Hello everyone, I would just like everyone’s input on my situation:
USC is my dream school, but sadly I was not offered admission this year (C/O 2020). I was offered admissions into SJSU (Software Engineering) but my passion lies in Global Studies/IR. Long story short, I’ve decided to enroll at my local community college and transfer to USC.
My Stats:
HS GPA (w/o 2nd sem of Sr. Yr.) - 3.24 UW
SAT Score - 1950
I plan to work hard to meet/surpass the avg. GPA for Transfer to USC in CC. But my dilemma is should I transfer as sophomore or junior?
Sophomore Pros:
- Get to experience the traditional college life sooner
- I don’t want to be ‘isolated’, I’m looking for those solid friendships that grow over the years
- I won’t fear “missing out”, for me I care a lot about social life (not really partying, but more like school pride – I’m a HS Leadership kid, actually believed when the AD said ‘we’re the best HS ever’.) So it’ll be a mental compromise for me with already missing out on my freshmen year at USC.
- Access to larger spectrum of courses
- traditional room-mate experience available
Sophomore Cons:
- Probably won’t complete the 30 units required?
- Don’t feel confident in my HS record being considered as part of the app
- Enough time to know the profs to ask for recs?
Junior Pros:
- Most likely finish the 30 units requirement, so HS record won’t be part of the admission process
- Save $$$
Junior Cons:
- Will I actually find friends at USC when people have already bonded there for 2 year?
- possibly live in separate housing (transfer students either rent or have separate living quarters?)
- 2 years in my hometown, I feel very limited in terms of growth aside from academics. Socially I won’t find myself free to go out meet new people without the college environment like USC + parents are very conservative
- heard different level of attachment or connection to the school + culture + community for 2yrs attendance vs 3/4 yrs. attendance
Some people might think stuff like school culture/pride might be trivial, but the one of the major reasons why I want to attend USC is because of the Trojan Family. The academics for what I want to study is superb at USC. Plus it’s in LA, I’m ready for new environment, but somewhere I won’t be far if my parents still needed me for emergency and stuff.
I would greatly appreciate your feedback. Thank you so much for reading all my thoughts.