My Chances To Get In??

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
1

<p>USC Dornsife College of Arts and Sciences
I'll be applying for the Scholarship deadline (dec. 1st), but honestly, I just desperately wish for acceptance either way.
Here are my general stats, so i was hoping you guys could maybe offer me some honest opinions on whether or not you think i'd get in - like maybe sort of a breakdown of my acceptance chances for both. I'm hoping to head towards the path of pharmacy if that narrows things down. </p>

<p>School: public</p>

<p>Ethnicity: Vietnamese (south-east asian)</p>

<p>State: California</p>

<p>Income: below 25,000</p>

<p>Family: only child, and first generation college </p>

<p>GPA: unweighted 3.8; 10-12 weighted w/o PE 4.56</p>

<p>SAT: 1990 (reading=690, math=680, writing= 620) ...however I recently retook it in oct, so im waiting for those scores</p>

<p>SAT subjects= none
AP tests: AP BIO (4), AP WORLD (2), APUSH (4), APEL (4), AP PSYCH (5)</p>

<p>Senior Course Load: AP ENG LIT, AP CHEM, Community College POLI SCI, second year community college LINEAR ALG. (I took first year community college CALC junior yr)</p>

<p>Sports: Varsity Swim (4 yrs) and Captain for two years (also did club swimming, though not very recognized), Cross Country for all four years </p>

<p>Music: played Violin for 7 years, apart of the Suzuki Music Association (though never participated in youth symphonies or school orchestras)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: CSF club (california scholarship federation) which includes community volunteer work, volunteer at half marathon/marathon events, mentor struggling students for "OASIS" program at school, Athletes Saving Athletes Program </p>

<p>Intern: recently begun interning at a Biosciences company</p>

<p>Work: unpaid work for majority of my life by helping out at my dad's small deli</p>

<p>Additional: I ran half marathons, and swam one or two open water races. </p>

<p>Awards/Certificates: Suzuki Music Association certificate of graduation from violin level 3, registrar of voters awarded certificate for 19 hrs of community service at polls as well as being apart of the inaugural service of offering bilingual services at polls, Coaches Award in 2006 by club swim team, AP Scholar with Honor.</p>

<p>Teacher Recs: Very strong. (an ap psychology teacher that knows me very well and personally, as well as a community college Calc professor) </p>

<p>Essays: I haven't completely begun those yet, I'm a decent writer, but it is definitely not my strong point so I'm slightly worried about those. </p>

<p>Okay, so thats basically it. Hopefully some of you guys will take the time to read through all those stats of mine and can give me some insight to my chances? USC IS MY ABSOLUTE DREAM SCHOOL!! (I went to an admissions interview last week also for USC, im not sure how much effect that would have though) So all the insight you guys can give would be the best!! Thanks.!!
especially from previously accepted students..if you could give me some of your stats in comparison to mind as well (:</p>

2

<p>I’m a USC student and I’ll give it a look. My views do not represent the school or the admissions committee in any way, shape or form. </p>

<p>I’m a bit worried about the SAT score for you because it’s below the 50% percentile for admitted students (2030-2250,) so I hope taking it again helps bump it up a bit. Their enrolled students stats were 1950-2190 though so you’re above the enrolled at least. </p>

<p>Your GPA looks good and the fact that it’s unweighted 3.8 should help. I also like your AP scores. </p>

<p>Your ECs look good, like being the swim captain. Do you plan to swim for USC’s swim team and also, what do you want to major in if accepted at USC? It would be good to have some ECs similar to that major in my opinion. </p>

<p>As for my stats, my unweighted GPA was much lower (3.49) and my school does not weight GPAs even though the classes in my school are super tough. My ECs were really good, as well as my teacher recs and a college admissions counselor said my essay was one of the best essays he’s ever read (and he’s read quite a few.) My SAT score was also 2190 (with an 800 in Math.) </p>

<p>Anyway, just my thoughts. Good luck on getting in!</p>

3

<p>Since you’re interested in Pharm, are you considering applying to the TAP program?</p>

<p>Your EC’s look pretty good, especially swimming and music which seem to be your big focus. USC loves applicants that show a variety of interests outside of schoolwork like athletics, but it’s definitely also important to have something that demonstrates interest in the field that you plan to go into. I think it’s excellent that you’re interning at a Biosciences company; that will help you. Definitely try to highlight a few of those interests and experiences in your application essays and you should be solid (hopefully you get a boost in your SAT as well). Good luck!</p>

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<p>Thanks for your break down (:
I don’t plan on actually pursuing any collegiate sports in any college that I may end up at. And also, I do have one extra curricular that pertains to my intended major (which is biochem–>pharm), it’s my internship at the biosciences company, however I just started there this past summer so I don’t have too much to elaborate on it for my apps.
Also, I’m stressing out a LOT over the common app essay, so I was wondering what the premise of your essay was like? What angle should I come in from, and since it’s only bracketed at 250-500 words, do you have any additional tips for the essay? (: Thanks so much!</p>

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<p>@johnthechemist
I have a veryyyyy big interest in the TAP program actually! It’s one of the main reasons I’m so desperate for USC. I feel like it has one of the more diversified opportunities for their pharmacy tracks so I’m definitely crossing my fingers for the program, do you maybe by chance have any additional information or advice you can offer me about the program?</p>

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<p>A few things I did in my essay was cut out everything that did not add to the story. What I did was talk about a snapshot in time where my abilities were tested in my strongest EC (for you, it could be a gigantic swim meet or something big with pharmacy, you should ask your college counselor what EC you need to lead with is because colleges are looking for a student who fits a certain niche and is unique in some way.) It was a 5 paragraph essay and the 1st paragraph painted a picture by showing my feelings at the moment (nervousness before swim meet,) the 2nd paragraph described the scene (it’s a big swim meet,) the 3rd paragraph showed the event beginning (the other swimmers started going, was I ready?) the 4th paragraph showed my role in the event begin and my chance to shine (I then subtlely listed a few accomplishments in this EC, it could be some past swim meets for example for you,) and the 4th paragraph ended when my role in the event ended. 5th paragraph was the aftermath of the event (you led your team to 1st place, everyone cheers, you feel really confident etc,) and maybe the last sentence could show something you learned. </p>

<p>These are just my thoughts on how to write the essay, I really hope they help. Good luck with the essay and if you’ve got more questions, shoot me a message.</p>