Fall 2015 (class of 2019) USC DECISIONS STATS ONLY THREAD

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
121

Decision: Accepted

**Date applied: ** December 1st

Date decision postmarked/received: March 26th

Which school/major at USC: Marshall for Business Administration

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2190 (620CR, 800M, 770W)
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 800 Math II, 720 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.73
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parentheses): AP Calc AB (5), AP Calc BC (5), AP Stats (5), AP Lit (3), AP Physics C, AP Macro&Micro Economics, AP Lang
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Economics, AP Physics C, AP Lang, French IV Honors, Japanese I Honors, World Religions
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): ACADEC, Student Council, Asian Cultural Club, Yearbook
Volunteer/Community Service: Vietnamese language tutor, GED tutor. I created a non-profit organization for people in my country
Essays (rating 1-10, details):: 9/10
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: 9/10, 8/10
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: 9/10

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? No
Country (if international applicant): Vietnam
School Type: Catholic
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 250k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I took Calculus when I was a freshman, that’s probably the only one.

Reflection
Strengths: Very good at Math and Science
Weaknesses: Nothing impressive about ECs
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: bruh no idea
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Boston College (Accepted), UVA (accepted), Northeastern (Accepted), UCSD (Accepted, UCLA (denied), UCB (denied), Stanford (denied)

122

Sorry, I meant to say the date I received my decision was March 27

123

Decision: Accepted

**Date applied: ** October 25th, 2014

Date decision postmarked/received: March 26th, 2015

Which school/major at USC: Marshall

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1890 (730R/550M/610W)
ACT (breakdown): 27
SAT II (place score in parentheses): N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/168
AP (place score in parentheses): N/A
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Adv. Chemistry, AP English, Anatomy and Physiology, Sociology and Psychology, Economics, Spanish IV AP, Physics Honors, Calculus BC
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Quest Bridge College Prep Scholar, Quest Bridge National College Match Finalist

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Senior Class Officer (President), National Honor Society (President), Arrow Leadership Team (President), Future Business Leaders of America Chapter (President), National Spanish Honor Society (Public Relations Chairman), Book Club (Former Secretary), Town Youth Council Member, County Democrats, Upward Bound
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community Service: Blood Drives, Political Volunteer, Peer Tutor; 200+ hours total
Summer Activities: Upward Bound Summer Academy
Essays (rating 1-10, details):: Best I’ve written in my life.
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: They believed in me. More important than a rating, I think.
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: Also believed in me.
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details):: N/A
Interview: N/A

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Low income
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation

Reflection
Strengths: Extracurriculars, and I don’t think I ever would have been accepted without Quest Bridge. I also tried to fill a certain type of seat in the class very well, and it appears to have worked. Compelling life story.
Weaknesses: Definitely standardized tests.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Holistic admissions.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Haven’t heard yet from the University of Pennsylvania. Accepted to: George Washington University, Pennsylvania State University Main Campus, Temple University, University of Pittsburgh Main Campus
Rejected: Boston University, New York University
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Be authentic! I hope this give hope to all of the kids out there reading this that might have low test scores but big dreams. You just have to work at it that much more. :slight_smile:

124

Decision: Accepted

**Date applied: ** December 1

Date decision postmarked/received: March 25

Which school/major at USC: Marshall School of Business

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2250 (760 CR, 770 M, 720 W)
ACT (breakdown): Did not send
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 800 Bio, 790 US History, 750 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parentheses): AP Art History (5), AP English Language and Composition (5), AP US History (5), AP Chemistry (4), AP Biology (4)
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Literature and Composition, AP US Government, AP Calculus AB, AP Spanish Literature, AP Physics C
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP Scholar, National Merit Commended

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): History Bowl (Vice-Captain), Destination Imagination (Team Captain), Ocean Sciences Bowl (A-Team), Science Bowl, We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution Team
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community Service: Peer Tutoring and Outreach
Summer Activities: Lots of preparing for my academic teams
Essays (rating 1-10, details):: Academic interests: 5/10. Non-academic interest: 10/10
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: English Teacher: I thought her class was the most useful class I ever took in high school. Spanish Teacher: One of my favorite teachers in high school. However, I did not read either of them, so I can’t confidently rate them.
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: Never read
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details):: None
Interview: None

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Very large public (Nearly 4000 students)
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: M
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation

Reflection
Strengths: SAT, GPA, lots of extras, my school is a USC feeder

Weaknesses: No spectacular extras
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I guess they liked me
Where else you are applying or have already applied:
Admitted: Lower UCs, UCSD, USC
Waitlisted: UCLA, UChicago
Rejected: UC Berkeley, Stanford (after getting deferred), Northwestern
Waiting on: Harvard, Penn, Columbia, Cornell
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Excited to have accepted to USC! I added it to my list on a whim, but if I don’t get into any of my ivies, then it’s where I’m heading.

