<p>We have arrived at the end of our application review period, and I am sorry to say that we are unable to offer you a space in this year's entering class.</p>
<p>You should be proud of your accomplishments, and we encourage you to press on in your pursuit of higher education. Our decision by no means a statement about your ability to succeed in college, nor it is any kind of judgment of you as a person. Admission was significantly more competitive this year. We were unable to accommodate thousands of very strong candidates including students with excellent academic records, remarkable talents, fascinating experiences and illuminating perspectives. It may or may not comfort you to know that this has been and extraordinarily difficult year for our staff. None of us enjoys turning away capable students.</p>
<p>Numbers don't tell the whole story, but you may find them helpful. We received over 36,000 applications from students around the world. In order to enroll a class of 2,600 freshmen, we offered admission to roughly 7,600 students. In other words, we had to turn away about 80% of the students who wanted to enroll here. Of those offered admission, most achieved nearly straight A averages and SAT scores at or above the 95th percentile.</p>
<p>In addition to grades and test scores, we considered many other factors presented in your application materials. Ours is a qualitative process, in which opinions are weighed with facts. Your application was carefully, respectfully, and thoughtfully reviewed multiple times, by many individuals.</p>
<p>Please review the enclosed information sheet for further details about the review process, and for some ideas about the next steps you might want to consider if you wish to attend USC in the future.</p>
<p>Thank you for considering USC. We all wish you the best in your college plans.</p>
<p>"We have set aside the final weeks in June, from the 9th to the 27th, for you to meet with a member of the Administration staff. Our aim is to counsel you subsequent to your high school graduation and help you establish a personalized transfer plan. Such a plan may assist you in gaining admission to USC as a transfewr student within the next two or three semesters."</p>
<p>Yeah, I felt that the letter was really nice and uplifting, and the additional FAQ page was really helpful as well. I really like the idea of transferring, and USC definitely encourages it. I can't stand the East Coast any longer, I need the Cali sun!!!</p>
<p>I'm quite impressed by the rejection letter. It appears that USC really tries to make people feel better about it, I think it's considerate. They seem to be very aware of how disappointing and stressful this is.
The fact that they include info on transferring seems to me that they mean it and encourage it with their offer of advice during the June sessions.</p>
<p>The paragraph regarding transferring in my D's letter referred to the fact that she is a "member of the Trojan family," her father being an alumni. I agree it was the nicest rejection letter I think I've ever seen for anything.</p>
<p>Elizabeth, I'm sorry for the denial. It must be harder given she has legacy. It seems that the letters are also somewhat personalized if they refer to the "Trojan family" as in your case. I wish the best for her, as I do for all those who received the disappointing news. Will she consider a transfer?</p>
<p>The Spring letter is like a half-reject, half-acceptance.</p>
<p>Dear *****,</p>
<p>Congratulations! You are among a very select group of students who have been admitted to USC for the spring semester of 2009. I know that when you applied, you intended to begin your studies here this fall, so please read on and let me explain this special opportunity.</p>
<p>And it just goes on from there basically saying "We didn't have enough space for you, but we still want you."</p>
<p>Sequoia, thanks for the sympathy, but fortunately she got into the Communications school at BU and is really excited to be going there. USC is 20 minutes away and going away to school is something we've always encouraged. Plus, she's very excited to be in Boston, which is such a great city. We have been passionate USC football fans forever, and since BU doesn't have a football team, we can continue the tradition! Best of luck to your student.</p>