<p>Hi. I just finished my freshman year at top 40 private university.
I applied to 5 schools, and only got accepted to USC.
I think its due to my HS gpa, which was 3.5 (but it has a huge upward trend)</p>
<p>Anyway,
I am not 100% satisfied with USC. It is a great school but since I got all As my freshman year and worked so hard on the ECs, I am a little disappointed. I would like to aim higher and go to top 20 US university.</p>
<p>The real problem is, I hate my current school. It is absolutely depressing and the general atmosphere doesn't suit me. I hate the culture & food of the region and the thought of transfer would stress me out so much if I decide to do one more year. However, since college education lasts forever and it was my dream of life to attend a prestigious school, I just can't decide to go to USC. Another big reason is that USC is super expensive. My current school is not as expensive so if I finish two years and transfer I would be saving money.</p>
<p>Please help me decide. I have been debating this for a week and my head is absolutely about to blow up. ANY words (criticism, advice--just ANYTHING) would be very appreciated.</p>
<p>I have a similar situation to yours. I’m trying to decide on going to Vandy or staying longer at my current university. I don’t absolutely hate my current institution, but there are many rational reasons I should leave. When you say “prestigious” or “top 20” are you talking about an ivy league solely? or are you just basing it off the US news’ criteria.</p>
<p>Good to see someone who is in a similar situation!
It would be very nice if its Ivy league schools. If I decide to do one more year Im thinking of applying to Columbia and Dartmouth.</p>
<p>I’m in a similar situation as well. I cannot stand where I’m at right now. I haven’t heard back from all my places yet but it seems like USC is my only real option at this point. And I’m in the same boat, I just don’t see it as “the school” for me, especially for the cost. In the end, it’s a definite step up from the current state school I’m at so it makes things really hard for me. I’ve been thinking about maybe trying again next year but I’m kinda thinking that nothing will be different. I had a perfect year and a good high school resume and I can’t really see how another good year would really help with the schools I’m looking at (Stanford, Cornell, etc.). It seems as though I’m just not the applicant that they want, no matter how much I think I belong at these schools. I realize that I can’t have everything but I just find it way harder to justify the money. So yeah, I’m with you, my brain’s about to explode at this point haha. I’m very interested to see others thoughts on this as well.</p>
<p>Hilarious how rank is so important to kids. Go to a school you love. There are important things to look at, financial aid, alumni network, campus, study abroad, internship and job opportunities, etc. but rank is meaningless</p>
<p>You have no idea how much believe in what you say. I couldn’t care less what the rank of a school is. Like the OP, I’m interested to see what people say about USC, etc. because I really don’t know too much about it. But I do know that the school I’m at now is a beyond terrible fit for me. I don’t want to go to a school for the name but I’ve observed that name often attracts what and whom I want in a college. More than anything I want to got to a college that I love. It’s just with my criteria with academics, location, campus, major programs, size, etc., I don’t really see many “ideal” schools. But I do want I work with what I have so if anyone has any advice for this semi-common situation, it would be very much appreciated.</p>
<p>Hi Chelseanderby, nice to meet you! The USC deadline is coming pretty close for me that Im really running out of time to decide. I am actually thinking of transferring twice (for now just laying out a lot of possibilities) Any thoughts?</p>
<p>And yeah, rank is meaningless. But I am an international student and in my country college rank & name is very important in getting a job. Also, I agree that my dream colleges attract people that I want to work and study with.</p>
<p>@Chelseanderby</p>
<p>I currently go to USC so if you have any questions about USC feel free to ask and I’ll do my best to answer honestly :)</p>
<p>What was your SAT/ACT/SAT2? If your college GPA was 4.0, Im sure your high school grades weren’t given significant amount. If you can improve on standardized test scores, and maintain 4.0, you will have definite shot at top schools.</p>
<p>I have 3.88 in college and 2160 SAT. 750 Math 2C and 680 World History. didnt take ACT</p>
<p>@accepted0219: Good to meet you too! Yeah my deadline was June 1st so I just ended up enrolling with a fee waiver so I could get a little extra time to think about it because they only gave me a few days and I still needed to know so much more information. I know the feeling though; it’s awful! In regards to transferring twice, I thought about that really briefly but then I concluded that it would probably be better just to stick around for the extra year because it would be hard to move on from friends more than once, it would be hard to stay focused, etc. That’s just how I feel, it’s really to each his own. I’ve heard of people doing it before and liking it. In regards to name, I completely understand. I’m not exactly informed, and it’s not to the same extent as what you might encounter, but it’s something at the back of my head with applying to grad schools. I want to go to an “elite school”(again, not for the name but for the opportunities they offer) and I’m really worried I might not be considered from my current school when I assume so many qualified students apply from top schools.</p>
<p>@ViterbiTrojan Sent you a PM, thanks so much!</p>
<p>@nirvana1234 I got a 33 on the ACT and a god awful score on the SAT. I only took them once though and neither went well for me so I’m fairly sure I could raise my ACT a couple of points and my SAT to 2250+ pretty easily. But would there really be a point for a junior applicant? I just feel like there’s a point where things don’t make a difference and things become a waste of time and money. I felt I reached that point this year with some stuff already.</p>