<p>It has been discussed many times how supposedly the transfer students at USC "dilute" the intellectual caliber of the University. I personally agree that USC transfer students aren't as competitive as first year's, but that's just my honest opinion. I didn't get into USC but go to a school of similar rank, and feel as if I missed the cut by a little. However, my estimated cost of attendance is zero, and I pay very little at the school I am at now. People talk about how the transfer system is a way to work their selectivity and also, mostly as a way to bring in more money to the University. I know that your financial aid doesn't really change if you're a transfer student, but is USC need aware. Do they look at transfer applicant's ability to pay for USC and decide based on that as well. I have about a 3.2 at my school, again about the same strength as USC and about an average GPA for both schools, and although I have several hooks such as first generation and latino, my application isn't that impressive. If they look at me and say yeah this kid could probably succeed at USC and he brings in diversity and an interesting story, but he is no superstar, so why are we going to accept him and waste money on him. I have a feeling that if I was competing against other California students in community colleges that were less qualified than me, were wealthy and could pay on their own, USC would favor them over me. I completely understand that, if two virtual applicant applied, why accept the one that needs money? So do transfer students, as I know most are from community colleges, tend to be on the wealthier side, or better yet, if they were middle class do they tend to be willing to and able to pay more. I know that many students, who maybe were around my socioeconomic class go to a different school for a few years and then transfer in where they pay almost full.</p>
<p>I fail to see your point. USC’s admissions are need-blind, they do not take the financial situation of their applicants into account in any way when they make their decisions. They could admit a community college student and find that he/she is from a very poor background and then award them significant need-based aid. I’d imagine it happens all the time.</p>
<p>I’d also say that community college students on average are substantially less wealthy than their peers that apply as freshmen, as this decision is often made to save money. Whether or not community college students are as academically qualified is a matter of some debate, but money has nothing to do with it.</p>
<p>Ok thank you, that was all I was looking for to be answered. It is just that USC has been criticized for accepting transfer students as a way to bring in extra income and funding to the school, which I feel is fine but just didn’t see how this was possible if it was need blind.</p>
<p>Nah, USC is more criticized for using international students as a way to get more money, since they are not eligible for scholarships.</p>
<p>International students ARE eligible for scholarships; just not federally-backed loans or grants. USC is NOT need-blind. Transfers usually are students who were not admitted as freshmen, even as spring-admit freshmen.</p>
<p>“USC is NOT need-blind”</p>
<p>I’m gonna need a fact check here. It’s not that I don’t necessarily believe you but everything I’ve read has said the opposite. Are they perhaps need-blind for freshmen admits but need-aware for transfers?</p>
<p>How nice that someone is interested in facts!</p>
<p>
</a>
USC is need-blind in admissions for BOTH freshman applicants and transfers, and transfers are eligible for financial aid at the same levels as students who enter as freshmen.</p>
<p>International students are not eligible for need-based financial aid but they ARE eligible for USC merit scholarships EXCEPT for the NMS Presidential (because international students are not eligible for NMS status).</p>
<p>OP, the greatest obstacle to your acceptance will not be “wealthy” students with lesser qualifications, it will be the many MORE qualified applicants who are at or above the average 3.6 college GPA of accepted transfer applicants. With USC’s need-blind admissions, the relative level of wealth of other applicants will not be a factor, but your relatively low GPA of 3.2 will be.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/private/1314/TransferringToUSC_2013.pdf[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/private/1314/TransferringToUSC_2013.pdf</a></p>
<p>I am currently a student at Boston College’s Carroll School of Management with a 3.2 GPA. Some call BC the USC of the east, and it is definitely on the same level. BC business is ranked a lot higher than USC Marshall, but we’re not here to argue that. Now yeah I have a 3.2 GPA at Boston College, which is a fine GPA at both USC and BC. Even though a 3.2 is lower than the average 3.6, would an employer, grad school, etc really take some with a 3.6 from Saddleback Community College over someone with a 3.2 at Boston College - Carroll School of Management as a finance major?