125

www.reat.com.au/

126

Decision: Accepted :smiley:

Date Applied: December 1
Which school at USC: Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

[ b]Objective:**
[ list]
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 1990 720 CR 580 M 690 W
[ *] ACT:
[ *] SAT II: US History 740 570 on lit
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.77
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): US History 5, English Language 3
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP World History, AP English Lit, AP US Government, High Honors Judaic Studies, Honors Hebrew 5, Honors Spanish 4, Calculus, Anatomy and Sports Medicine, Race, Class and Gender
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Honor Society, various school awards
[ /list]

[ b]Subjective:**
[ list]
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): United Synagogue Youth, sports broadcasting, Cross-Country runner, actor in play, Student Ambassador, Interfaith Dialogue Leader
[ *] Job/Work Experience: Worked At synagogue for 3 years as child care leader.
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: Organized toiletry collection project, volunteered with Youth group
[ *] Summer Activities: attended sleepaway camp for 8 years, attended 2 week social justice program last summer
[ *] Essays: In common app, I wrote about my stutter and how I’ve overcome it. I mentioned my interests in sports journalism as well as USC’s unique minors in American Pop Culture. I zeroed in those and they may have made a significant difference.
[ *] Teacher Recommendation: very very good. both my teachers loved me. one, my APUSH teacher loves me and the other my Physics Teacher praises how I was challenged in her class.
[ *] Counselor Rec: I assume very good.
[ *] Additional Rec:
[ *] Interview: It did not go as well as my other interviews and was scared with the result. I do think its beneficial to interview, however.
[ *] Supplementary Material:
[ /list]

[ b]Other**
[ list]
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type: Top, Private Jewish School
[ *] Ethnicity: White
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate):
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): dad went to law school at USC
[ /list]

[ b]Reflection**
[ list]
[ *] Strengths: My essays, my grades
[ *] Weaknesses: My math SAT score
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
[ *] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Cal Poly SLO, UC Davis, Tulane, Indiana, GW, Tufts, Michigan, Brandeis, UMiami Denied: and Wash U and Berkeley Waitlisted: UCSD, UCLA
[ /list]

[ b]General Comments: ** Fight on! :smile:

127

Choose one:

Decision: Accepted

Date applied: November 17,2014

Date decision postmarked/received: 3/24, 3/26

Which school/major at USC: Creative Writing (Dornsife)

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Did not take
ACT (breakdown): 31 Composite, 32 Superscore: 34E, 30M, 32S, 32R
SAT II (place score in parentheses):
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Weighted: 3.8, unweighted 3.6
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parentheses): N/A
IB (place score in parentheses): Not sure yet
Senior Year Course Load: Full IB Diploma
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NHS

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Lit Mag Editor, Varsity Track/Cross Country, Lots of Theatre
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community Service:100+ Hours per year
Summer Activities: Lots of travel and service work
Essays (rating 1-10, details):: My personal statement was about my family/siblings and I thought it was very unique. My supplements were well done but not anything outstanding.
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: Probably very good, done by English/Theatre teachers
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: 9/10
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details):: Cross Country/Track coach, very good
Interview: My interview went very smoothly and very well, I would highly recommend doing this if you’re outgoing

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?No
State (if domestic applicant): Colorado
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection
Strengths: My interview was very helpful and I had met my admission counselor multiple times. My essays were also well done and unique.
Weaknesses: GPA
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think I was accepted because of my interest that I showed during my interview and the character that I was able to show my admission counselor. I also think that my extremely rigorous coursework helped.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: NYU, BU, Chapman
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:

128

Decision: Accepted

**Date applied: ** Dec. 1st

Date decision postmarked/received: Early February

Which school/major at USC: Dornsife, Human Biology, Trustee Scholarship Finalist

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 35 (35 E, 36 M, 35 S, 35 R)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math 2 (710) Chemistry (700)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/~425
AP (place score in parentheses): Human (5), Environmental (5), Chemistry (4), Lang (3)
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus Ab, AP Calculus Bc, Business Economics, Government, AP Literature, AP French, Student Ambassadors (S. Government), AP Physics 1
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended Scholar, AP Scholar

