FAQ for USC Admissions

<p>If you marked on your SAT for the scores to be sent to USC, good for you. But most students don't do that, which is why USC explicitly tells you to send your Score Report to them.</p>

<p>About mailing SAT scores-</p>

<p>It is perfectly fine to just have College Board send your results if you take an early test. But if you take a later test (like in November or December), you will want to be sure USC receives them quickly, so it's best to print out your results from your online score report and send them to admissions. </p>

<p>Many people will send them in on their own to USC regardless of when the tests were taken just to be absolutely sure they are received. </p>

<p>Of course you will still need to follow up with official scores from College Board.</p>

<p>how long should the short answers be..under 250 words? or what?</p>

<p>USC admissions specifies only the length of the essay: "approximately 500–700 words (typically about two double-spaced pages)."</p>

<p>In their FAQs, they state:
"Although we strongly prefer applicants to limit their essays to one page, we will read every application essay in its entirety, regardless of length. However, in the past, our experience has been that successful applicants are typically able to appropriately express themselves in one page."</p>

<p>Referring to the essay length, they state "two double-spaced pages" in one instruction then "one page" in the other. The discrepancy seems to be only in the spacing.</p>

<p>Referring to the short answer length, they do not give any specifics so we can only surmise what they mean. Since the seem to want concise answers encouraging that the essay be no longer than one page, that would mean your short answers should be concise as well. That is really up to you to define the exact length. </p>

<p>That being said, most here have said their short answers are no longer than a paragraph or two.</p>

<p>(Wow- that was five paragraphs. I guess I could have been more concise!)</p>

<p>so should the essay be double spaced or not?</p>

<p>For the "Offices held and activities and organizations in which you have participated " section, how should I format my responses?</p>

<p>For example, If one offices held was:</p>

<p>Treasure of Math Club
Grade 12
1 hour / week</p>

<p>Should it be: "Treasure of Math Club, grade 12, 2 hours/week"? </p>

<p>Do I need to add any description to the activity, such as managed two fundraisers, collected members dues, etc.?</p>

<p>^USC application states to explain things a little bit. I believe my daughter did elaborate on what she did for the club and not just listed the position.</p>

<p>
[quote]
so should the essay be double spaced or not?

[/quote]

USC has stated it both ways in their instructions so it seems that either is fine, i.e. one page single spaced or two pages double spaced.</p>

<p>Short answers length or spacing is not defined in their instructions so that will be up to what you think is best.</p>

<p>Hi, I'm filling out the online application part II right now and I don't know
where I am supposed to report my courses and grades. There is a tag
on the left side that says "courses and grades" but that seems to
be inactive.
Please Help!!
Much thanks.</p>

<p>It is actually active but you've got to wait quite a bit. </p>

<p>I also thought it malfunctioned the first time I tried to input my scores. But when I came back after a while, the page had refreshed itself.</p>

<p>what about teacher recommendations? are they necessary or wanted by USC? how many are needed?</p>

<p>just to clarify: I sent my SATs from college board to USC- is that okay?</p>

<p>also: the USC id number or the sticker it says to put in the upper right hand corner- all you need to do is write the id number?? thanks</p>

<p>
[quote]
what about teacher recommendations? are they necessary or wanted by USC? how many are needed?

[/quote]

This is from the USC website:
"Counselor or Teacher Recommendations
All freshman applicants should submit one Counselor/Teacher Report and letter of recommendation. You may submit additional forms and letters; however, the number of recommendations received does not factor into our decision-making process."
USC</a> Undergraduate Admission - Freshman Standards</p>

<p>You can do an advanced search here on CC to find more discussions about recommendations.</p>

<p>
[quote]
I sent my SATs from college board to USC- is that okay?

[/quote]

Yes</p>

<p>
[quote]
the USC id number or the sticker it says to put in the upper right hand corner- all you need to do is write the id number??

[/quote]

Yes</p>

<p>thanks a lot cc!</p>

<p>I'm a little bit confused about the test scores that we are supposed to send in on paper. Do we photocopy the score report that Collegeboard mailed to us or do we print out the online score report?</p>

<p>
[quote]
Do we photocopy the score report that Collegeboard mailed to us or do we print out the online score report?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Either one is fine.</p>

<p>dou, if you filed your Part II online there is a section (which you referenced above) where you fill in your courses and grades. The next step is to make sure the College Board sends an official score report to USC. I don't think you need to photocopy or send in anything else.</p>

<p>In Regards to sending a copy of test scores to USC...

[quote]
I don't think you need to photocopy or send in anything else.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Agreed. You don't need to send a photocopy if you have already had your test scores officially sent. Many students send it anyway just for insurance. USC will use these copies in lieu of an official report for evaluation but will later need confirmation with an official report.</p>

<p>From USC Admission website:</p>

<p>Official test scores: Arrange for the testing agency to send your official scores directly to USC (our SAT code is 4852; our ACT Code is 0470). It may seem repetitive or unnecessary, but sending us both the unofficial printout and the official test score is to your advantage because it speeds our process.</p>

<p>USC</a> Undergraduate Admission - Freshmen</p>

<p>Thanks cc411. I hadn't seen that before. Good to know.</p>

<p>Thanks! Everybody!</p>