Fall 2016 (class of 2020) USC DECISIONS STATS ONLY THREAD

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
21

Decision: Deferred

Date applied: November 30th

Date decision postmarked/received: January 26th

Which school/major at USC: Viterbi, Biomedical Engineering

Scholarships: None Yet

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2310 (CR: 750, M: 770, W: 790; Essay: 11)
ACT (breakdown): 35 (E: 36, M: 34, R: 34, S: 36; Essay: 11)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Bio M: 800, Math II: 800, Chemistry: 780
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA (out of 5.0): 4.8
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/570; Top 1%
AP (place score in parentheses): Human Geography (5), Environmental Science (5), European History (5), Biology (5), Chemistry (5), Psychology (5), U.S. History (5), English Language (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP U.S. Government, AP Economics, AP English Literature, AP Calculus, AP Physics C, Wind Ensemble
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP Scholar, National Merit Semifinalist, other smaller awards and recognition

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Wind Ensemble (9-12, First Chair Saxophone, Librarian), Marching Band (9-12, Flute Section Leader 10-12), All-State Honor Band (9, 11-12), All-County Honor Band (9-12, First Chair), National Honor Society (12, Project Leader), National English Honor Society (11-12, Vice President), Special Olympics Club (11-12), School Writing Tutor (11-12), School Math Tutor (11-12), HOBY Local Leadership Seminar (10), HOBY World Leadership Congress (10), Gay-Straight Alliance (12), Lab Internship at UCLA (12), Hospital Volunteer (11-12, Student Coordinator/Shift Supervisor), Spring and Summer Music Camp Volunteer (10-12), Vacation Bible School Volunteer (9, 11)
Job/Work Experience: Surgical Assistant at an Oral Surgery Office (Summer between Junior and Senior year)
Volunteer/Community Service: Tutoring, Hospital, Music Camp, Vacation Bible School; 500+ hours, Gold President’s Volunteer Service Award
Summer Activities: Volunteering, Summer Job, Leadership Camps, Marching Band
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App (8): represented myself through a symbol and a short anecdote, revealed a lot about me but could’ve been more eloquent; USC Supplements (7): pretty hastily thrown together and probably decently generic, would’ve improved if I had spent more time rewriting and revising
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): English Teacher (8): didn’t read it but we have a good relationship and she liked me as a student; Biology Teacher (7): was less personal with me as a teacher, but I did exceedingly well in the class and she liked me (I hope)
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 7, we’re very friendly with each other but I’m sure it wasn’t anything special
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details): N/A
Interview: Didn’t have one

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: Public, ~2500 students
Ethnicity: Asian and White
Gender: M
Income Bracket: less than $50,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection
Strengths: Stats/Scores
Weaknesses: Too Generic
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: There wasn’t anything that would make an admissions officer remember my application - my essays weren’t specific enough, my profile wasn’t unique enough. Plus, there was an extremely competitive application pool with few spots available.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: UCLA, UCB, Stanford, Northwestern, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton, Duke
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Always start early - take advantage of all your opportunities from the start of high school (don’t wait until it’s too late in the game like I did), spend time and be diligent in your applications, and be prepared for whatever comes. The process is brutal, but hopefully it’ll all pay off. Congrats to everyone who got in!

22

Decision: Accepted

Date applied: September 23rd

Date decision postmarked/received: Postmarked January 22nd, received January 25th

Which school/major at USC: Viterbi, Electrical Engineering

Scholarships: Dean’s Scholar

Objective:
SAT I: n/a
ACT: C33 (E:34, R:34, M:34, S:31, E+essay:32
SAT II: n/a
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 2%
AP (place score in parentheses): 5s: APUSH, CalcBC 4s: Lang&Comp, 3s: Gov, MicroEcon 2s: Physics (lol)
IB: n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Stats, AP Chem, AP Bio, AP Physics C E&M, Honors Latin 3, Band, Dance Exercise (required to take gym), and an English class where we are publishing a book of oral histories
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Not sure if these count, but NHS, Phi Alpha Theta, Regional Musician for 2 years straight, AP Scholar with Distinction, and Illinois State Scholar