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Student Ambassadors (President), Sexual Assault Resource Team, National Honor Society (Secretary), Varsity Track, Varsity Baseball, Link Crew (President/Founder), Math/Science/French Honor Society, Counselor Advisory Board
Job/Work Experience: Busser since summer before Junior year
Volunteer/Community Service: Community Advocate with Sexual Assault Victim Advocacy Center
Summer Activities: Yale Summer Session, Baseball, Job
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I thought they were good obviously, but who knows how the admissions felt about it. I wrote about my position as a Sexual Assault Victim Advocate and my dedication towards ending the acceptance of sexual violence in our culture in the Common App essay. In the Additional Info, I wrote about being from Hawai’i and my cultural sense of 'ohana.
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Never read them. AP Chem teacher (knew him for a year), French teacher (knew him for 2 years)
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): Didn’t read it, but I think it was good because I’ve known her for 4 years and she is the advisor of Student Ambassadors (my leadership group)
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details): N/A
Interview: Didn’t interview for admission. Interviewed for Trustee Scholarship (after admission) and overall I thought it went well.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
State (if domestic applicant): Colorado
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Pacific Islander (Hawaiian)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Not sure, but I think that my parents do pretty well.
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Pacific Islander, Sexual Assault Victim Advocacy work

Reflection
Strengths: I think my strengths are that I am a URM, and I am very passionate about advocacy work that not many high school kids are involved in.
Weaknesses: I applied to Human Biology, and I don’t have major awards/original research that other applicants to science fields have.
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Don’t do something simply because people say “colleges like to see it”. Find something you are passionate about, and commit yourself to it. Chances are, you will end up doing some pretty awesome things because your passion will naturally lead you to pursue opportunities. Plus, you will be happy and enthusiastic as well.
Fight On!

129

Decision: Accepted

**Date applied: ** 1/15/15

Date decision postmarked/received: 3/25/15

Which school/major at USC: Dornsife, Chemistry

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): CR 720 Math 750 Writing 700 - Total 2170
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 800 Math 2, 790 Chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 14
AP (place score in parentheses): 5’s in AP Human Geography, Calc B/C, English Language, US History, Euro, Chemistry, Calc AB subscore
Senior Year Course Load: AP bio, AP stats, AP govm/econ, AP english lit, spanish 4

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): bass section leader at church
Volunteer/Community Service: church stuff in choir
Essays (rating 1-10, details):: 9/10 on common app wrote about being gay, 6/10 usc supp bc wrote the night before
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: 7/10 on each they were not bad but not great - nothing special
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: 5/10 - good but senior class is 900 students and there’s only 1 counselor

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? recieved 57k total - net cost is 11k w/ workstudy option to make it about 9k
State (if domestic applicant): cali
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: large public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Income Bracket: 40-45k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): being gay lmao

Reflection
Strengths: hook, scores, gpa, ap scores, essay
Weaknesses: usc supplemental essay for sure and extracurriculars
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: the essays matter more than you think tbh, it saved me from getting rejected at most of my schools because of my lacking extracurriculars, grades/sat obviously matter too i guess
Where else you are applying or have already applied: rejected pomona college, accepted berkeley, ucla, ucsd (chancellor’s), ucsb (regents), uci (honors)
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: start the essays soon and don’t procrastinate!!! if you’re low income most likely you don’t have to bother applying early for merit based you’ll get enough money from just need based money… usc is definitely not stingy about their money when it comes to poor admitted freshmen, and they only start to hand out significantly less money if you’re middle/upper class

130

Sorry this template was not working for me…

Decision: Accepted!!!

