USC 2019-2020 Transfer Students STATS & DECISIONS ONLY

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
61

Accepted - Undecided

STATS:

College Transferring From/Type: Saddleback College (CC in Mission Viejo, CA)
Entering As: TBD
GPA: 4.0
Units Completed/Degree: 44 Credits/No degree - Just transferring
Units in Progress: 13
GE Completed/How did USC evaluate your college coursework?: TBD

Experiences (Extracurricular, job/work, volunteer, awards, etc.):

  • Veteran (High performing Marine)
  • Leadership Scholar Program

Short Answers (describe yourself, favorite food, etc.):

  • Three words: Detailed, Keen, Energetic

Letters of Recommendation:

  • Letter from my commanding officer (A Captain who majored in English)
  • Letter from an English Professor (USC Alumni)

Unique-OPTIONAL (race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, military, disability, legacy/related to USC alumni, employee, etc., extraordinary situation, experience, talent, etc.):

  • First Generation, Hispanic, Returning Adult, Veteran

Finances-OPTIONAL (low income or high income? can you pay? etc.)

  • School will be paid for by the G.I Bill and the Yellow Ribbon Program

Location-OPTIONAL (where do you hail from/reside? State, country, etc.):

  • Lake Elsinore, CA

Schools Applied To:

Only USC

QUESTIONS:

  1. Were you surprised by the results?
  • Yes and No. I knew my GPA and background would impress the counselors, but I wasnā€™t too sure if my coursework would satisfy the schools I applied to. As a result, I didnā€™t get into my school of choice (right away), but I got in as an ā€œOpen/Undecided majorā€
  1. What do you think was your biggest strength/what got you in?
  2. Being in the Leadership Scholar Program.
  3. Did you have any help with the application?
  4. No
  5. Are you going to attend? Why or why not?
  6. Absolutely.
  7. Is USC your first choice?
  8. Yes, it was my only choice.
  9. Did you submit/did the materials (transcripts, etc.) arrive on, before, or the deadline?
  10. I submitted everything before the deadline, but they arrived shortly after (Which is okay). However, one of my transcripts wasn't received so I had to resend it nearly a month after the application deadline.
62

I posted my stats a while back, and cannot go back and edit themā€¦ BUUTTTTTT I was rejected.
Here are my stats again
College Transferring From/Type: Bakersfield College
Entering As: Junior
GPA: 4.0
Units Completed/Degree: 41
Units in Progress: 19
Major: Business Administration (Marshall)
Alternate Major : Political Science (Dornsife)
GE Completed: All by the time I graduate, currently taking Business Calc and the Writing Requirement

Experiences (Extracurricular, job/work, volunteer, awards, etc.): FBLA (went and placed at nationals), Volunteer at a local organization talked about helping an ordinance pass, Board position (social media marketing chair at a local association), Internship a local office where i do marketing, ASB President , Organized a leadership conference to encourage political activism in my town, fast food job, tutor, uploaded a certificate for an online financial academy I completed
Some other little things here and there.

Letters of Recommendation: One letter of rec from my Economics professor
Unique-OPTIONAL (race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, military, disability, legacy/related to USC alumni, employee, etc., extraordinary situation, experience, talent, etc.): Mexican, first generation, parents are fieldworkers

Location-OPTIONAL (where do you hail from/reside? State, country, etc.): Central Valley

Schools Applied To: UCLA, UCSD, USC, UCB, UCD.
Rejected TO: All besides UCD, and UCSD

63

Stats only thread please. Discussions should be in transfer thread.

64

[GREEN/BOLD]: Accepted - Dornsife/International Relations

STATS:

College Transferring From/Type: Community College

Entering As: Not sure yet

GPA: 3.59

Units Completed/Degree: 49

Units in Progress: 0

GE Completed/How did USC evaluate your college coursework?: N/A

Experiences (Extracurricular, job/work, volunteer, awards, etc.): I work part-time, I volunteered at a Hospital in high school, I was part of a club that organized forums for people to talk about social issues, volunteer trips, fashion and talent shows, and other things like that, I was on the deans list my first year of college and this year Iā€™m on presidentā€™s list.
Common App Essays Description (subject/prompt & response):

Please provide a statement that addresses your reasons for transferring and the objectives you hope to achieve: I wrote about how I had a challenging time in high school since I would get sick very frequently. I then talked about how I was able to overcome it junior/senior year. I also wrote about how I got into all the schools I applied to but was not able to afford it in the end.

