<p>Okay, so USC was/is my top school that I was dying to get into, and obviously, I just got my letter of rejection in the mail today. :(</p>
<p>I have sibling legacy, so there is that paragraph at the end of the letter saying how they want to help me transfer to USC eventually and so on. My SAT total is 1900, and my unweighted GPA is 3.83/4.0 (weighted is 4.93/5.0). Also, I'm ranked 51/620 in my class. Since ninth grade, I've taken 7 AP classes and 7 honors classes (14 total advanced courses). I've had perfect attendance since 10th grade, and I've been in National French Honor Society and French Club for 11th-12th (did choir and NHS for 9th, along with some volunteering that year). I wasn't really involved with anything for 10th since I had just moved to a new state that year.</p>
<p>Basically, what I want to know is, has anyone here been rejected and then appealed the decision and was then accepted? I'm considering appealing the decision, but I'm not exactly sure what they would like to see in my statement. </p>
<p>Any suggestions, tips, or help regarding appeals would be great!</p>
<p>Oh and, congratulations to those of you who were accepted!</p>
<p>Yes. Contact admissions. First of all there is a vERY limited time for an appeal. Do it. Then pursue, when you are speaking with admissions, an articulation agreement which spells out, on both sides, what you need to do to get it.</p>
<p>unless you were applying to a portfolio-based major, it’s going to be hard to appeal with that SAT score. not trying to be mean, just being honest. try and focus on other aspects of your application or bring up any new accomplishments from these past few months.</p>
<p>i wish you the best of luck on your appeal!</p>
<p>“I’ve had perfect attendance since 10th grade, and I’ve been in National French Honor Society and French Club for 11th-12th (did choir and NHS for 9th, along with some volunteering that year). I wasn’t really involved with anything for 10th since I had just moved to a new state that year.”</p>
<p>Unfortunately these are not very impressive extracurriculars; perfect attendence is not even relevant, no leadership, no significant activities. Not bad, but not good. Combined with your relatively lower SAT score, i don’t think there is much for you to appeal…</p>
<p>edit: if you look at some of the other rejected students in the thread, you might gain some insight as well. also, there is a degree of subjectivity and the like in things like the essay and overall construction of your application that cannot be discerned by us</p>
<p>@sAfuRos: When I mentioned that I had perfect attendance, I probably should’ve specified that I received an award for it each year. I understand that it might be irrelevant to college life, but having perfect attendance three years in a row, I think, does show some amount of dedication to school and a desire to learn.</p>
<p>Yeah, I was rejected as well and am considering appealing. Should I appeal? Would I even have a chance?</p>
<p>Accepted at which school/major at USC: School of Cinematic Arts - Critical Studies</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]</p>
<p>[li] SAT Total: 1800 M: 650, CR: 570, WR: 580,</p>[/li]
<p>[li] ACT: 27</p>[/li]
<p>[li] SAT Subject Tests: Spanish - 750, Ecological Biology - 650, Math I - 600</p>[/li]
<p>[li] GPA-UW/W: 3.79/4.5</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Rank: 63/761</p>[/li]
<p>[li]AP/IB classes: 12 - World History (4), US History (3), English Language (4), Spanish Language (5), Biology (2), Art - Drawing/Painting 3 (Didn’t take test.), Government, Macroeconomics, English Literature, Art - Drawing/Painting 4, Environmental Science, and Statistics</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[li] Essays: I wrote about how much I have over come from my family and intense personal struggles; very emotional.</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Teacher Recs: Sent 3 for SCA and they were really well written!</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Counselor Rec: Counselor used to be my English teacher so she wrote a really good one.</p>[/li]
<p>[li] EC highlights: [/li]-President of 4th Largest Key Club in the world with over 450 members
-Over 300 community service hours in just three years
-Organized a fundraiser that raised $6,500 for childhood cancer research and endangered Gorillas
-Head of volunteers for a fundraiser that raised $5,000 for hungry in the city
-Organized an art show that raised $1,000 for Texas Children’s Hospital
-President for three years of Art Club
-Recycling Coordinator for Environmental Club
-Vice-President of Civil Rights Club
-Class Representative for Peer Assistance and Leadership
-One of 15 accepted into Peer Assistance and Leadership as a junior
-Only one chosen to attend American Legion Texas’ Boy’s State from school
-National Honor Society
-Spanish National Honor Society
-Spanish Club
-Plenty more but I can’t really remember them.[/ul]</p>
<p>Location/Person:
[ul]
[li] State or Country: Houston, Texas</p>[/li]
<p>[li] School Type: Public</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Ethnicity: Hispanic: Mexican-American</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Gender: Male</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]
Other Factors, hook?: First generation, very low socioeconomic household, Hispanic, outstanding extra-curriculars</p>
<p>I don’t understand why everyone always comments on my SAT score being apparently really low. Of last year’s admitted freshmen, 25% of them had an SAT score that was below 2020. True, my score is a bit off, but they still admit people with scores on the lower end. My sister had about the same score as me, and she was accepted a couple years ago. Also, she knows someone who was accepted with only a score in the 1600s…</p>
<p>^ Well, yours is better than mine, that’s for sure! :)</p>
<p>25% of them had an SAT score below 2020. but how many of them had an SAT score of 1900 or lower? my guess is less than 10%, and that’s including recruited athletes.</p>
<p>@o0Andy0o: I think you should go for it! 