Date applied: Before December 1st

Date decision postmarked/received: 3/27

Which school/major at USC: Economics in Dornsife

OBJECTIVE:
SAT I (breakdown): not good…
ACT (breakdown): 31 composite, 34 english, 31 math, 31 reading, 28 science
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 740 Spanish
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.86
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 50ish, top 14%
AP (place score in parentheses): Spanish (4), World History (4), Statistics (4), Enviro. Science (4), Calc AB (4), Spanish Literature (4)
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Micro/Macro Econ., Leadership, AP US Govt, AP Art History, AP Chemistry, English, Honors Hispanic Studies
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction

SUBJECTIVE:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Drill Team, Link Crew, Nordstrom BP Fashion Board, DECA, Cheer, Dance, Class Treasurer (10th and 12th grade), Spanish Immersion since Kindergarten!
Job/Work Experience: Nanny during Summer, Babysitting
Volunteer/Community Service: Counselor in Training, Childcare Assistant, random stuff…
Summer Activities: Educational summer camp at WSU (classes is stocks, fashion, and dna), Counselor in training
Essays (rating 1-10, details):: 8, pretty basic and not super emotional or a sob story, but i spent a ton of time on them
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: 8, regular us history: i stood out and always participated; AP Spanish Lit: not a great participator but worked hard and improved throughout the year
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: 10!!! I think my counselor really liked me. He almost cried when I was really upset talking about AP Calc
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details):: N/A
Interview: went well! I had already made connections with my admissions counselor so I was not super uncomfortable

OTHER:
Applied for Financial Aid? Nope
State (if domestic applicant): WA
Country (if international applicant): America!
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: don’t qualify for aid
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): absolutely zero

REFLECTION:
Strengths: umm 11 AP classes/tests by graduation, GPA above average for USC, good leadership (treasurer twice and link crew), continuation in dance based activities (elementary school to senior year), went to every presentation and visited campus (idk if they look at demonstrated interest)
Weaknesses: lowish ACT (middle of range for USC),
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: it was honestly the pleasant biggest surprise of my life. There were kids from my HS with better stats than me that were rejected so i really don’t know
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Accepted: UW (Direct Admit to Business School), Santa Clara (9k/yr), Cal Poly SLO (2k/yr), USD (25k/yr), SMU (20k/yr), Tulane (27k/yr), University of Richmond, Wake Forest, UCSB, and USC!!! Rejected: U.Va. (deferred EA then rejected), UCLA
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: don’t lose hope, but don’t get cocky! theres so many people I expected to get in that didn’t and some that got in that i didn’t expect to (including me :)). It seems that USC is definitely very holistic in their admissions process. Hopefully I will be attending!

FIGHT ON!!!

131

Choose one:

[ size=4][ color=green][ b] Decision: Accepted **[/color][/size]

[ b]Date applied: 11/30/2014 **

[ b]Date decision postmarked/received:3/24/2015 **

[ b]Which school/major at USC: English (with the intention of transfering to Annenberg’s communication major) **

[ b]Objective:**
SAT I (breakdown): 1730, maybe? It was that bad, so I don’t think I even sent it in.
ACT (breakdown): 28 (EN: 32, MA: 29, RE: 31, SC: 26, E/W: 29 (essay: 8))
SAT II (place score in parentheses): yikes
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 10th (97th percentile)
AP (place score in parentheses): out of 8 offered: US His (2), Psych: (3), Lang (3), Gov (3), Enviro Sci (??), Lit (??)
IB (place score in parentheses): not offered
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, APES, at the local college: anthropology, sociology, human comm, macroecon, stat, biology
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

[ b]Subjective:**
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): class president. FCA (leadership officer), various service clubs, band for a couple of years, quiz bowl for a couple of years, Swim team (Captain)
Job/Work Experience: Lifeguard. Also, my DJ business which is explained below
Volunteer/Community Service: Everything I could do for a small town. It probably looked impressive, but if you knew what I’ve actually done, it probably looks like a load of bull. And my Savings for Soldiers initiative which is explained below.
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details):: 9.8 my common app was about how in the 6th grade, I started my own DJ business and grew into a monopoly on my town. It had great voice and humor, while showing my determination and maturity at a young age. I also wrote about how I founded a community service project that shipped $20,000 of coupons overseas to families in the service. And my love for words and diction??? Yeh, I might have been drunk on that one, but I guess it worked?
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: 10. I didn’t read it, but it was done by my AP Lang teacher who is a brilliant woman, and I know that she would have done me justice. God bless her.
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: I don’t know. Poor woman has good intentions, and wouldn’t have written anything the least bit flattering about me. I am just not sure how eloquent of a writer she is. But it probably was genuine. 8?
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details):: n/a
Interview: n/a

[ b]Other**
Applied for Financial Aid? hell yes
State (if domestic applicant): Georgia
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: a POS. 70-75% graduation rate. only school in the county. dwindling AP courses that are more of a joke. pretty building though.
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Not completely sure. I think my parents don’t break the 6 figures (combined), but are close.
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I have two older sisters each a year apart at private schools.