What is something about yourself that is essential to understanding you?: In this essay, I wrote about my personality a little bit, but then I wrote about how to understand me entirely is to understand who I have supporting me and wrote about my amazing friends and family since they are the ones that have shaped me to who I am today.

Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests at USC. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections: For this one, I just wrote about how it took me forever to choose my major, how USC is the best option for my major. I wrote about specific programs that I wanted to take part in and how they would help me in life.

Short Answers (describe yourself, favorite food, etc.):

Describe yourself in 3 words: Inquisitive, Caring, Ambitious

Favorite Snack: Dried seaweed

Dream Job: one that involves travel

Place you are most content: At home with my family.

Letters of Recommendation: 0

Unique-OPTIONAL (race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, military, disability, legacy/related to USC alumni, employee, etc., extraordinary situation, experience, talent, etc.):

  • First Generation, Black, Female

Finances-OPTIONAL (low income or high income? can you pay? etc.)

  • Low income, hopefully, financial aid comes through

Location-OPTIONAL (where do you hail from/reside? State, country, etc.):

  • Atlanta, Ga

Schools Applied To: USC, the University of Denver ( Accepted by both)

QUESTIONS:

  1. Were you surprised by the results?
  • Yes, I knew that GPA wasnā€™t that bad, but I always thought you had to have like a 4.0 to get in since it is such a hard school to get in too.
  1. What do you think was your biggest strength/what got you in?
  • I am not sure. I think getting all Aā€™s this last semester may have helped my chance since I sent my spring transcripts as soon as they came out without them asking for it. I also took some honors classes which may have helped.
  1. Did you have any help with the application?
  • My sister and friends helped me by critiquing my essays.
  1. Are you going to attend? Why or why not?
  • If I can pay for it
  1. Is USC your first choice?
  • Yes
  1. Did you submit/did the materials (transcripts, etc.) arrive on, before, or the deadline?
  • The only things I didnā€™t have in by the deadline was my CSS profile and my high school transcript
65

[GREEN/BOLD]: Accepted FALL 2019

  • Viterbi Civil Engineering -Structural
    Decision Date and Time- June 10, 2019 7:19 PM

STATS:

College Transferring From/Type: University Illinois Chicago (UIC)

Entering As: junior

GPA: 3.80 (4.0 spring)

Units Completed/Degree: 63

Experiences:

Demolition laborer. (construction labor)
CAD Drafter Intern. (Developed Chicagoā€™s 5G wireless infrastructure network. I drafted pole elevations with proposed equipment. Full time summer & winter break, and part time during fall semester)
Turner Intern (Construction Engineer, Assigned to Willis tower project with new 500 mill$ renovation project)

Common App Essays Description: I explained how UIC is not the right school for me as I thrive for challenges it cannot offer. Although UIC is ā€œalrightā€, it does not have a CEE faculty, alumni, or even a laboratory like USC does. I explained my succesfull internships and how I can succeed in the LA network as well.

Letters of Recommendation: 2?
Statics & Intro Solids Profrssor (same professor for 2 semesters) - I scored 100% on all midterms/finals, where average AND median of class was 50-60. I dead ass did EVERY SINGLE PROBLEM IN THE BOOK. I made extremely close connection and he wrote me a very very strong letter.
Internship Supervisor? -I dont know if he even wrote it. He never submitted it on common app, and when I urged him to mail it in person, he never responded. So idk, pretty upset since this is the internship i worked summer-fall-winterā€¦

Unique: (race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, military, disability, legacy/related to USC alumni, employee, etc., extraordinary situation, experience, talent, etc.): Mexican, very low income