According to USC these are the most represented institutions from transfer students:</p>
<p>Cerritos College
El Camino College
Fullerton College
Glendale Community College Moorpark College
Orange Coast College
Pasadena City College
Saddleback Community College
Santa Monica College</p>
<p>Now with 64% of transfer students from California community colleges, 10% from California state or public schools, you could assumes that I am coming from a much better institution than 74% of the admitted students already (assuming that the 10% are probably coming from lower UC’s and not UCLA or Berkely, which is probably the case). As Boston College being a top 30 school, you could look at the further statistics and liberally assume that it is a better and more challenging school than 90% of the schools that are being transferred from. </p>
<p>Now I am just wondering why USC if accepting students from 90% of schools a lot less prestigious than BC or USC if it wasn’t going to be making some sort of income off them. That is why I assumed that they tended to be on the wealthier side, were need blind, and did not give out as much aid.</p>
<p>I don’t really understand this stigma associated with community college transfers. If a CC student has a 3.9-4.0 GPA then it’s obvious they’re capable of achieving any academic standards at their current school and are likely able to surpass them. This is why they’re thought to be a good fit for transfer students.</p>
<p>That being said, I think the fact that you attend Boston College will definitely be a consideration and does give you a chance at acceptance.</p>
<p>Agreed on that the stigma associated with transfers is unwarranted - one of my housemates transferred from CSU Fullerton, and he’s one of the most intelligent people I know. Sometimes it’s finances that force students to transfer in, other times it might be because they might’ve slacked off in high school - in either case just because they transferred does not mean that they’re dumb kids that USC only accepts for their money. My housemate got a generous financial aid package and only paid $15k in loans for his entire time at 'SC.</p>
<p>BC is a real college and you should be accepted to USC. CCs are worse than most private and good public high schools and less than 30% of students ever receive AA degrees. Yes most transfers wear a scarlet letter at USC but it will be offset by BC’s reputation (had several friends who transferred to USC from UCLA and Cal, as well as Occidental and Pomona), so tell your peers you transferred from BC and there will be no question about your pedigree…</p>
<p>Sent from my SGH-T989 using CC</p>
<p>What concerns me about the logic of this argument is that it assumes that the “only” thing that matters is where you went to college before a transfer and your grade point average. If that were true, many, many CC students would be getting into their dream colleges.</p>
<p>If anything, it appears as if students who are Trojan transfers, for instance, or those who were accepted but had to defer or turn down their slots due to finances are encouraged by admissions to knock out their GE creds at community college and then transfer in. So the assumption that someone who attended a community college is somehow “less than” is incorrect. </p>
<p>What is often factored into the equation is the attitude of the applicant and their “fit” within the campus culture. So starting out dismissive about your potential classmates would be a red flag in a process that sees more applicants than slots.</p>
<p>A good perspective is to focus on your strengths and improve the gpa rather than deride others with the same dream. A 3.2 from BC is not considered strong “transfer” performance even if that is acceptable threshhold for a universities existing students. And you probably aren’t competing with the “3.6’s” - you’re probably competing against a lot of 4.0’s.</p>
<p>Attitude is everything.</p>
<p>Then why is USC accepting all of these community college and transfer students in the first place if they are not going to be making any money of them or benefiting? Aren’t we always talking about how USC it too big, should become more selective, doesn’t have enough housing, etc? My original question had nothing to do with community college students it was simply this: If the school is already too big, what benefit does USC gain by accepting transfer students from lesser institutions, and does this benefit affect the kids applying, either for or against them?</p>
<p>I think your question doesn’t bode well for your future because you appear stuck on putting people into “better than” and “less than” buckets to bolster your case. Absent of any qualitative data, you can’t be sure what those stats really mean. You don’t know anything about the people that are included in those stats.</p>
<p>Again - USC isn’t “making” money off any of the students they accept even as Freshman. The tuition even for full-pays does not completely cover the cost of operations. Hence fundraising. And some of the donors may have also put stipulations on how their money is to be allocated. Certainly I designate dollars for scholarships at my alma mater. But some of my peers make their bequests more specific.</p>
<p>Here’s the deal. As a private institution, USC can take whomever it wants and under what ever circumstances it wants. It has many more applicants than slots and can afford to be choosy. And this year USC turned tens of thousands of qualified applicants away. Some may have made the calculation that knocking out GE’s at a community college was a way to save money (considerable cost differential between the two) and jump in just as many majors are ramping up the degree requirements. Frankly, it’s a risky but smart move for those who don’t have options.</p>
<p>But not everyone can go to a BC (et al.) Without significant aid, many are left only with a CC option (and that includes a lot of middle class students). They’re all bright and capable of doing the work.</p>
<p>USC has many wealthy alum. And frankly - a lot of hard working students who need aid the beginning turn into future donors after graduation. </p>
<p>So you might want to rethink your current position as being a “get into USC with ease” pass. It’s not. What you might want to ask is “what did those students have that makes them attractive - aid or no aid.” I suspect it goes beyond stats. I suspect its their attitude and approach to life.</p>
<p>As it has been stated numerous times, accepting transfer students with a PROVEN college record of success helps USC maintain and improve its graduation rate. Students go to community college for many reasons and their success (high college GPA) is valued.</p>
<p>“Yes most transfers wear a scarlet letter at USC”</p>
<p>No they don’t. That’s total bs.</p>
<p>I believe we can all agree that general ed requirements and classes at community colleges are vastly inferior as compared to a four year institution like USC and BC. Therefore, the argument of knocking out general education courses is unpersuasive because of inferior classes that truly handicap transfer students entering USC. That’s why transfer students should be required to retake most of their classes, especially in math, English, foreign language, etc. </p>
<p>Sent from my SGH-T989 using CC</p>
<p>I’m not sure where you get your information, but it’s almost always based on conjecture. See the world the way it is, not the way you want it to be to fit some script.</p>
<p>I’ve worked with students from CC’s who are brilliant and some who are not. But the same applies to universities. Professors can provide content, but it is the student who does the learning. And most top individuals realize not all learning is regurgitating what you get in class.</p>
<p>And - for the record - quite a few instructors at Community Colleges work - or have worked - in the industry. So try to stop with the “my education is vastly superior to everyone else’s” schtick. It’s not helpful and in most cases it’s not even close to accurate.</p>
<p>If CC’s were “vastly” inferior, CA colleges and universities wouldn’t be allowing students to do it.</p>
<p>And that’s precisely why HYSP and other elite schools accept very few transfers from cc’s. </p>
<p>Sent from my SGH-T989 using CC</p>
<p>Actually, it has more to do with being full and the huge amount of requests for the few slots that open. </p>
<p>But if you want to keep destroying the dreams of people who have to choose CC as a place to start because they can’t afford the $50K bill at USC go ahead. It’s a free world. That’s why I suggest students get their information directly from each college admissions office rather than an anonymous discussion board. Caveat Emptor.</p>