[ b]Reflection**
Strengths: my essays? my unfortunate circumstances as being raised in a small town? I didn’t think I really had any.

Weaknesses: test scores. test scores. test scores. also, lack of IB or anything prestigous. and no legacy connection

Why you think you were accepted: location has a big chunk to do with it. I come from a limiting environment. I can only speculate that maybe my determined entrepreneurial ventures as a 6th grader made me an interesting candidate.

Where else you are applying or have already applied: rejected from Tulane & Boston U. Accepted to Florida State, UGA, Emerson College, and Chapman.

General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I honestly feel a little guilty that I was accepted. I mean, I have a freaking 28 on the ACT. That has been the bane of my existence. I know a girl with a 2300 on her SAT that got rejected last year. Looking back, I had really solid essays, that I guess made me stand out as interesting and different. Also, I have heard that visiting the campus shows a lot of positive interest.
I’m also slightly confused as to why I was rejected from Tulane (my sister had identical stats and was accepted) and accepted to USC (which is waaay harder to get into.) I wasn’t surprised with BU, and in retrospect, I don’t think that school would have been a good fit anyways. In conclusion, I am blessed and super stoked to join the Trojan family.

132

Decision: Rejected

Date applied: November 5

Date decision postmarked/received:March 27
Which school/major at USC: Dornsife Human Biology

SAT I (breakdown): not sent
ACT (breakdown): 32
SAT II (place score in parentheses): not taken
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): does not rank
AP (place score in parentheses): 4 total. AP Environmental Science (5) AP English Language and Comp (4) AP English Literature (4) AP US History (4)
IB (place score in parentheses): none
Senior Year Course Load: 1 AP, 7 honors
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended Scholar, AP scholar, National Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Club and high school soccer
Job/Work Experience: In-N-Out for 2 years
Volunteer/Community Service: National Charity League (Class VP and publicity chair), volunteer at my church (Altar Server captain and trainer)-seriously a lot of volunteering at my church.
Summer Activities: travel, summer school to get ahead
Essays (rating 1-10, details):: i thought my supplement was good but i haven’t had many hardships in my life like many students, I’ve been fortunate
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: very good i think
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: generic, she didn’t know me
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details)::none
Interview: none

Applied for Financial Aid? yes
State (if domestic applicant): Arizona
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private Catholic all girls school
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): my brother goes there

Strengths: my test scores and GPA
Weaknesses: I guess my essay and extracurriculars weren’t good enough
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I’m smart but my extracurriculars are limited. I was in honors societies but no clubs and that probably hurt me
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Santa Clara, UT Austin, Baylor, TCU, U of A
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I advise everyone to really emphasize their extracurriculars. Everyone that got in from my high school is very involved, even if their test scores and GPA are under the average for USC. I’m very heartbroken by this decision because USC is the only school i want to go to. I appealed and will definitely transfer in my sophomore year if the appeal is not successful

133

[ size=4][ color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted**[/color][/size]

College (LSA, engineering, etc.): Business Admin, Marshall

[ b]Objective:**
SAT I (breakdown): 2140
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II (place score in parentheses): world, 700, us history, 750, math 640
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.85
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parentheses): AP World (3), AP Macro (4), AP Micro (3), APUSH (5)
IB (place score in parentheses): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Physics I, Regular Statistics, AP English, Digital Art, AP Psychology, Accelerated French IV
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Debate Trophies, MUN Gavels, Featured in the Orange County Business Journal for a business I started

[ b]Subjective:**
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Student Ambassador, Student Store (Founder), Multicultural Club (President), Literary Magazine (Co-Editor In Chief), Service Learning (Co-Chair), Vegan Faire (Assistant Coordinator), Temple (Member), Theater (had a few roles), Debate (member), MUN (member)
Job/Work Experience: the Vegan Faire, had 2 marketing internships too
Volunteer/Community Service: Worked with kids at another school throughout the year for 2 years, and then did a microeconomics, microfinance service project for 2 yeras
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details):: 8. I wish I had someone to read them like a college counselor, but I used my school’s college counselor as a resource, and I was fine!
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: 9.5 they all loved me!
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: 10 I was tight with him
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details):: n/a nope
Interview:

[ b]Other**
Applied for Financial Aid? No
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private, Small, 506 kids in the entire school
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: Female
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Woman in business

[ b]Reflection**
Strengths: I definitely have a unique story which is what got me in. I was an international student living in China who came to America, who is Indian with family all over the world. I speak 4 languages, started a business.
Weaknesses: being and Indian girl, and my stats were really weak. A lot of business schools required a math, and I didn’t always send it in!
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: my story!
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Got in to: UMich Ross pre-admit, NYU Stern, Berkeley, USC Marshall, UCSC, UCSB, UW Foster pre-admit, UCONN
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Honestly, I cried for weeks and weeks before admissions came out. I didn’t think I would get in anywhere, and I literally killed the college game and got into a bunch of schools despite odds against me! You guys got it :slight_smile:

134

[color=green]Decision: Accepted to Annenberg[/color=green]

Major: Art History

Objective:[ul]
[]SAT I (breakdown): 2240 (didn’t submit)
[]ACT (breakdown): 34 (English 34, Math 34, Reading 35, Science 33)
[]SAT II (place score in parentheses): Chinese w/ Listening (800), US History (710), Biology-E (720)
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.76
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank
[]AP (place score in parentheses): Chinese (5), Psychology (4), Biology (4), APUSH (5), French (5)
[]IB (place score in parentheses):
[]Senior Year Course Load: AP Art History, AP Macroeconomics, AP Calculus AB, AP English Lit & Comp, Physics H, & Living Skills (LOL.)
[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/ul] AP Scholar w/ Distinction, National merit scholar, President’s award for community service, some art awards…[/li]
Subjective:

[ul]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): my school’s magazine (Editor-in-chief), foreign affairs publication (Creative Director), MUN (member).
[]Job/Work Experience: Paid internship @ Condé Nast International, the publisher of Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, etc.
[]Volunteer/Community Service: Microfinance rural poverty alleviation program in Ningxia, China.
[]Summer Activities: Internship (unpaid) at National Geographic Traveler magazine, French immersion program in Montpellier.
[]Essays: Bomb!
[]Teacher Recommendations: Recs from APUSH teacher and head of English department probably both 10/10.
[]Counselor Rec: Probably really good.
[]Additional Rec: Got a rec from my journalism advisor, who happens to be quite famous.
[li]Interview:[/ul] Didn’t get one nor did I do demonstrated interest, but it didn’t affect me.[/li]
Other

[ul]
[]State (if domestic applicant): CA
[]Country (if international applicant): USA
[]School Type: competitive public in Silicon Valley
[]Ethnicity: Asian
[]Gender: Female
[]Income Bracket: well off & definitely do not qualify for financial aid or anything
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/ul] none [/li]
Reflection

[list]
[]Strengths: Internships & intense focus on a single interest (journalism in this case).
[]Weaknesses: GPA for sure, and the fact that I’m an overrepresented minority from an overrepresented area of an overrepresented state.
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: My internships & essays were pretty bomb.
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied:[ /list] Accepted to Carnegie Mellon, USC, NYU, Bryn Mawr, Smith, & Rice! Waitlisted at Notre Dame, Wellesley, Barnard, & Boston College (huh?!). Rejected by Penn, Brown ED, Georgetown, Northwestern, WUSTL, Vanderbilt, & Johns Hopkins.

General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:[/noparse] When one door closes, another opens. That’s the case for me this year during this application process; I was in despair after Brown straight-up rejected me in the ED round since pretty much everyone is usually deferred rather than rejected, but I’m very excited to join Rice in this fall! More than happy to be an Owl :smiley:

135

Decision: Accepted

Date applied: 12/1/14

Date decision postmarked/received: 3/27/15

Which school/major at USC: Biology (Dornsife)

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2290 (750 CR, 800 M, 740 WR) superscored (2250 highest in one sitting)
ACT (breakdown): 36 (36 English, 36 Math, 36 Reading, 36 Science, 8 Writing) superscored
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math Level 2 (800), Biology M (780), Literature (700)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): #1 (unavailable at time of submission/evaluation)
AP (place score in parentheses): Human Geography (4), US Govt and Politics (5), Calculus BC (5), English Lang (5), Statistics (4), Biology (5), US History (5)
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A (not offered at school)
Senior Year Course Load: AP English, AP Environmental Science, AP Chemistry, AP Spanish, AP Physics C Mech, AP European History
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): USABO Semifinalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Scholar