Location: Chicago

Other (anything else?): My other essays were very unique. I prefer not sharing

Schools Applied To: USC, U of I
Accepted:
USC, U of I

QUESTIONS:

  1. Were you surprised by the results?
    Yes. especially I got in for Fall this late!
  1. What do you think was your biggest strength/what got you in? Internship, GPA, Letter of Rec
  2. Did you have any help with the application? several proof reads
  3. Are you going to attend? Why or why not? U of I is ranked 2nd in nation for Civil Engineering. Also, they are having new program for free tuition to in state students below certain income, which I qualified for. IF USC's award letter can at least come close to this, then yes. I applied to many other scholarships (internal and external) so I really do hope I get something good in my award letter. If not, I am emailing USC about my circumstance. Also, I am def going for my masters in structural engineering. I will try again, for the third time, to attend USC for graduate school. I will hopefully then have something better to offer, and prove how dedicated, and how succesful I can be at USC. I will work even damn harder at U of I to show how bad I want to go to USC for masters
  4. Is USC your first choice? Yes!!
  5. Did you submit/did the materials (transcripts, etc.) arrive on, before, or the deadline? I submitted all materials before he deadline, without the 2nd letter of rec.. SGR like last week, and sent my transcipt via snapshot next day.
66

Accepted - Viterbi/Mechanical Engineering
Decision Time: May 31, 2019 7 PM

STATS:

Transferring from a community college in Houston, Texas
Entering as a Junior
GPA: 4.0/4.0
Completed an Associate of Science degree
USC took 56 of my credits
Experiences: Committee chair in Phi Theta Kappa, recruitment team for the honors college, social media coordinator for our physics engineering and math society, award-winning delegate on the UNFCCC COP committee at the National Model UN conference in New York, Chosen out of 13,000 students to go to the Hispanic Association of Colleges and universities in Atlanta, nominated to presented undergraduate research in the honors college twice (didnā€™t advance to regionals though), heavy involvement in the Student Government Association. Senator position then an executive position. Lots of initiatives to restore the campus after a natural disaster hit ranging from recruitment to revamping legislative documents.

Internships/employment: Volunteered/interned for several state officials, employed as a real estate agent, employed for a state official, over 1000+ volunteer hours. Worked as a manager for an auto glass shop as well.

Personal Statement:
Personal statement revolved around a tragedy that occurred in my late high school years, that not only made life harder in various ways but shook me out of apathy. However, it was too late to correct grades, so went on to community college. The second theme revolved around a childhood hero - Batman, only to realize I was correlating this hero to my absent father (the person the tragedy revolved around.) Tied it together talking about the parallels between Batman and engineers, and ultimately, how I learned to be myself, and not anyone else and how I wanted to help others.

Supplementals:
I chose the prompt about learning from different backgrounds: I spoke about how my introduction to volunteering in politics occurred, and how it opened my eyes since the candidate was not of my own personal beliefs.

For my academic interests, I spoke about how I wanted to take advantage of all of USCā€™s entrepreneurial opportunities as an engineer. I offered some of my solutions to diseases that hit the Latino community a lot.

For the prompt about what I personally want to get out of engineering/comp sci: I told a story, a very seemingly off-topic story, but then delved into it by analysis, and showed that the core value that drives me, is to grow and to be challenged.

For the NAE prompt: I spoke about solar cells, and how they need to become economical. Tied it into climate change, as well as the destruction of my college campus.

Letters of Recommendation: 1 LOR, spoke about my involvement in SGA, PTK, Honors, Politics, NMUN, and my performance in his class.

Unique: Race: Hispanic
Gender: Male
Situation: father and illness

Finances: dirt poor after the illness

Schools applied to:
Stanford, MIT, USC, Ivy League, UT-Austin, TAMU, UH, Embry Riddle Aero, NYU, Rice

QUESTIONS:

  1. Yes, very surprised. I had given up hope.
  1. I think my biggest strength was my resilience given the amount of stuff that happened to me. Additionally, there was a lot of consistency with the climate change theme, and how it ACTUALLY affected my college experience and prompted me to lead.
  2. The only help I received was from a tutor on my Personal statement who corrected errors. Supplementals remained untouched. I discovered some errors in it today.