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Math Team, Marching band (section leader), concert band (principal bassoon), Social Action Club (project head), drama club state crew, basketball (team captain frosh&soph year, only played for three years), Orchestra outside of school, scholastic bowl, robotics
Job/Work Experience: babysitter and tutor for a few families
Volunteer/Community Service: 75 hours plus 24 NHS hours
Summer Activities: Engineering camps, music camps, marching band, orchestra
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common app: 8, wrote about overcoming depression and anxiety. Non-Academic: 9, wrote about marching band, Academic Interest: 8, wrote about multidisciplinary approach for engineering and focus on helping developing countries. Engineering essay: 7, wrote about a summer camp where we worked in teams on intensive projects. Browser history essay: 9, wrote about Tumblr and running a social justice blog and a bassoon blog :^) I made a typo in one essay because I forgot to copy and paste my latest draft so I freaked out for while! But I got in so yay!
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 9 or 10. Math teacher knows how involved and dedicated I am, English teacher knows me from Social Action Club and had me in class for two years
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): no idea, probably an 8. Knows a lot about me personally because of anxiety, and knows I’m always pushing myself
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details): 8, another English teacher, knows me from Social Action Club and Advisory (4 year homeroom for study hall and engaging with an adult)
Interview: 7. I probably rambled a lot about my interests, but I loved Viterbi’s dean. I talked about how busy I am usually, my typical summer, my grades and courses, my family, and my academic interests. I also told him how I didn’t have too many extracurriculars in the winter because I played basketball for three years before I finally quit. Afterwards I thought of a million other things I should’ve said so I beat myself up about that a tad.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? YES
State (if domestic applicant): Illinois
Country (if international applicant): n/a
School Type: Public high school
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: ~170000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): female in engineering ahaha

Reflection
Strengths: Musical involvement(doing marching band at USC, told them in interview), high stats, good letters of rec
Weaknesses: 3 years of a language, wish I had more ec’s
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Maybe my essays about mental illness or utilizing my inherit privilege to help others? Also, I play the bassoon and every college needs them.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Georgia Tech, UIUC, Purdue, UMich, Rennselaer, UCB, UCLA, UMinn
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Find a passion and commit to it! I did basketball for my school and a travel team, then realized my junior year I liked music wayyy better and quit basketball. Also, a few B’s won’t hurt, but try your best to get an A the next semester in the course. Finally, this seems obvious but visit/attend an info session before writing your essay if you can. It’s alright to wait, because I ended up scrapping my essay once I attended the info session. Oh, and do an interview if you can!

23

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24

Choose one:

[ size=4][ color=orange][ b]Decision: Deferred**[/color][/size]

[ b]Date applied: ** 12/1

[ b]Date decision postmarked/received:** 12/25

[ b]Which school/major at USC:** CAS

[ b]Scholarships:** none

[ b]Objective:**
SAT I (breakdown): 720 R, 800 M, 720 W
ACT (breakdown): nope
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 710 m1, 720 m2, 730 Chinese, 770 us
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.86
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 25/650
AP (place score in parentheses): 4 lit, 3 lang, 4 us, 4 world, 4 stat, 4 apes, 3 human, 3 Spanish lang
IB (place score in parentheses): nope
Senior Year Course Load: calc ab, physics 2, world lit honors, ap us gov, ap macro, ap drawing, german 3
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): national merit semifinalist, ap scholar with honor, other stuff not that major

[ b]Subjective:**
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Math (VP), German (treasurer), Spanish, swim, nhs
Job/Work Experience: lifeguard
Volunteer/Community Service: VBS, YMCA, organization for kids who lost a loved one
Summer Activities: presentation at tourism school in china, lifeguard
Essays (rating 1-10, details): ehh. too generic probably
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): decent
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details)::decent
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details):: alright
Interview: no

[ b]Other**
Applied for Financial Aid? no
State (if domestic applicant): fl
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public
Ethnicity: asian
Gender: male
Income Bracket: 300 K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): no

[ b]Reflection**
Strengths: scores
Weaknesses: essays, grades, ap scores
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: weaknesses and not outstanding activities
Where else you are applying or have already applied: 6 ivies, duke, vandy, rice, unc, uva, ucf, uf etc etc
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Kinda surprised I didn’t even get Dean’s but whatever. I got into UVa which I prefer over USC anyways. I apparently underestimated USC as a school. oh well, everything happens for a reason and I still have 1 more shot left. Good job to all those people who got the scholarship though, you should be proud!

