I had a tough semester, and many personal issues contributed to my sh*t performance this semester. Factoring in the Fs, I’d have around a 2.9-3.0. I’ll be retaking the courses in the Spring and I know I can get A’s if I really apply myself. I know my GPA will be pretty low, but I think my ECs are pretty good. I interned for a year at a Lufthansa electroplating lab, and then got promoted to lab tech for a few months, but I had to leave due to company budget cuts. And I spent this past summer working in a research lab at USC. I worked with a few professors there that are willing to write me letters of rec. and vouch for me. I also did some freelance work for a group that’s making an app that helps companies estimate/analyze their carbon emissions through simulations.
Any advice would be great.
P.S. I’m also applying to UCs and some CSUs.
While USC Admissions is holistic, and it is thus hard to predict results given any one specific factor, you may want to keep in mind that based on last year’s #s, 84% or so of all applicants were eventually rejected. With 55K+ applications to review, it would be very easy to predict an issue for you in terms of admissions. Unless your ECs, Essays, Test Scores, Letters of Recommendation, etc. all paint a very different picture and offer far greater support for your application, you may want to consider other options… applying to a wide range of schools, delaying applying until your GPA is higher, attending another colleger first and then transferring, etc.
Assuming you’re talking about freshman admission, if USC is your dream school, and you can afford the $80 to apply, I’m not sure why you wouldn’t try. Especially since you have a connection to the school with your summer work. Trying this year won’t affect your ability to try again next year. And, if you write well and explain things, who knows what will happen. Even if you don’t get in, if you do well retaking the classes, you could go through the appeal process and maybe get (very) lucky. Or, they might offer you the TTP if you don’t get in this year. Point is, you don’t know what will happen unless you try.