4.I am going to attend USC. I am drawn to the entrepreneur scene.

  1. Stanford was first choice! I love USC though!
  2. All materials, except for my LOR, arrived on deadline. I submitted my LOR via email 5 days after the deadline.
67

Accepted - Spring 2020
Applied for Annenberg but they admitted me undecided
Date/Time: June 13, 2019 3:17PM

STATS:

College Transferring From/Type: CC in New Jersey
Entering As: TBD
GPA: 3.9
Units Completed/Degree: Completed my AA (65 to graduate but I completed 74 to graduate with honors)
GE Completed/How did USC evaluate your college coursework?: unsure yet

Experiences (Extracurricular, job/work, volunteer, awards, etc.):
Student Government, Chair of the Student Activities Board, helped run a volunteer organization working with special needs children & shelter dogs, Phi Theta Kappa & a member of the honors college, and a few senator & leadership awards.
I also manage a Pilates Studio by me, i started as a sales associate and worked my way up.

Common App Essays Description (subject/prompt & response):
I wrote about some personal struggles I had been through and explained why I thought USC was the best place for me.
Supplemental Essays Description (subject/prompt & response):
Same as before - I was just extremely candid and didnā€™t try to sugar coat anything.

Short Answers (describe yourself, favorite food, etc.):
Describe Myself: Optimistic, Determined, & Witty
I told them I was the most content at Buffalo Wild Wings and that Iā€™m going to binge watch Kitchen Nightmares next.

Letters of Recommendation: My lit professor and my boss of 2+ years.

Unique-OPTIONAL (race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, military, disability, legacy/related to USC alumni, employee, etc., extraordinary situation, experience, talent, etc.):
Iā€™m a Caucasian female & not a first gen. student but I think my situation was kind of different overall and Iā€™m a non-traditional student (22)
Finances-OPTIONAL (low income or high income? can you pay? etc.) - Low/Middle - I definitely need aid to go
Location-OPTIONAL (where do you hail from/reside? State, country, etc.): Northern New Jersey.

Schools Applied To:
University of Miami - Accepted
UNC - Chapel Hill - Accepted
Tulane - Accepted
University of Maryland - Accepted
Rutgers NB - Accepted
Columbia - Waiting
Emory - Rejected
UCLA- Rejected
UCB - Rejected
Northeastern - Rejected

QUESTIONS:

  1. Were you surprised by the results?
    Yes kind of. After I got rejected from the UC Schools, I lost hope pretty much and wasnā€™t very confident in my chances. When I got the e-mail I was prepared for the worst.
  2. What do you think was your biggest strength/what got you in?
    Probably being completely candid about what Iā€™ve been through. Acknowledging my strengths and weaknesses and noting what Iā€™ve overcome and learned from previous situations.
  3. Did you have any help with the application?
    I had people proof read my essays for me.
  4. Are you going to attend? Why or why not?
    Iā€™m hoping too! It depends on the aid that I get from them, but assuming I can afford it, Iā€™ll 100% attend.
  5. Is USC your first choice?
  6. Did you submit/did the materials (transcripts, etc.) arrive on, before, or the deadline?
    Application was submitted before the deadline but my transcripts arrived after. They also gave me an opportunity to submit an essay regarding my gaps in education that was submitted in March/April I think.
68

[ORANGE/BOLD]: Wait-listed/other - (First Choice)- Annenberg for Journalism, (Second choice) Dornsife for Intelligence and Cyber security.
[PINK/BOLD]: Spring Grades Request- SGRā€™D Mid April

STATS:

