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

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
81

Decision: Accepted

Date applied: Jan 15th, deadline day

Date decision postmarked/received: March 26

Which school/major at USC: Viterbi/Undecided Engineering

Scholarships: lol

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2190 (670R/800M/720W/10E)
ACT (breakdown): 33 (35E/34M/30R/33S/29W)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math 2 (800), Physics (730)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): near or at 4.0, not sure how to accurately convert
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 7/75
AP (place score in parentheses): computer science (5)
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: calc BC, English Lang, Macroeconomics, microeconomics, physics C, chemistry
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Varsity basketball (very good program), concert/jazz/orchestra band (trumpet section leader), student council, first responder
Job/Work Experience: business internship, full-time summer job in bakery
Volunteer/Community Service: first responder
Summer Activities: summer job
Essays (rating 1-10, details):: not sure how to rate but they were good, my USC supplement focused around being a huge sports fan + athlete and how it applies to engineering
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: 8-9, physics/math and econ/compsci teacher
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: 10
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details)::
Interview:

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? No
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): canada
School Type: private
Ethnicity: asian
Gender: male
Income Bracket: ~200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection
Strengths: writing, grades/courseload
Weaknesses: Asian male engineering
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: good fit for the school, I’m going into engineering but don’t have much demonstrated interest, I think the the vibe usc gives off appreciates my other interests more than say Caltech would(similar to Northwestern where I got lucky to be waitlisted in RD)
Where else you are applying or have already applied: accepted: UBC, UofT(engineering science), Western ontario (ivey school of business), waterloo denied: Stanford, Caltech, UC Berkeley, Duke, Upenn, Harvey Mudd
Waitlisted: UCLA, uchicago, Northwestern, washu
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:

82

Decision: Accepted

**Date applied: ** 01/15/16 (Deadline Day)

Date decision postmarked/received: March 26th

Which school/major at USC: Marshall, Business Administration

Scholarships: N/A

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2230 (680/780/770)
ACT (breakdown): took it, but did not send the score
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math II (800), Physics (710)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): not sure… perhaps 3.93-3.94?
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parentheses): APWH (5), AP Calculus AB (5), AP Lang (4), AP Physics 1 (3)
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, AP Literature
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): MUN (executive committee, secretary), Outer-school magazine (column editor, school rep), Newspaper, Yearbook, Intern for a free-lance journalist, Volleyball etc etc
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community Service: a few dozen hours
Summer Activities: Business program at a university
Essays (rating 1-10, details):: CommonApp (9/10) showed maturity, but I believe I could’ve wrote something better; Activity supplement (9/10) rushed but clearly stated my passion for newspaper. I wrote about writing an article on a problemic policy at school and stated that I write for my community, USC supplement (9.5/10) did lots of research and had a clear understanding of my plans; I mentioned taking a mathematical approach to learning business
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: Teacher 1 (9.5/10), Teacher 2 (8.5/10)
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: We weren’t the closest…so probably 8/10?
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details)::
Interview:

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes, hasn’t come out yet at this moment
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): China (US citizen though)
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: East Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): One of my parents is a USC grad school alumni, makes me a SCion I suppose

Reflection
Strengths: Essays, having 4 journalism/publication related activities, senior year transcript & course load (was worth taking AP math courses)

Weaknesses: My physics scores on the transcript, SAT II, and AP exam lolll and my SAT score’s section breakdown isn’t that even

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I had a clear understanding of my future plans at Marshall and I fit the school very well; my essays and recommendations reflected my willingness to engage with the community. I don’t want to sound cocky, but I was quite sure I’d get admitted; I think USC favors applicants with an international background, since it accepts many people from international schools here.