25

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

Date applied: December 1st

Date decision postmarked/received: January 24, 2016

Which school/major at USC: Economics at Dornsife

Scholarships: Finalist for Trustee

Objective:
ACT (breakdown): 34 C (35 E, 33 M, 35 S, 34 R 29 W)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 790 Math II, 760 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.982
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parentheses): APHG (5), APWH (4), Chem (3), Physics 1 (2 lol), APUSH (5), AP Lang (5), Psych (5), Calc AB (5),
IB (place score in parentheses): None
Senior Year Course Load: AP Statistics, AP Microeconomics, AP Government and Politics, AP Calculus BC, CP En
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction (lol)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Treasurer of American Red Cross, Golf, Officer of Advanced Computer Mechanics club, Internship at my local chamber of commerce
Job/Work Experience: Math Tutoring (calculus and physics for peers & SAT math for younger students)
Volunteer/Community Service: Volunteered ~400 hours at a hospital and ~100 doing other random things
Summer Activities: None
Essays (rating 1-10, details):: Common App (10) I spent a lot of time on this and I had a pretty unique topic. My supplements were a 6 or 7. They were by far the weakest out of all the supplements I had to write since I put them off for so long and were the 1st ones I did.
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: Could be anywhere from decent to amazing
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: Could be anywhere from decent to amazing
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details):: None
Interview: None

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: African American
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: >150,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection
Strengths: Grades, test scores, race
Weaknesses: Essays
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Race and stats
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Princeton, UPENN, Harvard, Stanford, Northwestern, UC Berkeley, and UCLA are the important ones
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Should have spent more time on my essays since my other supplements turned out pretty well but these were not as great as they could have been

26

Decision: Accepted

Date applied: December 1st

Date decision postmarked/received: January 24, 2016

Which school/major at USC: Economics at Dornsife

Scholarships: Finalist for Trustee

Objective:
ACT (breakdown): 34 C (35 E, 33 M, 35 S, 34 R 29 W)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 790 Math II, 760 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.982
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parentheses): APHG (5), APWH (4), Chem (3), Physics 1 (2 lol), APUSH (5), AP Lang (5), Psych (5), Calc AB (5),
IB (place score in parentheses): None
Senior Year Course Load: AP Statistics, AP Microeconomics, AP Government and Politics, AP Calculus BC, CP En
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction (lol)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Treasurer of American Red Cross, Golf, Officer of Advanced Computer Mechanics club, Internship at my local chamber of commerce
Job/Work Experience: Math Tutoring (calculus and physics for peers & SAT math for younger students)
Volunteer/Community Service: Volunteered ~400 hours at a hospital and ~100 doing other random things
Summer Activities: None
Essays (rating 1-10, details):: Common App (10) I spent a lot of time on this and I had a pretty unique topic. My supplements were a 6 or 7. They were by far the weakest out of all the supplements I had to write since I put them off for so long and were the 1st ones I did.
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: Could be anywhere from decent to amazing
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: Could be anywhere from decent to amazing
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details):: None
Interview: None

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: African American
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: >150,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection
Strengths: Grades, test scores, race
Weaknesses: Essays
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Race and stats
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Princeton, UPENN, Harvard, Stanford, Northwestern, UC Berkeley, and UCLA are the important ones
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Should have spent more time on my essays since my other supplements turned out pretty well but these were not as great as they could have been

27

Decision: Accepted

**Date applied: ** November 22, 2015

Date decision postmarked/received: January 25, 2016

Which school/major at USC: Dornsife; Economics

Scholarships: Finalist for Trustee (Full tuition) Scholarship

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2210 Superscored 770CR 720M 720W
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 740-Math 2; 720-Lit
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10% (My school does decile rankings)
AP (place score in parentheses): Comp Gov (5); Lang (4); Physics C (4); Computer Science (4)
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Art History; Advanced Photography; AP Lit; AP AB Calculus; Gov/Econ; APES
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Hispanic Merit; North Coast Sectionals Scholar Athlete

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): AI Student Activist Coordinator; Amnesty International (Club President); Activism Club (founder and president); Piano; Varsity and Club Volleyball 4 years (Captain)
Job/Work Experience: Amnesty International (Intern); Fund for the Public Interest (Intern); Tutor
Volunteer/Community Service: All work with Amnesty International
Summer Activities: Teach Sailing, work,
Essays (rating 1-10, details):: 10/10, one of the best reflective pieces I’ve ever written. I went through some deep shit my freshman year in high school and wrote about how I broke through it and became who I am today.
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: 10/10; my teachers gave me the letters to read after they submitted them - fucking amazing.
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: 10/10; she loves me and knows what I’ve gone through and seen the impact I’ve made on my campus and nation-wide with my activism.
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details):: 10/10, one from my boss at Amnesty, the other from a Stanford Professor whose class I took, I was the only high schooler and I got an A… she thought I was a Stanford Undergrad until the end.
Interview: N/A

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes, desperately need it
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White Hispanic
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 50,000 - 60,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, spoke with admissions officer in advance and expressed my enthusiasm for the school

Reflection
Strengths: Activism impact, personal statement - just my story in general, my strong desire to go to USC, top 10% at super competitive high school
Weaknesses: Not the highest SAT scores, school only lets students take APs junior and senior year, so I only had 4 scores
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: All my strengths
Where else you are applying or have already applied: UCLA, Cal, Stanford, Boston University, New York University, Barnard College, Harvard, Yale, UPenn, Vanderbilt, UCSB, Columbia (dream school)
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: good luck! If I get the full scholarship, I’m pretty much definitely going to USC unless I get into one of my reach schools which I really doubt. Fight on!