College Transferring From/Type: CC
Entering As: Sophomore (TTP)
GPA: 3.5
Units Completed/Degree: 31
Units in Progress: 8
GE Completed/How did USC evaluate your college coursework?: 2 Writing Classes finished, Categories A, F, G, H completed, B, C, D, E one more course needed in each, 2 semesters of foreign language and one more to go.
Experiences (Extracurricular, job/work, volunteer, awards, etc.): Media and marketing internship working with Annenberg Graduate Interns
Common App Essays Description (subject/prompt & response): talked about my background and what I learned in my first year, why I wanted to go to USC, what USC offered that other schools did not.
Supplemental Essays Description (subject/prompt & response): Talked about my majors, and personal obstacles.
Short Answers (describe yourself, favorite food, etc.): social, driven, compassionate, guac snd carrots, Topgun.
Letters of Recommendation: My Spanish teacher went to USC, her kids went and she teaches a USC class for professors wanting to get a PhD. She became a mentor and wrote my letter.
Unique-OPTIONAL (race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, military, disability, legacy/related to USC alumni, employee, etc., extraordinary situation, experience, talent, etc.): Legacy
Finances-OPTIONAL (low income or high income? can you pay? etc.) Personal
Location-OPTIONAL (where do you hail from/reside? State, country, etc.): Originally from Europe, but in Southern California for 1/2 my life.
Other (anything else?):
Schools Applied To: Boston University- Accepted
SMU- Accepted

QUESTIONS:

  1. Were you surprised by the results?
  2. What do you think was your biggest strength/what got you in?
  3. Did you have any help with the application? No
  4. Are you going to attend? Why or why not?
  5. Is USC your first choice? Yes
  6. Did you submit/did the materials (transcripts, etc.) arrive on, before, or the deadline? Yes, I sent my spring grades as soon as I could (May 31st), no answer yet though ??.

Comments:

69

Accepted - Computer Science/Viterbi
STATS:

College Transferring From/Type: Cal Poly Pomona
Entering As: Sophmore
GPA: 3.85
Units Completed/Degree: 42
Units in Progress: 3
GE Completed/How did USC evaluate your college coursework?: Still waiting
Experiences (Extracurricular, job/work, volunteer, awards, etc.): Working as bank teller at chase
Common App Essays Description (subject/prompt & response): Talked about the growth Iā€™ve expienced during my first year and that by developing myself Iā€™m gonna yield way more than any school can do
Supplemental Essays Description (subject/prompt & response): general stuff. Talked about some USC programs that would help me
Short Answers (describe yourself, favorite food, etc.): Favorite food was nacho cheese doritos
Letters of Recommendation: My econ teacher who went to USC wrote my rec
Location-Los Angeles county
Schools Applied To:
Only USC
QUESTIONS:

  1. Were you surprised by the results? Yes
  2. What do you think was your biggest strength/what got you in? Didnā€™t give up. I didnt get into the schools I wanted to last year but with some determiantation, I made it happen
  3. Did you have any help with the application? My sister revised my essays
  4. Are you going to attend? Why or why not? Depends on financial aid
  5. Is USC your first choice? Only school I applied to
  6. Did you submit/did the materials (transcripts, etc.) arrive on, before, or the deadline?
    Everything was on time
    Comments:
    hey you looking at this sometime in 2020 waiting for your admissions decision, youā€™re gonna be fine. I spent to much time on college confidential and it didnā€™t yield anything. Work hard on your grind and youā€™ll get what you need to get
70

