<p>Okay so I really really want to to USC but I'm not sure if I will meet the academic requirements. I'm going into my junior year of highschool and sorry to say but my GPA is not a 4.0. Currently my GPA is a 3.33 because I really struggled to balance all pre-AP/honors and AP classes I took freshman and sophomore year with hockey,lacrosse and orchestra. I most definitely over committed and was taking every class accelerated except for science(I'm not strong in science). My last trimester of sophomore year went well because I found a good balance of AP and pre-AP classes and dropped pre-AP math and got an A in math which was a first! The only B I got last tri was in science, the rest were A's. </p>
<p>So this year I'm really going to work hard to raise my GPA and I won't settle for anything less than a A! I also quite hockey because I wasn't very good and my schoolwork was suffering. I really want to become a Trojan because they have D1 women's lacrosse and I think I can get an athletic scholarship because I'm good.</p>
<p>How much does is help if I'm Native American? I'm currently enrolled in my tribe and am very involved with my family which all of them live on my reservation( except my family since my dad became successful and wanted to give my sisters and I a better chance at life). My dad is even running for tribal office this year to help promote and market our casinos(we have 5). Lacrosse is my passion and really has a different meaning to myself and my people. I play varsity lacrosse and have been recruited by a few D3 schools out east but I'm confident that I will be D1 material by the time I'm a senior. Otherwise I could pursue a music scholarship? This will be my 7th year playing the cello and I just love it and am in varsity orchestra as well. </p>
<p>I just really want some feedback other than my parents telling me everything will be fine in the future! </p>
<p>P.S I live in Minnesota but was born and lived in California for 10 years.</p>
<p>Your GPA does not have to be a perfect 4.0 to get into USC or any school for that matter. People have 4.0s and still get rejected from Harvard. California public schools DO NOT factor race in admissions. Nothing can really be said until you have taken the SAT and ACT. That being said, you really need to get your GPA up by the end of your junior year. The average GPA of those enrolled was a 3.73 (unweighted). To be honest it is going to be difficult to raise your GPA by .4 in one year (I don’t even know if that is possible). If USC does end up scouting you that will help your chances. Considering you said your family owns 5 casinos, I’m assuming you can pay the out-of-state cost if needed correct? Look at the class profile posted below. </p>
<p>USC Class profile: <a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/docs/USCFreshmanProfile2013.pdf”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/docs/USCFreshmanProfile2013.pdf</a></p>
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<p>@tola2015, I think you’re a bit confused. USC is not a public school, and it doesn’t differentiate at all between out of state and in state students for tuition.</p>
<p>I just searched it up (I honestly thought it was a public school) and URM will play a part in admissions. But at the same time you shouldn’t depend on URM status to get into a college. As you can see from the class profile I posted above, only 2% of the 2922 students ( approx 59 students) enrolled at USC for the fall of 2013 were Native Americans. </p>
<p>Anyways aim for achieving all A’s this school and great SAT/ACT scores. </p>
<p>Honestly - these types of questions frustrate me. First - a lot of URM’s don’t get into USC. So it does not give you an automatic edge. Second, one of the things universities look for are students who can research. So on these boards are hundreds of threads (one of which we all keep bumping to the top) that talk about the odds of getting in, the fact that grade point averages and test scores don’t have to be perfect, and that the school is looking at students not at “widgets” with uniform transcripts. Start there because we’ve answered this question over and over and over again.</p>
<p>So will you get in? No one knows. Will being Native American help? Maybe. Maybe not. Too many students rely on old stereotypes and stats to decide their fate. If USC finds you interesting, a good match for their campus, and you have a range of interests that will add to the student body - then yes, you’ll get in. Or maybe not. They turn down 80% of the students who apply - and some specialty programs turn down 90% or more.</p>
<p>Do your best - but don’t rely on your ethnic status to give you an in because you may end up disappointed.</p>
<p>Agree ^^. Also keep in mind there are many URMs with excellent stats that you will be competing with. My daughter’s best friend is half Latino and Native American and very low income raised by single mom living in a trailer, combined with rockin’ stats. Went to a private high school with her good grades/character and by working 400+ hours a semester at the school to subsidize it. I’d watch our for her and the many like her applying to these schools as well. I look forward to the school lucky enough to choose her because of all those things, not just one of them.</p>