Viterbi transfer info session live in about an hour: http://viterbinotes.usc.edu/LIVE/
I’ve done the 2 USC supplemental essays but my question is, is the common app essay required?
@poisonx you won’t be able to submit the common app without the essay. The essay is a part of the common app, so yes, it is required
@TonyStark93 I told my writing professor to write up a letter and she never did, but USC still looked at my application. I also had only sent in an unofficial transcript and a note saying that I would send in my official transcripts asap (I’ve attended about 6 community colleges, so at about $10 per transcript, I didn’t really have any extra cash to send them all in at once) and I still seemed to be fine. I received a SGR and ultimately was not accepted, but I believe the admission counselors are pretty nice about sending in transcripts and such.
@jakecasino I thought so 
I wonder if the common app essay is weighed heavily upon in making admission decisions…
I know a few people have been asking about how to send letter of rec. You don’t HAVE to send them through Common App (aka the whole “invite an academic advisor” page). Common App will still let you submit your application even if you have not invited any advisors. I would assume that means that you just need to print and send your letters along with your transcripts. At least, that’s how I’m doing mine. I’m just sending everything all at once in a packet to Admissions. (Actually, I’ll probably just take it down there and deliver it in person since I only live about 20 minutes away, but y’all catch my drift…
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@poisonx I would think that they would weigh the supplements more than the Common App essay, but that’s just my opinion. The Common App one is very generic and probably doesn’t give as much of an impression about the applicant as discussing your major/why you want to go to USC does.
Personally, I wrote the first half of my Common App essay on how I ended up at community college and the second half on why it was time for me to leave. For whatever reason, I just could NOT write more than like…a paragraph and a half on why I wanted to transfer, hence the reason I fleshed out my essay with a kind of “before and after attending community college” type situation. I think it ended up being like 647 words or something. Oop.
@maleficent95
That is a very cliche personal statement. Lots of people write that so it doesn’t really help you stick out. Furthermore it doesn’t really show positive qualities to sell you.
But luckily USC is mostly stats driven so it won’t matter unless you’re very borderline.
@bomerr Well, I obviously elaborated on a lot of things much more, including discussing positive qualities. I tried to present things in a creative way with a strong emphasis on storytelling (since I want to work in the film industry and all that jazz…) What I said above was like…the vaguest of vague outlines.
But in general, the Common App transfer prompt doesn’t exactly leave things open for applicants to write some sob story, ultra-creative personal statement. It’s not “Describe a time you had to overcome an obstacle!!!” - a prompt where you can pretty much write ANYTHING (and where it definitely pays to be creative with it). Like you said, USC probably doesn’t weigh the Common App prompt as heavily as other factors. Loads of people on last year’s admissions thread said they wrote super basic essays and still got in.
@maleficent95
I think the UC essay gives better guidance:
If someone has a good reason for picking their major and a story behind it then I feel this is a very good prompt.
BTW overcoming an obstacle is a very dangerous prompt. Sob Stories straight up don’t work. But inspirational uplifting essays do. Most people fall into the trap of writing the former instead of the later in regards to that prompt.
With that said USC really don’t care about personal statements from what I saw last year. But if you are applying to the ultra competitive school of Cinematic Arts then that might be a different story.
@bomerr I definitely agree, it’s so easy to fall into the sob story category. It’s very difficult to find a way to write about your struggles in a compelling and uplifting way, so I can see why most people would drift in the direction of the former.
I’m not applying to SCA, but I do want to work in the film industry. I want to be a creative director or PR person or something. Time will tell. I really tried to flex my storytelling skills in my personal statements for this reason. You can’t get by in the film industry without having a knack for storytelling! I tried to avoid bland, synonym-heavy statements haha. Although I definitely agree that personal statements as a whole aren’t weighed as much as if you were a freshman admit.
Hmm, I also have to somewhat agree that USC is probably more concerned with stats. When I received my SGR, my admission counselor took the time to email and said that all he wanted to see was my grade in math (I guess it was really important for my major?). Anyhow, I wound up with a B and a few days after sending in an updated transcript, I was rejected.
i read really bad USC transfer essays last year. For instance one was from a 4yr uni transfer student with a high GPA 3.8+ and his essay was basically “USC has great opportunities, I want to be a doctor and use USC for the Trojan Network.” Accepted. I seriously think that unless someone says they killed a person USC just rubber stamps the essay. For better or worse they are really stats driven.