28

===

Decision: Accepted

**Date applied: ** Late November

Date decision postmarked/received: Jan. 25

Which school/major at USC: Neuroscience

Scholarships: Interview for Presidential

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): CR: 800/M: 720/W: 710 (2230)
ACT (breakdown): 33
SAT II (place score in parentheses):
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 13/320
AP (place score in parentheses): US History - 5; Gov - 5; Calc - 4; Lang - 4; Environmental Science - 4
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, Journalism, rest at Ohio State (on campus)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NMSF, multiple state journalism awards, AP Scholar w/ Distinction

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Journalism/Newspaper (Editor-in-Chief); INTERACT Club (Officer), Principal Advisory Committee; Vocal lessons; rest are the usual NHS, Senate, etc. that I wasn’t deeply involved with
Job/Work Experience: 2 years retail
Volunteer/Community Service: INTERACT was a service club, so pretty much everything we did in there
Summer Activities: Worked, trip to Europe through school which I raised money myself for, nothing too great
Essays (rating 1-10, details):: 8; about how being emotional/sensitive makes you strong, not weak…probably not my best writing but I think it showed my passion
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details)::
Journalism teacher/advisor - 10; we’re close, I’ve been on staff for 3 years now, co-editor/editor for 2 yrs.
History teacher - 8; didn’t read but he’s also the advisor for the service club I’m in and I think he likes me lol
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: 6-7; She knows me and I’ve talked to her a few times, but I don’t think she knows me that well, so I have no idea what she wrote
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details):: N/A
Interview: No interview prior to admission

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
State (if domestic applicant): Ohio
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian (Sri Lankan)
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 100K-150K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Don’t think I have any

Reflection
Strengths: High GPA, took classes at a college, Editor-in-Chief, NMSF
Weaknesses: No SAT Subject Tests, no internships, cool summer activities, etc., my test scores were pretty good but not outstanding
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: My achievements in the journalism program; I think my essays showed a different side of me and were unique; I talked about how Thornton was a huge reason I wanted to go to USC, because I’m passionate about music and I’d be able to work on my music-related dreams while also focusing on academics…my other ECs were nothing special so I guess that was it? My grades were near-perfect too
Where else you are applying or have already applied:
Ohio State (Accepted), Columbia, Occidental, UChicago, King’s College London—Most of these are reaches so I’m very happy about getting into my top choice USC!

General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: You don’t have to be perfect in every aspect of your application. Be very passionate and involved in SOMETHING… show them where you’ll fit in at USC. And as long as your grades and tests show that you’re competent enough to study there, you should be fine. (Unless you’re really vying for the full scholarship or something) Good luck!!

===

29

Decision: Accepted

**Date applied: ** Mid-November

Date decision postmarked/received: Jan 25th

Which school/major at USC: Keck School of Medicine- Global Health

Scholarships: Dean’s

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t submit
ACT (breakdown): 33 (34 E, 36 M, 29 R, 33 S, 33 W)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 800 US History, 780 French w/ Listening, 760 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.99
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top Decile
AP (place score in parentheses): 5 US History, 5 French, 4 EngLang, 4 EngLit
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Chem, AP World Lit, AP Psych, AP Comp Gov, French Culture
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Johns Hopkins Book Award, Royal Australian Chem Exam: Distinction, Alliance Française State Exam: Excellent, Dept. of Education Western Australia Gifted and Talented Program

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Symphonic Orchestra (Stage Manger, Tour Section Leader), Nordic Skiing (Practice Assistant), Writing Center (English and French Writing Coach), College Board Youth Advisory Council on Access to Higher Education, Alliance Française (Youth Activity Coordinator), Girls Varsity Badminton Team Manager
Job/Work Experience: Kumon, Bruegger’s Bagels (Counter Associate), University of Western Australia Lab Technician
Volunteer/Community Service: English Learning Center- Adult Immigrant/Refugee Education (English and Math Teacher)
Summer Activities: Music Tour to Singapore, BYU Economics Course
Essays (rating 1-10, details):: ~8, Misspelled “Keck” as “Kreck” and somehow still got in :l
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: ~9, Knew my teachers fairly well
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: ~8, Counselor told me I was very nice
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details):: ~9, Head Teacher Coordinator of English Learning Ctr
Interview: N/A

