<p>To give hope to some of the under qualified applicants, what is lowest GPA you seen (including yourself) that got accepted. </p>
<p>By low GPA I mean strictly under a 3.0</p>
<p>Two people from my high school got in: one had a 3.8; the other had like a 3.4. Both got into the music school. I think his ACT was a 25 or 26 (3.4 guy). I’m not sure about the other one.</p>
<p>According to the collegeboard website only 1% of USC first-year students had a GPA <3.0. Another 6% had GPAs between 3.0 and 3.24. Allowing that some of these students may be unique cases - legacies, athletes, artists - it’s hard to find much(any) hope for an ‘unhooked’ sub-3.0 candidate.</p>
<p>1% is like around 30 people right?</p>
<p>I have a friend who had a High School GPA of 2.8 and an SAT of like 2100 who got in. However, he got into Marshall and also had a letter of recommendation written by the dean of the business school (he didn’t know him directly, but got to meet him and he wrote the letter). </p>
<p>He obviously required some connections to meet him, but if you can find a way, you can almost just bully your way in.</p>
<p>Also, remember it’s always a case-by-case basis and any interesting hooks can make up for low stats.</p>
<p>Admission to selective colleges is not all about scores. A poster wrote last year two NMScholars from the local high school were not admitted to SC. Some students have had to face difficult physical, economic or other challenges. There are hardships many of you, fortunately, never have to face.</p>
<p>Last year one of the admired seniors graduated with a double major despite having no hands or feet. Others cared for dying parents or helped support handicapped family members in high school. The committee members view grades, scores, letters, counselor references and other information. On these boards we do not see the entire application. We are not present at auditions or portfolio reviews.</p>
<p>Committee members consider thousands of applications year after year. They are building a class, not just selecting the highest scoring individuals. Anyone who walks around campus is aware of the amazing diversity in the student body. </p>
<p>It is unfair to judge decisions of the admissions committee unless you have all the information, references, counselor information, health infomation and complete data included, in my opinion.</p>
<p>Redderick, I find your friend’s story very surprising. In fact, we have seen many students who are the sons or daughters of USC professors that do not get admitted, and they report higher GPAs than your friend. The president of USC wrote a letter for one applicant that was not, alas, admitted one year. And there are literally countless stories of wonderful legacy families whose children had GPAs in the low to mid 3’s that were not admitted either. In fact, even development families who have donated large sums to USC have no guarantee for admission these days. </p>
<p>Of course, every student is different and their applications are reviewed holistically. If some rare students (and there will always be some) make it into the university with much lower stats than the median, admissions would question very strongly how they plan to make it through a rigorous curriculum and stay in school. Athletes are one category of student who are offered a certain amount of extra guidance and tutoring. Even then, we sadly read about those who do not make academic qualification for their sport. We can’t know if these students were among the tiny number admitted with the lowest stats, of course.</p>