sigh... another chances thread

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
1

<p>So, I was considering applying here and was curious as to
a. my chances
b. how hard/easy is it to double major
c. how good is the communications/journalism?</p>

<p>Half Indian, Half Chinese,... weird, i know...CT resident, Male, upper middle class, very competitive high school</p>

<p>3.5 uw gpa, 4.2 weighted</p>

<p>SAT1-
Math - 720
CR - 700
Writing - 710</p>

<p>SAT2-
mathi-720,
mathiic-750,
us hist- 740</p>

<p>every year i took the most rigorous courseload my school could offer</p>

<p>my school doesnt offer AP's before junior year and in freshman and sophomore year you can only take two honors classes... in junior year i only had one non-honors/ap class (regular health was mandatory for a graduation req)... took 4 APs 3 honors junior year...</p>

<p>Love history and english, really good at it... weird im asian and better at humanities than math and science, but there you go.</p>

<p>ECs...
Sports
Wrestling varsity 4 years
Varsity Track 4 years
-medaled in two events at regional junior olympics
Debate, 4 years varsity, captain senior year
-5th place state finals sophomore
-3rd place state finals junior year</p>

<p>Clubs
Peer Mediation 4 years, leader 1 year
FBLA 4 years, treasurer 2 years
Atlas Wrestling Club (coached by olympic coach)
USA Track and Field
Mock Trial 4 years, co-capt 2 years</p>

<p>Vol Work
-ASHA youth group- raise money to send to poor villages in india so that they can build schools, helped found it
-200 hours various at library, hospital, senior center
-Helped with FBLA to raise 1200 dollars for my friend who started his own cancer foundtation (he had a case of cancer that only 9 other people in the world have... scary...almost died)</p>

<p>Jobs
-Academic Tutor(raised a kids grades from c's/d's to a's/b's)
-Little League Baseball Head Umpire
-started my own business which is like a tutoring agency</p>

<p>Highest possible scores on all my CAPT tests (connecticut aptitude placement test or sumthing like that), state merit recognized</p>

<p>Tied with two other people for highest possible grade on Junior Writing portfolio(put best writing together and people assess your writing)</p>

<p>Ribbons on Natl+State latin exams</p>

<p>School doesnt rank...</p>

<p>AP's
-junior year
--psych - probably 4 on exam
--govt(american) - probably 4 on exam
--english - probably 4 on exam
--us hist - probably 4 on exam
-senior year
--stat
--comp gov
--english</p>

<p>Reqs – should be quite good</p>

<p>Essays - will be strong</p>

<p>Will spend summer between junior and senior years teaching poor village kids in Thailand(where mom grew up) english</p>

<p>Figure the stuff thatll set me apart is the starting own business and the Thailand thing</p>

<p>So, chances?</p>

2

<p>Based on all I've read here in recent months, your stats and ECs look to me like you have an excellent chance.</p>

<p>Annenberg is one of the top communications/journalism schools in the nation. USC is supposed to be easier to double major than other schools because 1/3 of the units are elective, but since my daughter's not started yet I can't say from her experience.</p>

3

<p>PBK Mom, the amount of electives someone has all depends on their major. For instance, as an engineer, I have VERY little room for electives anywhere in my schedule. But for a major such as Political Science, which is a total of 32 units (8 classes), having many electives or double majoring is very easy. USC tries to make it as easy as possible to set up a double major or a minor and they let you know what summer school courses, etc you have to take in order to graudate in 4 years.</p>

<p>As for the thread starter, I don't see you getting rejected from USC.</p>

4

<p>Thanks for your input on the electives! My daughter would be looking at something like Poli Sci/English or History/English if she double-majors...sounds more "do-able" than if she were in engineering or the sciences?</p>

5

<p>Wow...you sound kind of like me, and your school's honors/AP policy also sounds like mine. If I were you I'd definitely study my brains out senior year to get the best grades possible, but I think your general courseload and strong ECs indicate that you have a good chance at USC.</p>

<p>The communications/journalism school, Annenberg, is widely recognized to be one of the best in the nation. Students majoring in journalism are strongly encouraged to double-major, so if that's something you're interested in you should be fine.</p>