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
State (if domestic applicant): MN
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian (Filipino)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 150 000- 200 000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Lived all over the place (Canada, Australia, UK, United Arab Emirates etc.), Had to adjust to different schools and curriculums, Tried to integrate what I learned from all these experiences

Reflection
Strengths: GPA, Test Scores, Recs
Weaknesses: Activities
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I tried to make myself unique as possible with my international experience and talked about how I would integrate my love of languages with Global Health
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Georgetown, UMich, UC Berkeley, UW Madison, Penn, Emory, Brown
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I didn’t expect any of this! I truly feel so fortunate for being accepted. After this, I’m convinced college admissions is a crapshoot. Good luck to all of you!

30

Decision: Accepted

Date applied: Nov. 29
Date decision postmarked/received: Jan. 23
Which school/major at USC: International Relations / Dornsife
Scholarships: Whichever one goes with national merit

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 670 CR, 800 M, 730 W (2200 superscored)
ACT (breakdown): 29 (didn’t submit)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): yuck didn’t send
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): school only releases weighted (3.96/5)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): nope
AP (place score in parentheses): US History (4), English Language (4), Calc AB (5), Physics 1 (3), US Government (3), Studio Art 2D (4)
IB (place score in parentheses): nope
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Literature, AP Calc BC, AP Bio, Writing Tutor, Econ/Health, Choir, Band
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semifinalist, National Hispanic Scholar, AP Scholar w/ Distinction

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):

  • Band (4 years) (Drumline Co-Captain) (Pep Band Composer) (Oboist)
  • Select Choir (3 years) (Male Leader)
  • Drama Productions (3 years) (major and ensemble roles in plays in musicals)
  • Swimming (4 years varsity) (Captain) (Competed in district meets in 10 and 11)
  • Cross Country (4 years, 1 year varsity) (Captain)
  • Student Council (3 years, Grade Rep 10-11, Executive Treasurer 12) (head homecoming committee, class fundraisers, organized a blood drive)

Job/Work Experience:

  • Lifeguard/Learn-to-Swim Instructor (3 years during the summer)

Volunteer/Community Service:

  • Cleveland Clinic Junior Ambassador (logged 87 hours)
  • The director of our plays also said we can add on 25 hours per show for the musicals so I accumulated over 200 total

Essays (rating 1-10, details):

  • Common App: I would honestly say a 7, I talked about my role as a team-player and how they are important to any group, but when I went back and read it it sounded really processed :confused:
  • Most Important Activity: 8.5, found a grammar mistake or two, but I talked about how band helped transform my confidence
  • Why USC: 9, talked about my artistic and scientific passions and how LA and USC are good for cultivating both

Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): can’t read but I can make estimates

  • Teacher 1: Physics teacher - great, I struggled in the class but she and I got along really well and she saw that I was a really devoted hard-worker
  • Teacher 2: Sophomore English and Writing Internship teacher - pretty good I think, she’s always respected me and we get along really well too
  • Counselor: I had my apps done relatively early so she gave me “priority consideration” whatever that means, but considering she had over 80 to write and I was in the office almost weekly, I’m optimistic

Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details): nope
Interview: nope (they do these?)

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: yis, but it’s kinda pointless considering my scholarship
State (if domestic applicant): OH
School Type: public top 100, class of 168
Ethnicity: Latino
Gender: XY
Income Bracket: ~250k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection
Strengths: I’d like to say my personal qualities is probably taking the wheel on all of my apps, even though my EC’s aren’t spectacular, also there’s the commonality of “team-player good guy” throughout all parts of it, SAT as well
Weaknesses: GPA is low for my school
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I guess I was just a good fit, I feel like it’s just instinct of knowing whether you’ll get in and fit in at the schools you apply to
Where else you are applying or have already applied: accepted at UVM (honors), OSU (dk honors or nah), DePaul (honors), waiting on Georgetown, WashU and Columbia (fingers crossed!)
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Congrats to everyone who was accepted! I know a bunch of you juniors are gonna eat this up like candy like I did, but all it does is stress you out. Just take a breath, give it your best shot, and know that it wasn’t meant to be if you don’t get into your dream school. You’ll be successful in ways that you just don’t know yet, and go on to do great things at some other place. Be optimistic, but realistic! :slight_smile:

31

Decision: Accepted

Date applied: 11/30/2015

Date decision postmarked/received: 1/26/2016

Which school/major at USC: Viterbi, Computer Science & Engineering (CECS)

Scholarships: Finalist for Trustee (full-tuition)

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2340 (800CR, 740M, 800W), took only once
ACT (breakdown): Didn’t take
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 800 Math, 780 Lit, 770 Spanish reading, 760 US Hist, 760 World Hist, 720 Physics, 710 Chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): officially N/A (school doesn’t rank), unofficially top 10%
AP (place score in parentheses): Calc AB (5), English Lit (5), APUSH (5), Spanish Lang (5), World History (5), Psych (self-studied, 5)
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Econ (combined Micro/Macro), AP American Gov, AP Physics C, AP English Lang, AP Calc BC, Leadership
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Top-ranked in USA for debate, several debate tournament awards, national scholarship winner for debate, AP Scholar with Distinction

Subjective
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Debate captain, ASB position in Leadership, CyberPatriot founder/captain, varsity volleyball, math tutor
Job/Work Experience: Internship at national laboratory as software programmer and TA for cybersecurity classes
Volunteer/Community Service: On planning committee for large American Cancer Society fundraiser for the past 2 years
Summer Activities: Study abroad after sophomore year
Essays (rating 1-10, details):: Personal statement was decent, probably 7-9, but my four supplemental essays were definitely what got me in. I wrote about my volleyball team, why I loved USC’s computer science department, the challenges I faced in debate, and how I like reading stories on Wikipedia. All very specific and genuine.
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: Probably 8’s or 9’s. My AP Calc AB teacher and APUSH teacher, both like me and I did well in their classes, but I know my APUSH teacher wrote hers last minute so idk how strong it was
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: 8, my counselor likes me but I go to a large public school and she writes hundreds of recs, so probably not too original
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details):: 9, internship mentor, very professional, talked about work I did for the lab
Interview: I had one then I cancelled because of a debate tournament

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? No
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large public, competitive atmosphere
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 200k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Girl in STEM

Reflection
Strengths: High scores, interesting and passionate essays
Weaknesses: Not much community service, no major awards related to Computer Engineering (intended major)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: My strengths (see above) plus I think USC wants more girls in STEM, which is awesome
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Columbia (likely letter), UC Berkeley (accepted, Regent’s Finalist), Michigan (accepted), UVA (accepted, Honors), Maryland (accepted, ACES, Honors), still waiting for Duke, Penn, Yale, Harvard, Brown, UChicago, Princeton, MIT, Caltech, NYU, UCLA, Carnegie Mellon
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I just came back from my scholarship interview and visit to USC. I absolutely LOVE IT!!! I’m totally falling in love with the school. FIGHT ON! :slight_smile:

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^ @rosegold6, if I was you I would wait until I knew the interview result and before giving the “Fight On” slogan! My daughter was exactly in the same position as you last year and became extremely disappointed (understatement!) after the interview with USC which resulted in her getting “bumped down” (as they call it!) to Presidential. By the way, she was raised as a Trojan “baby” (as she used to call herself!) because of me being a USC gratuate, so you can imagine the level of her frustration! Now she is happily a Regents scholar in UCLA and I don’t have to tell you how she feels about the rival school!
(Of course if you can afford half-tuition then you do not have to worry)

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@rosegold6 Congrats on your acceptance and interview so glad to hear you are in love with USC! No need for a negative attitude @uclaparent9

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Decision: Accepted

**Date applied: ** November 27, 2015

Date decision postmarked/received: January 22, 2016

Which school/major at USC: Dornsife, Psychology

Scholarships: Presidential Scholar Finalist

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2210 (730 CR, 770 M, 710 W)
ACT (breakdown): n/a
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math I (750), English Literature (750)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97 (this is just an estimation because our school and the IB don’t offer GPA’s.)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parentheses): n/a
IB (place score in parentheses): English Literature A HL (7), Psychology HL (7), Visual Arts HL (6), Mathematics SL (7), French B SL (7), Physics SL (7)
Senior Year Course Load: English Literature A HL, Psychology HL, Visual Arts HL, Mathematics SL, French B SL, Physics SL (Note, our school offers a 2-year full IB diploma course)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): No major national or international awards, but I did win 4 awards for being the best student in the above subjects, was an intra-school public speaking semi-finalist, won best science essay, etc.

