Hi! I hope someone can help me with a few questions I have about USC. I’m really curious about my chances of gaining acceptance for the fall of 2016. First, I’ll tell a little bit about myself. I am a current junior in high school, and my cumulative weighted GPA is a 4.3. I hope to continue the upward trend for the remainder of this year and into next year. I just took my SATs for the first time – didn’t do as well as I hoped – 1310/1600; 1900/2400. I am really involved in my schools extracurriculars. I am a part of the Science Olympiad, Academic Bowl, and Spanish Club. I am also a part of a nationally-ranked “TEAMS” (Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science) team (3rd & 9th in nation). I am a member of my school’s chapter of the National Honor Society. I recently won an art award from the Scholastic Art and Writing Competition. It earned significant recognition - 2 Gold Keys, 2 American Vision Awards, an article in Scholastic’s magazine, etc. I have also taken 5 APs/7 honors courses up to this point, and am scheduled for 5 more APs for next year (senior year). I also won the National Spanish Exam’s Junior Travel Award, an award in which recipients travel to a Spanish-speaking country for 1 week, all expenses paid. I was one of 24 in the nation. Also, I am a two-sport varsity athlete: football and basketball. I volunteer at three organizations in my free time. I think that covers most of it. I am seeking any insight from current/past students, or simply anyone who has some sort of knowledge of the admissions criteria. Any tips? How do I stand based on my current grades/scores/extracurriculars? I am not a resident of California.
If you can raise the test score significantly, you will have a good shot. Everything else looks good. A 1900 sat won’t cut it, but the good news is that you have plenty of time to take the test again and improve your score. Check the upcoming sat/act test dates, sign up for all of them (especially give the act a shot. you may naturally do better since it is a bit different) and STUDY for them as much as possible. Not sure how, I never did, but I’ve heard of books/online programs that are a significant help.
You can find up-to-date admissions stats for USC here: https://about.usc.edu/files/2014/10/USCFreshmanProfile.2014.pdf
It will give you an idea of what score you need.
Looks like at least a 2000 sat or 30 act to be competitive.
Good luck!
This is what they are looking for and apply to the easiest school (probably Dorn) to get into.
A few facts about this fall’s admitted freshman class:
Approximately 52,000 first-year applicants for 2,770 places in our fall entering class
17.5% admission rate
3,200 different high schools represented from all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and 77 other countries
44% from California
Outside California, the most represented states are Texas, New York, Illinois, Washington, Florida, New Jersey and Arizona
14% are international students. The most represented places of origin are China, India, South Korea, Canada, Singapore and Taiwan
1-in-8 is the first in his or her family to attend college
64% are African American, Latino, Native American, Asian, Pacific Islander or multi-ethnic
The average un-weighted GPA, on a 4-point scale, is 3.83
29% of admits have perfect un-weighted GPAs of 4.0
50% of admits enrolled in 8 or more AP courses while in high school
77% had standardized test scores in the 95th percentile or higher; nearly 3,500 had standardized test scores in the 99th percentile.
That is totally untrue. I had a super scored SAT of 1920 and I was admitted. Granted I had a really strong transcript, which showed I was way more capable than SATs indicated, but still, SATs are not the only factor in your application. Have really strong essays, I think that’s what helped me, and if you have ANY questions about the application process/ stuff that is required, contact the admissions counsellor for your area. They are the first people to look at your application. If there has already been communication with them, then they may remember you by the time they come to reading your application and swing in your favour. I’m not saying that will get you in, by all means re take your SATs, but its worth knowing that there were plenty of applicants this year with crazy high SATs that got rejected. USC, as with any college, can usually tell if you would be a good fit. Good Luck
Yeah, while scores and grades are important, so are other factors (Essay!). I got an 1890 on my SAT and was admitted this April. However, I had other things to back up my intelligence, that didn’t involve standardized tests. If you can score higher on the SAT, of course go for it! I’m not going to say not to. Everything helps. But, keep in my mind, just because you score higher, doesn’t guarantee you a spot. Like Internat2019 said, there were plenty of people who had crazy high scores and were rejected. It is a holistic process.
But, you have really great extracurriculars. Just give your all on that essay, and make sure you show that you really want to go to USC through your supplements!
@Internat2019 and @20Lourdes15 It would be helpful if you looked at my post, which was taken from the USC website, and state where you fell into those various demographics and also what school within USC you were accepted. Thanks.
I can’t tell you where I fell in the GPA demographic because I am an international student, and we have a totally different system based on national exams everyone takes in grades 10,11 and 12. I can tell you I have had As and A*s in grades 10 and 11 (haven’t done my 12 exams yet), except one C in Bio last year. I don’t really know what that equates to, but that is what I have! I applied to Annenberg first choice and Dornslife second and was admitted to Annenberg. I am white, both my parents went to college, and ‘AP classes’ do not exist in our system, as our Grade 11/12 classes are already close to college level (you have to achieve a B in your final year to place out of some required classes at USC). Hope this helps!
@Mom613 I had a 3.6 UW and 4.2 W GPA. I didn’t take any APs. However, I took all of my classes during my junior and senior years at a community college. I’m American and outside of California. I’m black and not first generation. I hope that helped. Oh, and I was accepted to Annenberg (first and only choice).
Just an update: I just received my most recent SATs scores. I got a 2130. I am hoping this score will benefit my chances of admittance.