You’ve got nothing to lose, and you never know what might happen! I’m still debating over whether I should try to appeal…</p>
<p>Lol I live in Texas, too!</p>
<p>I could say the same for you! I don’t know. I’m going to wait it out for NYU. If I get into NYU with enough financial aid, then i’ll definitely go there.</p>
<p>I don’t mean to come off as harsh or anything; i’m just of the opinion that if you are rejected, you probably were rejected after careful consideration and an appeal is not necessary/won’t change much. If you look at the more prestigious schools there are hordes of qualified kids who are just flat out rejected and its boggling; here, its more evident that you don’t particularly stand out and so the rejection seems relatively reasonable, if not unfortunate. Perhaps next year you would have gotten in, or last year; this year, you did not meet the bar or you were simply not liked by admissions.</p>
<p>On that note, if you really want to appeal, do it. I have an UW GPA of 3.35 and got accepted, but i would qualify that by saying my essay, extracurriculars, and scores are all relatively high so as to offset that</p>
<p>I’ve heard of a small number of people getting in after appealing. I’d recommend it if you have something new to present to USC admissions that you think would significantly change their opinions. Good luck! :)</p>
<p>Well, I thought that my essay was really original, stood out, and gave a lot of insight into my character. So, I guess I was hoping that that would offset my average extracurriculars and lower SAT score.</p>
<p>@karilovesmark: Wow…that was a very rude and unnecessary comment.</p>
<p>Definitely do it. If you don’t, you’ll always wonder what could have happened if you had. And you have nothing to lose.
Crimson Lavender–perfect attendance is deffffinitely an accomplishment, I truly would never be capable of doing that!
Andy–your extracurriculars are truly amazing. And I bet your essay is fantastic.</p>
<p>USC was my top choice too, i just got my rejection letter
just like 00andy00, my ACT is 27</p>
<p>Both of you have SAT’s that are far too low to consider appealing. If you had 2100s+, then maybe you might have a point.</p>
<p>Hate to be honest, but both of you read a bit too “generic” for USC. Things like language clubs and National Honor Society aren’t high-dedication EC’s and thus, don’t make you look as unique or motivated.</p>
<p>You can always transfer!</p>
<p>I’m sorry to poke my head in here Zelda, but that’s a terrible thing to say about someone you don’t know. Calling someone “generic” by simply reading a list of credentials is judging them without enough information. You didn’t read their essays or interview them so it’s neither fair nor accurate to make a statement about their level of overall "generic"ness. Moreover, it’s a personal attack, which is not necessary in an advice forum like this–especially after they’ve just been REJECTED from the college they wanted to go to. </p>
<p>CrimsonLavender never asked you to rate her or assess the likelihood that she would personally be admitted after appealing. She just said:
“Basically, what I want to know is, has anyone here been rejected and then appealed the decision and was then accepted? I’m considering appealing the decision, but I’m not exactly sure what they would like to see in my statement. Any suggestions, tips, or help regarding appeals would be great!”</p>
<p>So don’t go around personally attacking people when they don’t ask for it.</p>