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Student Librarians (Founder/Leader), Book Club (Founder/Leader), Psychology Pastoral Prefect, Debate Club (Leader), Political Debating Club (Administrator), Design Club, Art History Club, Manga Club
Job/Work Experience: n/a
Volunteer/Community Service: Founder and Leader of Fashion for Life charity
Summer Activities: n/a
Essays (rating 1-10, details): In my Common App, I wrote about my passion for art and how it helped me overcome the limitations of my physical disability. I was quite pleased with it and so were my counselor and head librarian, so I’d give it an 9 or 10. My “Why USC?” essay was stronger than some of my other ones for other colleges because I’d attended the Explore USC event and knew specific details, so I’d give it a 7 or 8.
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): I waived my right to read all of my recommendations, but my counselor told me that my teacher recommendations were amazing, so I’ll guess a 9 or 10.
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): I’m pretty sure it was good, because she said that she was proud of my achievements, so maybe a 9 or 10.
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details): I got mine from my head librarian, with whom I’ve been working with for 8 years, but she’s more used to the conservative British system, so I’ll guess a 8-10.
Interview: n/a

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
State (if domestic applicant): n/a
Country (if international applicant): Singapore, but I’m a US citizen, so I’m actually a domestic applicant.
School Type: Private British International
Ethnicity: Korean-American
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: High
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I’m hesitant to call it a hook, but I have a physical disability that renders me wheelchair-bound and lowers my overall strength. In my Additional Comments section I explained how this limited my opportunities to do activities out of school.

Reflection
Strengths: GPA, Common App essay, and recommendations. Also, I had a few good clubs that I founded and lead.
Weaknesses: Lack of major awards, volunteer and work experience, and activities outside the school in general.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think (hope?) that I came across as motivated and academic. I am also relatively confident and sure about my interests and passions.
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I’d advise people to do the best that they can in their own circumstances. If you have limited opportunities, don’t compare yourselves to other people who have a lot of opportunities, because the admissions process is holistic and the admissions officers really take personal circumstances into consideration. So, do the best that you can, and be confident! :slight_smile:

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Decision: Accepted

Date applied: End of November

Date decision postmarked/received: Mid January

Which school/major at USC: Dornsife (Cognitive Science)

Scholarships: Trustee Finalist

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 770M/760CR/700W (one sitting)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II (place score in parentheses): did not send
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 7/325
AP (place score in parentheses): Government (5), Biology (5), English Lang (5), World History (4), Calc AB (5), Psychology (5)
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Computer Science 1, Spanish AP, Chemistry AP, Calc BC AP, English Lit AP, Band
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist, Maryland All State Band

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):

  • Research Assistant at psycholinguistics lab at UMD
  • student government (president)
  • County Orchestra (principal flutist)
  • school wind ensemble (principal flutist)
  • JV field hockey 2 years (team captain)
  • tutoring club (vice president)
  • Korean language class at local community college
  • private flute lessons
    Job/Work Experience:
    Volunteer/Community Service:
  • playing music at senior homes (wrote an essay about this)
  • 2 summer missions trips with church
  • tutoring
    Summer Activities:
  • spent a summer at California State University, San Bernardino in their intensive language program studying Korean
  • spent a summer interning at a research lab (see above)
    Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App about my mother’s mental illnesses and alcoholism and how it has shaped me as a student, leader, and person (10); everything else I kind of half-assed so I would rate them about a 7
    Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): didn’t get to see any, but one was from my AP Bio teacher / field hockey coach, the other from my AP English teacher who knew me pretty well
    Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): have no idea, don’t really know him well
    Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details): N/A
    Interview: didn’t get one

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? no
State (if domestic applicant): Maryland
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: competitive public school
Ethnicity: Korean-American
Gender: female
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): does living in a single parent home count?

Reflection
Strengths: common app essay, GPA, activities/leadership
Weaknesses: didn’t get to send my SAT II scores
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Where else you are applying or have already applied: UCLA, Berkeley, Brown, Penn, Rice, UMD
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:

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Can anyone here tell me what the admitted student days are for this year?