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Mu Alpha Theta (President sr yr, Theta e-board jr yr), National Honor Society (VP), Academic Games (Co-president), Science Olympiad (VP), Book Club (secretary), Iota Sigma Christian Fellowship (secretary), Peer Assistance Team, Generation 2 Generations (volunteering at nursing homes; PR), Young Musician’s Club (PR), orchestra
Job/Work Experience: summer research intern at LSU Health Sciences Center
Volunteer/Community Service: 2 summers in Children’s Hospital (~70 hrs/summer), 3 summers in my church’s Vacation Bible School (~40 hrs/summer)
Summer Activities: see above; traveled to China, Seattle, Vancouver
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8.5 for both? One essay was about my struggles over peer pressure, another about my experience in a research lab
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Never read them, but I’m guessing they were good?
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): Never read it. Same as above?
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details): Never read my research mentor’s rec letter. Also assuming it was good.
Interview: N/A

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Not for need-based (and I regret it)
State (if domestic applicant): Louisiana
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: ~180,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Maybe the research.

Reflection
Strengths: GPA, ACT score, essays, research experience, course load
Weaknesses: SAT score (you’ll laugh, but in my parents’ opinions it needed to be in the 2300s to be considered top-notch), volunteer experience, one-dimensional ECs (too many academic ones)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Overall, strong in academics.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Accepted to WashU, Emory, Tulane, UNC Chapel Hill, Cornell. Waitlisted to Northwestern. Rejected to Yale. Attending Emory with half-tuition scholarship.
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I could have attended USC with full tuition + an extra $8000 stipend/year, but I ultimately turned it down because I thought it wasn’t the best fit. (My mom is still on my back about that.) Anyway, good luck, future applicants! :slight_smile:

136

Choose one:

Decision: Accepted

**Date applied: **15th Jan, 2015

Date decision postmarked/received: 26th March, 2015

Which school/major at USC: Business Administration, Marshall School Of Business

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Superscore - 2110 (CR-670 M-780 W-660 Essay-8)

ACT (breakdown): Composite - 32. (M-35, R-32, E-32, S-29, Essay-8)

SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math Level 2 - 750, Math Level 1 - 720

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Std X - 92% (ICSE)
Std XII GPA - 3.7 (approximately)
Std XII Predicted grade 85-90%

AP (place score in parentheses): Calculus AB - 3, Macroeconomics - 4

Senior Year Course Load: Math, Physics, Chemistry, Economics, English

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):

  1. Vice-Chair of one committee at MUN organised by school.
  2. Event Head at Inter School fest held by my school

Job/Work Experience:
Two 4-week internships at my father’s company (Software Product Compamy). Elaborated on what I did in my app.

Volunteer/Community Service:
Volunteered at an NGO for mentally handicapped adults. Made a professional marketing presentation for them. Might even get to pitch their chocolates to corporates.

Other Activities:

Public Speaking - 1) Selected for about 6 MUN’s and have won at 2
2) Selected for my school’s Inter House Debate
3) Have got distinction in one Trinity Exam in Performing Text (Only Grade 3)

Projects - Made two research project assignments regarding my father’s company. One about effects of payment plans on software company and one about rental decisions for software company. Basically, I think it is pretty impressive. It shows high interest and some advanced knowledge.

Other Activities - 1) Part of 2-man team selected as one of 12 best teams in India to represent school at an All-India competition, Young Leader’s Initiative.
2) Stand Up Comedy - Selected to represent school for a few competitions.
3) Several Inter House competitions held by school (Dramatics, Soccer, Cricket, Science Quiz, Fashion Shows etc.)

Sports - 1) Soccer - Part of school team in 9th and 10th grade
2) Cricket - Played at an academy for about 4 years (from 5th to 8th grade) (Don’t know if they will include it)

Essays (rating 1-10, details):: 9/10, Wrote about how I adapted my business acumen to social benefit.

Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: 7/8

Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: 10

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? No

Country (if international applicant): India

School Type: Private

Ethnicity: Indian

Gender: Male

Reflection
Strengths: Essay was great.

Weaknesses: EC’s

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Essay

Where else you are applying or have already applied:

Accepted to UIUC, Indiana, UWash-Seattle, UW-Madison. Waitlisted by Emory.