@zettasyntax If you don’t mind me asking, what was your major? I’m planning to apply as a Communication major and they list stats as being a “potentially helpful” class, but aside from that brief blurb on the Annenberg website, it’s not mentioned again. It’s not in any articulation agreements with my schools, nor do I believe it is a graduation requirement for a Comm major, but I’m slightly worried anyway as I have not taken it. I took up to trigonometry in high school and haven’t taken math since (as I am absolutely HORRIBLE at it).
My essay last year was probably quite bad too as I mainly focused on second chances and how I couldn’t speak full sentences until I was 8 (I grew up taking speech therapy classes). Anyway, I probably used a lot of the same tired topics that a lot of other people used.
@maleficent95 I had 42 units completed when I applied and 17 planned for the spring, so that meant 59 completed when I would transfer so I applied as undeclared as my first choice and linguistics as my second choice because I was really confused about the whole 64 units needed to declare a specific major and that any less made it optional. Anyway, I was in the same boat. I hadn’t taken a math class in a number of years, so I tested to a level that was just above intermediate algebra and took a math course called Mathematics for Liberal Arts students and that’s where I got the B that led to my rejection. I guess they didn’t like that I didn’t ace what might be viewed as an “easy” math course. I’m really not sure what to make of what happened to me though. I had a 3.9 after messing up with math, so maybe my counselor thought all my classes were easy or something.
@zettasyntax That’s very odd that they would require a math class if your first choice major was undeclared. Maybe it was a requirement for linguistics? It’s interesting that they seemed to pin your acceptance on one math grade that may or may not have been a requirement for your second choice major! I’ve never heard of a situation like yours before. I hope you didn’t worry too much about your rejection because it sounds like YOU did everything right; they were the ones who made a questionable decision.
When I took my placement exams, I tested into whatever level my CC listed above stats. I initially thought it was a fluke, so I retook the test but got the same results. I decided almost immediately that there was no way in hell I was going to doom my GPA by taking a math class that I knew I would not be able to handle. For me, that’s pretty much everything above, like, pre-algebra. I think the reason they suggest taking a stats class for a comm major is because there are a few economics core courses you have the option to take. But still, I worry haha.
@maleficent95 Yeah, it was a pretty messed up situation. And what I felt dumb about is that I read USC can admit you as undeclared if they really want you, so I practically may have wasted that first slot by putting down undeclared. I think linguistics requires statistics like a lot of other liberal arts classes and social sciences. It really did seem like my acceptance hinged on the math grade because my admission counselor didn’t say that I should maintain a certain GPA - he just wanted to see my math grade. Well, I took the rejection pretty hard because I didn’t really have anywhere else to transfer to - USC was my last hope. I of course tried to appeal, but nada.
I can also relate with that, ha. I took the placement exam twice because I felt like I should be placed in pre-calc or something but I wound up with the same exact score both times; it was pretty crazy. I did actually take the math for liberal arts students class because I kept hearing students say that it was way easier than stats and it was transferable to USC. Well, I wouldn’t try to worry too much; USC seems to be stats based and random/nice at the same time.
Can any of you give me your opinion on my chances? Any info would be appreciated, Thanks!
Current school: SDSU
Current year: Sophomore(will be junior transfer)
Applying to: USC marshall school of business
GPA: 3.97 (only one A- in a required humanities class about film) 4.0 in major classes
EC’s:
- SDSU Finance and Investment Society,
- Golf team in high school(wasn’t sure whether this would help but i put it there anyways)
- Officer of the SDSU Martial Arts club
- I work part time in college at Big 5
Letter of Recommendation - Very impressive(he let me read it) letter of rec from my business law professor.
Do I at least have a decent chance? I’m not coming from a California Community College so i don’t know how much that will hurt me.
@sikcjor
99% chance if you completed English 2 and Calc.
@bomerr
yeah i completed my schools equivalent of the writing class and il be finishing up business calc this current semester