How important is Legacy/ Alum to U.S.C.?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi, I am a junior in highschool right now and am looking into colleges. I want to apply to USC, but I am wondering about my chances of admission with benefits from legacy status.</p>

<p>I am Asian. W GPA is a 4.4. I'm not sure about the unweighted. I got a 2160 on the SAT (I'm planning to take it again in March). I am taking all of the honors courses and have been getting straight A's. Also, I am taking AP Chem and AP English. I have gotten a 5 on AP Bio and am going to take AP Japanese, AP U.S. History, and perhaps others. My mom, dad, mom's sister, my mom's sister's husband, my mom's brother, my dad, and my dad's sister all graduated from U.S.C. Also my grandmother worked at U.S.C. years ago. </p>

<p>My extra activities aren't very strong. I used to be in Varsity swim from freshman year, but I quit due to family issues. I am a scuba diver (for fun and community service) and president of 2 clubs. I'm on the Speech and Debate Team and do hapkido, a type of martial arts.</p>

<p>College Board information stated that U.S.C. will "take into consideration" alum history. However, what does that mean for my chances?</p>

<p>Thanks for any help :)</p>

<p>P.S. Anything I should work on/improve?</p>

<p><3,
Girl Who is really Nervous about College</p>

2

<p>Currently, the main advantage to being legacy at USC is that legacies who are rejected get special transfer planning and extra consideration when they apply to transfer to USC. Please remember that *The College Board *is not an official USC source. Visit the USC admissions website for admissions information [Freshman</a> Standards - USC Undergraduate Admission](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/apply/fresh_standards.html]Freshman”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/apply/fresh_standards.html) .</p>

<p>Good luck</p>

3

<p>Obviously I’m not a USC admissions counselor, so I can’t tell you for certain, but it sounds like you’re sitting in a good place. My college counselor told me that USC is really big on alumni and they have a huge alumni community that helps current USC students get internships and overall plays a significant role in the school as a whole. Considering you have some a major legacy, really good grades, and a good score on the SAT for your first time taking it, I would say you are setting yourself up for success. Besides, even if they don’t place that much emphasis on legacy, it shouldn’t do anything but reinforce your application. </p>

<p>I would say to just make sure you involve yourself in ECs, continue to work hard in school like you have been, and take challenging classes because on the counselor/teacher evaluation recommendation sheet it asks the counselor/teacher to evaluate how rigorous your course load is compared to other students at your school. You want to make sure you that you are going to be the strongest applicant possible, regardless of legacy.</p>

<p>Hope that helps! Good luck!</p>