Where else you are applying or have already applied: I was accepted to my safeties and matches, but rejected from my 3 reach schools

General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I hope this post will help!! I’m genuinely thankful to be accepted by USC Marshall, since I almost lost faith in business schools after getting rejected by NYU Stern earlier (still don’t know why…) and getting rejected by my first choice Berkeley a day before. Keep in mind what the school values- engagement, contribution, passion, and innovation. USC is super holistic I tell you. If you love the school, the school will love you back. Feel free to hit up me for advice or if you just want to be friends :slight_smile: Fight on Trojans!

83

Decision: Accepted

Date applied: Late November
Date decision postmarked/received: March 25
Which school/major at USC: Marshall, Business Admin

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Did not take
ACT (breakdown): ACT: 32 Single Sitting (34W, 32M, 33R, 33S, 30E)
SAT II - did not take
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.92
Weighted GPA: 4.2
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10%
AP (place score in parentheses): N/A
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Microeconomics, AP Calculus A/B, Honors English Lit, Spanish 3, and Physics

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Football (Captain), Volleyball (Founder/ (Captain), Basketball (Captain) Grade Rep in Student Council, and the School Treasurer.
Job/Work Experience: I started two very small companies

Volunteer/Community Service: Eye to Eye ( a volunteer service that includes high school students mentoring kids with learning differences.) Peer Court. Volunteered at a special needs camp.

Summer Activities: Football/Basketball workouts, I took a math every summer in high school. I also attended the University of Michigan to take an entrepenuership course

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: Probably an (8/10), My personal narrative talked about myself growing up with a special needs brother and how he inspired me.
EC Supplement: I would rank this a (9/10) because it expressed my leadership values and traits. (I started a sports teams at my school.)

Academic Interest Supplement: (9/10) I talked about what specific Business programs I would take part in at USC and how I would thrive in them.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: (9/10).Knew me very well
Teacher Rec #2: (9/10). Knew me very well
Counselor Rec: (9/10) Knew me very well
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: (10/10) I talked to other students who had an interview at USC, so I literally made a study guide and prepped for it. I literally studied every question that was asked.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: small private
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Upper Class
Hooks URM (Hispanic), Legacy

Reflection
Strengths: I had many leadership positions at my school, I also went to a very easy school where the kids aren’t ambitious at all, so taking the schedule that I had made me look that much better. Plus being hispanic and a legacy could not hurt.
Weaknesses: Gpa (*school did not offer AP’s) and Test scores. Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: USC, Rice, UC Berkeley, UCSD,UCSB, SMU, University of Washington, Gonzaga, Boulder,and Oregon
Waitlisted: none
Rejected: UPenn and UCLA

General Comments
Congratulations to all those accepted!
To future students, I would recommend writing about how you specifically fit into a school when you do their apps. Admissions needs to picture you at their school, so you have to show them why you’re a great fit.

84

^^

85

Decision: Accepted

Date applied: Late November

Date decision postmarked/received: January 22nd (Admission/Scholarship Finalist), March 18th (Scholarship Decision), April 7th (Stamps Notification)

Which school/major at USC: Marshall School of Business

Scholarships: Stamps Leadership Scholarship (full tuition + $20,000 enrichment fund)

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2300 (710M, 800CR, 790W)
ACT (breakdown): 34 Composite (35 S, 33 R, 34 E, 35 M)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math II (800), US History (780), Biology-M (730)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 95.02
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a (School does not rank)
AP (place score in parentheses): AP World History (5), AP US History (4), AP English Language (5), AP Chemistry (5)
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: AP U.S. Government, AP Comparative Government, AP Calculus BC, AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics, AP English Literature, Law Studies, Ceramics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): n/a

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses) My EC’s were okay, had a great internship over the summer which I believed help me significantly. 8.5/10 if I had to rate.
Job/Work Experience: 8/10, diverse job experience.
Volunteer/Community Service: 6/10, not too much community service.
Summer Activities: Always busy!
Essays (rating 1-10, details): CA was probably a 6.5/10, USC supplements were 9/10.
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): They were both definitely 10/10.
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): Read it, 10/10.
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details): From my boss at my cool internship, 10/10.
Interview: Signed up for an off-campus interview, went AMAZING! I even recommended a restaurant to him when I started talking about my love of food, and he told me at ExploreUSC that he loved the restaurant!

