook?: Dad I was close to passed away unexpectedly last year and I still came away strong in school and life (generally). I have a transgender parent that transitioned when I was in middle school and I was a bit of an advocate. That gave me some diversity I’m sure.</p>

<p>Thoughts: Wasn’t super emotionally invested in being accepted or denied but super stoked now that I am. Not necessarily shocked I was accepted but excited nonetheless. Probably going to end up here.</p>

79

<p>Decision: Accepted!!</p>

<p>Date applied: 12/1/13</p>

<p>Date decision postmarked/received: 3/23/14</p>

<p>Accepted at which school/major at USC: Marshall </p>

<p>Stats:</p>

<p>SAT Total: 2180 M: 760, CR: 680, WR: 740
ACT: Didn’t take</p>

<p>SAT Subject Tests: Math I & II - 690 & 730
GPA-UW/W: 3.92/4.0
Rank: top 5%
AP/IB classes: 4 AP classes</p>

<p>Location/Person:</p>

<p>State or Country: CT
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: F</p>

<p>Other Factors, hook?: no hooks</p>

80

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Date applied: 12/1</p>

<p>Date decision postmarked/received: 3/28/14 Mail</p>

<p>Accepted at which school/major at USC: Marshall School of Business </p>

<p>Stats:</p>

<p>SAT Total: N/A
ACT: 28
SAT Subject Tests: didn’t report
GPA-UW/W: 3.5ish/4.04
Rank: didn’t report
AP/IB classes: Full IB Diploma along with AP Calc, AP Stats (3), and AP Gov (4)</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Essays: Common App essay I spent a lot of time on and tried to make it the best possible. Wrote about going into a new culture into a Catholic school while not being catholic and how I have changed as a person in high school. other two essays I wrote about the vibe at USC and my internship with Ernst & Young in Beijing.
Teacher Recs: I think they were good. I only read one of them, the other one I didn’t even read lol. Also had two additional rec letters from two internships I have done
Counselor Rec: I think it was good but I didn’t read it
EC highlights: Intern at Ernst & Young in Beijing, Vice Chair CMH Young Republicans, Intern with Senate Campaign, President of FBLA, Scholastic silver key winner, Boys State, Clarinet award winner, a lot of service, and a lot more things</p>

<p>Location/Person:</p>

<p>State or Country: WI
School Type: Parochial (650)
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male</p>

<p>Other Factors, hook?: Maybe my internships and leadership</p>

<p>Thoughts: I wasn’t expecting to get accepted because of my low stats, but it really just shows you that stats are only a part of the admission process and good ECs can create admission officers to overlook them</p>

<p>Schools I’ve been accepted: U of Illinois (College of Business), Indiana University (Kelley)
School I’ve been rejected: UPenn and Notre Dame </p>