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(Edit: realised formatting sucks on mobile so I’ll post my stats later :slight_smile: )

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Decision: Accepted

Date applied: October 24th I believe

Date decision received: 3/25/16

Which school/major at USC: Architecture

Scholarships: None

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2100 superscored, (730 Reading, 700 Math, 670 Writing)
ACT (breakdown): 32 (35 English, 30 Math, 35 Reading, 28 Science)
SAT II: 690 Math II, 660 Lit
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Homeschooled, no rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): No AP, college courses instead, too many to write here, like 60 credits for fun
Senior Year Course Load: Calc 2, French I, Mechanics Phys(College class), Architectural History, Beginning Voice(college class), some comics writing class, chinese, and one other I believe I don’t remember rn

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Competitive cheerleader, shooter, soon to be competitive figure skater, Teen advisory group for my library, book club, several different homeschool and religious youth groups, two different honors clubs, youtube channel owner, violin, skateboarding
Volunteer/Community service: about 500 hours through the library and the archery center plus red cross and random other things
Summer Activities: Work, also an internship at u of iowa
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 10/10 I loved USC sooo so so so so so much and it really shone through in my essays, I had visited the campus so I put in some details about how I would flourish on campus
Recommendations

Teacher Rec #1: science teacher, 1 semester with him so no clue
Teacher Rec #2: english teacher, 1 semester (I move a lot) but he loved me as I was his top student and he even let me skip the final because even if I got a perfect score it would have brought my grade down :smiley: lol
Counselor Rec: homeschooled so it was written by my mom ( I think she might like me idk :stuck_out_tongue: )
Interview: I think it went really well, it was shorter than those around me, but that’s because I talk fast and to the point, but I made the guy laugh a lot and it seemed to go very well.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Homeschooled
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: normally 60k but parents are unemployed this year :confused:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Girl (maybe good for architecture? Not sure) college classes, started HS early, abouot it.

Reflection

Strengths: Very passionate and truthful. My app was kinda silly written (my fav characters were silly, and my website essay was funny) but that’s how I am so I think that was good. Besides that I’m a very good student and I reach for what I want in life.
Weaknesses: Homeschooled so it can be hard to trust classes even though many were taken at a college
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: My essays were so freaking passionate, I visited the campus and did the tour and info sesh, I interviewed, and my grades are stellar.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: accepted to UT Austin electrical engineering, EE Uni of Iowa, EE Uni of Alabama Huntsville, waitlisted to UCLA and UC Berkeley EE for both, rejected to WUSTL. Still haven’t heard from everywhere yet.

General Comments: I’m so happy and proud to have gotten in and I can’t wait to meet yall!!

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@bananafofanna Awesome stats congrats will post mine later see ya there in Spring :slight_smile: WE ARE SC!!!

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Decision: Accepted

**Date applied: ** Late November

Date decision postmarked/received: Received March 25, postmarked March 23

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

Scholarships: None

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 33C (34M, 32S, 34 E, 33 R, 29 Essay)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Didn’t send them, but 760 Math II, 780 Math I, 700 Lit
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.74
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parentheses): 4 Physics I, 5 APUSH
Senior Year Course Load: AP European History, AP Calculus AB, AP English Literature, AP French, AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics (which meets on the weekend)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): My school’s Merit Scholarship, awarded to one student

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Yearbook, Senior Class Treasurer, French Honor Society (President)
Job/Work Experience: Groomed show horses for Skidmore College, had a small business of my own advertising horses
Volunteer/Community Service: Susan G. Komen a couple weeks per year, fostered animals for local veterinary clinic
Summer Activities: Competed horses, sailing, summer homework, music, photography
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 10, talked about spending a summer in Europe as essentially an intern at an international show jumping stables and the valuable lessons I learned about working hard and being immersed in another culture. My supplement talked about how I love creative industries, but find my strength in economics and mathematical fields so I want to combine business and creativity, and then I tied that in with USC being in LA.
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Unsure, but teachers that really liked me. Discussed how I have been exposed to other cultures and am very intellectually curious. Also from private school, so they are close with me.
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): Did not read it, but counselor and I are very close and she likes me a lot so probably fairly good.
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details): 10. My horseback riding instructor wrote one about how I am a very hard worker in all endeavors.
Interview: Didn’t have one

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
State (if domestic applicant): New York
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Private/prep
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: N/A
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Three citizenships; American, Dutch, French.

Reflection
Strengths: My application showed a lot of culture and diversity. Also, I go to school on Sunday mornings to take an extra AP class.
Weaknesses: GPA
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: My application shows that I enjoy
Where else you are applying or have already applied: UCLA, UCB, Syracuse, NYU, Fordham, Stanford, Cornell, UPenn
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I was extremely passionate about the school, and I think that showed. I also clearly was challenging myself with 6 APs/6 days of school per week, and I think all my recommendations and activities helped me come across as a hard worker which perhaps made up for the slightly lower than average GPA. Also, an A- is very different than an A when it comes to GPA – they add up faster than you think.