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
State (if domestic applicant): New York
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Nationally-renowned urban public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 90k-110k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First-generation

Reflection
Strengths: Supplement was great imo, excellent recs, good transcript (grades/courseload), good test scores, not too many USC applicants from my school, great interview.
Weaknesses: Common App essay, probably.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: See strengths.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Ended up choosing USC over Georgetown and UChicago for both fit/financial aid purposes.
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I’m super stoked to be a Trojan. Tip to future lurkers: don’t spend too much time on CC, you’ll psych yourself out (trust me I know). Just do your best. Fight on!

86

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

[ b]Date applied: December 1, 2015

[ b]Date decision postmarked/received:[unknown]

[ b]Which school/major at USC:[Dornsife- Chemistry/pre-med]

[ b]Scholarships:[none]

[ b]Objective:**
SAT I (breakdown): 1290 CR + M
ACT (breakdown): 31 Composite
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Chem (710) US History (640) Biology-M (630)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.75
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1st decile
AP (place score in parentheses): Biology (3) Chemistry (3) U.S. History (3) Lang (4) Comp. Sci. (1)
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Government and Politics, AP Calculus AB, AP Lit., AP Physics C, AP Mandarin, AP Envi. Sci.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A

[ b]Subjective:**
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): National Honor Society (Pres.), Mandarin Club (Pres.), International Thespian Society, National Chinese Honor Society, Drama Club, Touring Choir
Job/Work Experience: Lifeguard at Country Club for 3 years
Volunteer/Community Service: student tutoring for 2 years
Summer Activities: Lifeguard
Essays (rating 1-10, details):: 8; very strong, showed interest in USC, specific facts, and included how USC was a worldly school, just like me
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: 8; My mandarin teacher loved me, so I know her letter was probably killer. My chem teacher liked me, but might have been a little more aggressive in her letting talking about my grades.
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: Don’t know
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details):: Choir director wrote me a great letter
Interview: N/A

[ b]Other**
Applied for Financial Aid? yes
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public High School- 150 graduating class
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $80,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

[ b]Reflection**
Strengths: essays, letters of rec, transcript
Weaknesses: AP Scores, test scores
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I showed USC that they were my first choice
Where else you are applying or have already applied: I committed to USC this weekend. I was accepted to Rutgers, NJIT-Honors, TCNJ, UPITT, Cal Poly SLO, and GA Tech. Rejected: Stanford, Rice, Emory, Pomona
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: So happy I will be a Class of 2020 Trojan!! Fight On!!

87 
Decision: Accepted

Date applied: Late November
Date decision postmarked/received: March 25
Which school/major at USC: Dornsife - Law, History, and Culture BA
Scholarships: None :(

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1810  CR 700, M 430 (you're probably going wtf right now), W 680 
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.2
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parentheses): Didn't report 
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: DE U.S. Govt., Honors economics,  Honors Brit Lit., College Algebra, TA, Newspaper, Computers, Business leadership.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):  n/a

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):  Dance team (Vice Cap), Track) , Undershepherds (Student intern), NEHS (Vice President), NHS (Treasurer)
Job/Work Experience: Family Catering business, Teach middle school ballet
Volunteer/Community Service: Service internship, Dance shows for schools lacking arts. 
Summer Activities: Dance Summer Intensives
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 
Common App:  I wrote about my experience as a dual homeschool/ private school student and how I have used the experience to diversify myself and how it impacted me socially, with ECs, and leadership values. (9/10)
EC Supplement: How my dance training as taught me discipline as well as contributed to my open mindedness. (8/10)
Academic Interest Supplement:  Talked about my interdisciplinary curiosity, pursuing minors in dance and spanish, as well as the leadership clubs I have interests in. (7/10)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1:  English Teacher: Spoke about my "Refreshing" presence in class and my advance writing and articulation. (9/10).
Teacher Rec #2: Math Teacher: Focused on my strengths in class and explained my low test scores compared to my grades. (9/10) 
Counselor Rec: Wrote a very personal rec about my journey through the college search, my drive and passion (10/10).
Interview: N/A

