Freshman in Highschool Advice?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
1

H!i I’m a freshman in High School and I would really like to go to USC. I’m from the Chicago area so I think that a change in scenery would be good for me! However, I am in a middle class family and my parents want me to go to the school that gives me the most scholarship money (I 100% agree). So, the only way that I will be able to attend is if I get the Trustee scholarship (my parents would never let me go if I only got presidential, and I don’t want to owe that much in student loans). Anyway, I know that getting Trustee is a really difficult accomplishment, which is why I’m making sure to start now and do things in and out of school that I am not only interested in, but will help me in achieving this goal! So, I was wondering if you guys have any advice to give me, or if there are any cool out of school programs around the Chicago area that I might be interested in. Thanks!

Some info:
African American
1st Generation American (African)
1st Generation College Student
(I used to live in the southside of Chicago until I was 3. However, since I moved out when I was young I don’t think that it’s right to write about it.)

Classes so far
(This is the hardest class load I could take)
AP Human Geo
Honors English
Honors Bio
Honors Geometry
Spanish 1
(I think that I will get an A in all of these classes but I’m on the brink of a B in geometry so I’m working really hard)

Clubs
Student Council
Math Team
Enviornment Club
History Through Film
Key Club
Another school volunteering club
Scholastic Bowl

As you can see its not really anything special so I’m open to all advice!

2

Congrats on being such a responsible young person - that is a great start. Having four accepted to USC (and we didn’t buy a building or anything like that, ha) what I have learned is that the best thing you can do is be passionate about something, or be an interesting person. Virtually everyone applying to top schools brings in a strong list of AP classes, top grades and the usual suspects in terms of ECs (robotics, speech and debate, etc). That’s great, but yawn city. The ones that get accepted, and certainly the ones that get Trustees bring in something extraordinary. And the way you do that is to have an interest in something and pursue it in your own way, and write about how that pursuit has made you who you are, and what else you want to do going forward. USC is holistic with a 16% acceptance rate - which means kids bring in great grades and a great story line.

I have used this example before - the kid that applied to USC for aeronautical engineering and oh, at 17, he happens to already have his pilots license, and has plans to use his skills to start this company and do xyz. That’s an interesting story and not one a zillion other people can tell. But he didn’t do it to get into USC, he had this passion for flying since he was a little kid - he built planes from legos and anything else he could find. Flying and many aspects made him who he was.

Of course you don’t have to be a pilot, but you can try too hard to get into schools. Be yourself and spend these next four years finding things that interest you and excite you, and go with it. It is those things that naturally come through on essays and show you to be a interesting person that can bring something to any school.

And always have a backup plan with a list of safety schools to apply to. Go for it, but know that getting Trustees at any school is like winning the lottery, odds are brutal. Learn more about merit and how to get it (being top 25% at a school you are applying to). Don’t rely on first gen to hook you, there are a lot of first gen and URMs applying these days. Be true to yourself, don’t be what you think they want, it is easy to see “pretending” in essays. So ya, living in southside till age 3 would be a bit of a stretch for an essay topic - if its not near and dear to your heart, they see through it. Be who you are and you will find the school that fits you best. Take these next four years and discover how to be a better and more interesting person rather than trying to fit into a college application box.

3

Apply Sideways: http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways

4

I echo cadreamin’s excellent advice above. You can never really tell what will or will not suffice in terms of grades/stats. USC is now an university with over 55K applications per year. And USC is likely only going to accept 8750-9000 of those, given current yield trends and their goal of netting 3K freshman commitments. During that process, they have recently denied 9K out of 10K or 90% of all legacy applicants and have also denied over 3K applicants with test scores in the 99th percentile. USC thus admits many applicants with lesser stats, favoring instead those who sparkle or shine somehow in other ways… ECs, leadership, auditions, creative portfolios, writing samples, artwork, demonstrated passion, etc. Those applying to the creative schools… SDA, SCA, etc… have a certain amount of potential leeway if the applicant demonstrates the creativity or performance skills that sway the admissions staff and faculty reviewing such within each individual program. But keep in mind that unless you are admitted Undeclared (no assigned major), you are basically being evaluated and granted admission twice… once by USC generally and once again by the individual school that houses the major being sought. If only the university overall admits you, you can be admitted Undeclared. But - if the university overall is not likely to admit you (and they do consider everything - grades/stats, ECs, writing), the individual school may choose to fight for you to be admitted as an exception. But… those fights are likely limited in both scope and number.

In general, USC is not looking to create a freshman class of 3000 or so well-rounded & perfectly crafted new Trojans. Instead, they are actually looking to create a well-rounded and diverse freshman class made up of 3000 or so unique, passionate and talented individuals. Therefore, the passion aspect described above is likely your best way to differentiate yourself and stand out, especially by writing about such.

From my experience, the range where applicants are deemed acceptable… or the safe minimal level (other than those really being sought after - like recruited athletes, etc.) is with an unweighted GPA of 3.7 or higher, being ranked in the top 10%, having an ACT score of 30 or higher and/or an SAT score of 1370 or higher. Obviously… there are exceptions to every rule (like being the son or daughter of someone super famous, etc), but doing that well or better… plus having strong ECs, good writing samples, showing and demonstrating a true passion and making it clear both why USC is a good fit for you and vice versa seems to be the safest approach. I am sure they admit some with lesser grades/stats, but there would most likely need to be some justification… URM, First Gen, QuestBridge, etc. With 84% or so of all applicants getting denied these days, you need to find a way (or more than one way) to convince USC that you belong in that 16% or so category.

Good Luck…

5

It is way too early to think about specific colleges (especially the very competitive ones). You don’t even have one full year’s GPA and you have no standardized testing. You also need to recognize that HS should be an experience in and of itself – a time of learning and growth and not just a 4 year college application prep experience.

It is good to take school seriously and know that college will be on your horizon, but it is too early to start planning for specific colleges. I would highly recommend that you get off of CC until your junior year.

For now you should focus on:
–Working hard, learning, and doing as well as you can in the most challenging curriculum you can manage.
–When the time comes study diligently for standardized tests.
–Continue your involvement in activities you care about and work towards making meaningful contributions to those activities.
–Enjoying spending time with your family and friends.

When the time comes asses your academic stats (including GPA, standardized tests, course rigor) as well as your financial needs and apply to a wide range of reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable (you will have to run a net price calculator for each school you consider) and that you would be happy to attend. You need to expand your horizons and recognize that there are many wonderful schools out there where you can have a great 4 year experience and get where you want to go in life.