ACCEPTED via portal 4/14/19
SCA Film and Production major

College Transferring From/Type: Long Beach City College
Entering As: Sophomore
GPA: 3.98
Units Completed/Degree: 63
Units in Progress: 7 when I applied.
GE Completed/How did USC evaluate your college coursework?: not sure
Experiences (Extracurricular, job/work, volunteer, awards, etc.): Top 20% of Academy Nicholl, winner of OCcentric playwrights festival. Winner of Fullerton collegiate playwrights festival. Senate representative of film club. Lead activities committee for sexual assault awareness week. Deans list with great distinction. Production internship. And more.
Common App Essays Description (subject/prompt & response): Was just confident and honest. Talked about why I belonged at USC.
Supplemental Essays Description (subject/prompt & response): Talked about how USC evolved since D. W. Griffith
Short Answers (describe yourself, favorite food, etc.): Lobster. (Movie) City of lost Children. (Song) Settle for Nothingā€”Rage against the Machine.
Letters of Recommendation: Three from different professors.
Unique-OPTIONAL (race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, military, disability, legacy/related to USC alumni, employee, etc., extraordinary situation, experience, talent, etc.): Lesbian and black but didnā€™t include this on app. Lots of music experience playing guitar at festivals
Finances-OPTIONAL (low income or high income? can you pay? etc.)
Location-OPTIONAL (where do you hail from/reside? State, country, etc.): From Michigan but came to California and attended CC to transfer to USC
Other (anything else?):
Schools Applied To: USC or bust.

QUESTIONS:

  1. Were you surprised by the results? Yes. Directing is new to me. Iā€™m more of a screenwriter, so I expected to get into cinema studiesā€”my second choice major
  2. What do you think was your biggest strength/what got you in? My interview went so well the professor thought I was applying for the Graduate program
  3. Did you have any help with the application? No
  4. Are you going to attend? Why or why not? Of course. I moved across country for this.
  5. Is USC your first choice? Yes. It was my only choice
  6. Did you submit/did the materials (transcripts, etc.) arrive on, before, or the deadline? On deadline. The last day.

Comments: Non-TTP and I have three Wā€™s

1 Like
71

Accepted via Portal 6/11/19 - Marshall/Business Administration

College Transferring From: CSU
Entering As: Sophomore
GPA: 3.9
Units Completed/Degree: 39
Units in Progress: 0
GE Completed/How did USC evaluate your college coursework?: Still waiting
Experiences (Extracurricular, job/work, volunteer, awards, etc.): Played a sport, part-time job, volunteered in food related organizations
Common App Essays Description (subject/prompt & response): Talked about how USC would give me challenges allowing me to grow
Supplemental Essays Description (subject/prompt & response): Talked about what I planned to do if accepted into USC
Short Answers (describe yourself, favorite food, etc.): creative
Letters of Recommendation: None
Unique-OPTIONAL (race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, military, disability, legacy/related to USC alumni, employee, etc., extraordinary situation, experience, talent, etc.):
Finances-OPTIONAL (low income or high income? can you pay? etc.)
Location-OPTIONAL (where do you hail from/reside? State, country, etc.): California
Other (anything else?): Non-TTP
Schools Applied To: USC only

72

FOR TRANSFER STUDENTS ONLY. STATS & DECISIONS ONLY

Accepted - Marshall/Business Admin (May 24)

STATS:

College Transferring From/Type: Mid Tier Private University
Entering As: Junior
GPA: 3.6
Units Completed/Degree: 42 units
GE Completed/How did USC evaluate your college coursework?: Only 4 GEs
Experiences (Extracurricular, job/work, volunteer, awards, etc.): Ran the Student-run portfolio team, 3 honor societies, a professional fraternity, Teacher Aid as well, 3 internships.
Common App Essays Description (subject/prompt & response): Wrote about my life, and how I overcame all the problems I had in Highschool and translated it to my current school.
Supplemental Essays Description (subject/prompt & response): Wrote about my experience with a new culture and my adventures around the world. And also wrote about Marshallā€™s facilities and how they will help me reach my goal of working at McKinsey.
Letters of Recommendation: 1 professional (from my Internship boss) and 1 academic (in a class where I got a B-, I spent a lot of office hours with that professor)
Other (anything else?): Anything is possible guys. I had a 2.6 GPA in highschool/24 ACT, and learned from my mistakes. I somehow got into my previous university (letā€™s call it school X) because I poured my heart into my common-app and opened up about all my insecurities that led me to have my 2.6GPA. I promised my parents, school X, and myself that I would do whatever it takes to be the best possible version of myself. I didnā€™t have the best GPA in School X (3.6) but it I was proud of it, and I made sure to write about it in my transfer application that it was my biggest achievement Iā€™ve ever had. Colleges DO read your essays, and they DO look more than just grades. Never give up on your dreams, anything is possible.
Schools Applied To: UT McCombs (accepted), NYU Stern (rejected), Berkley Haas (accepted).