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
State (if domestic applicant): FL
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: African American/ West Indian
Gender:  Female
Income Bracket: Middle Class
Hooks Diversity, uncommon highschool experiences, passion.
Reflection
Strengths: Leadership, ECs, Recs, GPA
Weaknesses:  Test scores, awards (Damn homeschool D:), course load. 
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted:   USC, UM, Marymount Manhattan, New Haven, UCF
Waitlisted: n/a
Rejected: NYU, Cornell 

General Comments

You are probably looking at my math score and want to punch me in the face. I have a terribly low math score because I suck at testing. If I could redo high school, I would have taken more classes and done alot more test prep. When doing your essays, remember to make yourself standout. Don’t go for the pity essay, it only works for a few. Diversify yourself and tell your schools why they want YOU.

88

Decision: Accepted

Date decision postmarked/received: December?

Which school/major at USC: Dornsife for Biological Sciences

Scholarships: None

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2040 (710 M, 690 W, 640 CR)
ACT (breakdown): 31 (34 E, 32 M, 31 R, 29 S)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math II (740), M Bio (720)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.60
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top quartile
AP (place score in parentheses): AP US History (5)
IB (place score in parentheses): Math SL (7), Chem SL (6)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc B/C, AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Lit, AP US Gov’t, band
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): …

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Global Education Network (Founder), raised money to fund schooling for students in nicaragua; SMART Team, research team studying and modeling proteins, a lot of music group stuff (section leader for clarinets, 1st chair in all ensembles across the school), a lot of honor bands and orchestras including All-State for both; Varsity Swimming for four years; JV/V Cross Country junior and senior years; club swimming all throughout high school (various state championships for both high school and club)
Job/Work Experience: lifeguard during the summer
Volunteer/Community Service: math tutor for GED students, longmont humane society, junior hospital volunteer
Summer Activities: lifeguard, club swimming, cross country summer intensives
Essays (rating 1-10, details):: wrote about becoming homeless and coming out 8/10
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: Bio teacher 9/10, Gov’t teacher 9/10, Calc teacher 9/10
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: generic 6/10
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details):: none
Interview: none

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? yes
State (if domestic applicant): Colorado
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: uhh zero? haven’t lived under my parents since sophomore year and have been constantly changing living situations
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): homelessness, first generation, hispanic/peruvian, also gay?

Reflection
Strengths: essays
Weaknesses: test scores and GPA
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I don’t know, completely surprised. I wasn’t expecting much from colleges considering I’d gotten an F junior year when I became homeless. Since then, however, after finding a stable living situation, I was able to pull my GPA back up. I got a 5.0 weighted senior year.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Denied: Columbia, Northwestern, Johns Hopkins; Waitlisted: Dartmouth, Rice, Berkeley; Accepted: CU Boulder, CO School of Mines, Colorado State University, Northeastern, Reed, Willamette, Case Western, UNC Chapel Hill, Emory, UCLA, USC obvi
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Seriously, apply everywhere you want to. Do not let your test scores/GPA/any other statistical factor hinder you from going out there and applying to reaches. I have been pleasantly surprised and blessed to have gotten into such a great school.

89

Decision: Accepted

**Date applied: January 14 **

Which school/major at USC: Viterbi School of Engineering

**Scholarships: No official scholarships, but I received $29,500 in scholarship aid from USC **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 720M 720R 750W (2190)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math II (680)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.92
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 35/570
AP (place score in parentheses): Calc AB (5), Human Geography (4)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Physics, AP Psychology, Honors Humanities, US History.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholar (like National Merit but for Latinos)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Football (Varsity), church youth group,
Job/Work Experience: Referee for youth football, fireworks booth employee for several years
Volunteer/Community Service: Homeless service.
Summer Activities: This summer will be serving at a religious youth summer camp
Essays (rating 1-10, details)::
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: Did not get to read but had great relationships with said teachers, so I will assume 9-10
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: Did not get to read

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? YES
State (if domestic applicant): Oregon
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public High School
Ethnicity: Hispanic/Caucasian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: 100k-150k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Hispanic student who selected engineering, NHRP

Reflection
Strengths: Essays, SAT, GPA
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I have a genuine thirst for knowledge and an insatiable curiosity about our universe. I’m sure there weren’t a lot of applicants who were hispanic and selected engineering that were qualified.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Stanford, Pepperdine, George Fox
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Glad I got in, not sure how I managed that, seeing as the Engineering program’s acceptance rate was about 14% this year.

90

Decision: Accepted

Date applied: October 6

Which school/major at USC: Dornsife: Environmental Studies

Scholarships: None (but very good financial aid!)

Objective:
ACT (breakdown): 27 (overall), 24(science), 30 (english), 27 (math), 26 (reading)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Chemistry (690) Spanish w listening (780)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parentheses): Environmental (3), Chemistry (3), English Language (3), Spanish Language (5), Spanish Literature (4), AP Seminar (4)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP Physics 1, AP Research, Honors Law, AP US History, AP Literature, Ceramics.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Regional science fair awards, AP scholar with distinction, AP Capstone diploma

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Catechism (teacher), water polo, IIT Global leaders program, Chicago Scholars, Freshmen mentor, NHS, Japanese Club
Job/Work Experience: Lifeguard, swim teacher
Volunteer/Community Service: Over 300 hours
Summer Activities: Participated in a STEM program for two summers
Essays (rating 1-10, details):: 10! I spent my whole summer writing them! I wrote about Facebook, lifeguarding, and my science fair project!
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: Did not get to read, but my teachers loved me!
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: Did not get to read it

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
State (if domestic applicant): Illinois (Chicago!)
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 0-20k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Hispanic, first generation

Reflection
Strengths: Essays, EC, volunteering
Weaknesses: ACT
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I fell in love with USC and visited about two times. I really knew what I wanted to do there and why I wanted to go. I talked to a lot of alumni and went into the application process with positivity and originality.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Accepted: UMichigan, Claremont Mckenna, Carleton, IIT, Dominican University, Chapman, Syracuse. Waitlisted: Colby College. Denied: Notre Dame, Northwestern.
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Im really happy I got into SC! I got $58,000 from them and I am more than happy about not having to worry about my finances in college. Have a lot of people look over your essays! Dont look at college confidential every day!!!

91

Decision: Accepted (Spring)

Which school/major at USC: College of Arts and Sciences

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): None
ACT (breakdown): 35
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 1560
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 400
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/271
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Semifinalist for USABO/USNCO

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): couple of science clubs, debate, …nothing too special
Job/Work Experience: Worked at a restaurant
Volunteer/Community Service: Tutor
Summer Activities: nothing special
Essays (rating 1-10, details):: Pretty good I thought
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: very good
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: not sure. Huge school so it’s hard for recommendation to be very personal
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details):: very good
Interview: None

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
State (if domestic applicant): Mississippi
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 80-100K range
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection
Strengths: Great essays and some leadership activities that applied to my major.
Weaknesses: I didn’t really have any amazing extracurricular activities or anything unique. I’d say my recommendations might have been a bit weak as well coming from such a large school where each teacher gets so many requests.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I felt like I was a good fit for USC, and I"m also really excited about being a finalist for a full tuition scholarship.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: couple of ivies and a few other safety schools.
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Stay motivated! Hard work pays off. I never thought I’d be posting on here, but I guess working hard during high school has paid off, and I’d say reading too much into these posts can mess with your mind.