QUESTIONS:

  1. Were you surprised by the results? Yes very surprised
  2. What do you think was your biggest strength/what got you in? My essays 100%
  3. Did you have any help with the application? nope
  4. Are you going to attend? Why or why not? Weā€™ll see. Itā€™s between McCombs and Marshall right now.
  5. Is USC your first choice? No, it was Stern, but I really love LA so it works out for the better.
  6. Did you submit/did the materials (transcripts, etc.) arrive on, before, or the deadline?
    Yeah
    Comments:
    Canā€™t emphasize this more. GRADES ARE NOT EVERYTHING! work hard in building yourself, and your story. Learn that your life is worth more than a number. Yes, grades will get your foot in the door, but itā€™s about who you really are within which will bring you places in life.
73

Accepted - Dornsife (Fall Admit)
Spring Grades Request - No

STATS:

College Type: California Community College
Entering As: Junior
GPA: 3.5
Units Completed: 60+ semester units
Units in Progress: None
GE Completed: Yes
Experiences: Student government and a bit of work experience.
Essays/Short Answers: Iā€™m omitting specific answers because I donā€™t wanna give myself away. My essays were incredibly basic anyway and you wouldnā€™t be able to get anything out of reading them as a prospective applicant. Iā€™ll talk about this more later though.
Letters of Recommendation: I only had one, but it was a very strong letter of recommendation from a faculty member I worked closely with.
Finances: Low income
Location: Northern California
Schools Applied To: USC, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Davis, UC San Diego, UC Irvine, UC Santa Cruz (Accepted into all except LA)

QUESTIONS:
1. Were you surprised by the results? Yes. My GPA is on the lower side and Iā€™m not a unique applicant. I didnā€™t do anything impressive or different. I went into application process with the mindset that I would be as honest and true to myself as possibleā€¦ and if a school didnā€™t like that, then they wouldnā€™t be the school for me. If I can get into USC, then thereā€™s really hope for everyone!
2. What do you think was your biggest strength/what got you in? I think I had very common, but well-written essays. Literally anyone could have written about them, so I tried to be personal and engaging. This is where I focused mainly on the academic side of my application: I made sure to talk about my major + what prompted interest in it, what my presence is like in the classroom, how I would contribute to USCā€™s student body and environment, etc. My short answer questions on the other hand were more reflective of the different facets of my personality. I tried to avoid talking about school as much as possible here. I wanted to show that, although I value education, I also have a life outside of academics and have varying interests and aspirations.
3. Did you have any help with the application? No, I did it on my own and I started and submitted the day of the deadline lol
4. Are you going to attend? Why or why not? No. The main and only reason being that I did not receive any financial aid.
5. Is USC your first choice? Yes. USC and Berkeley were tied for first.
6. Did you submit/did the materials (transcripts, etc.) arrive on, before, or the deadline? Yes. I was very quick about this and always submitted materials as soon as they were requested.
Comments: Like the poster above me stated, grades truly arenā€™t everything. Even if you think your GPA is too low to apply, I would do it anyway if USC is your dream school. Work as hard as you can, be yourself (I think when colleges say that they want you to be yourself they mean it lol), and you should be fine.

74

Accepted - Marshall (Spring Admit)
Spring Grades Request - Yes
STATS:

College Transferring From/Type: California Community College
Entering As: Sophomore (Non-TTP)
GPA: 3.61
Units Completed/Degree: 60 Quarter Units/40 Semester Units
Units in Progress: None
GE Completed/How did USC evaluate your college coursework?: Completed all GEs (all As except for an F, a B+, and an A-) (Prereqs: A in both Writing 150 and Math 118 Business Calc)
Experiences (Extracurricular, job/work, volunteer, awards, etc.): only put a summer job that I had at a restaurant
Common App Essays Description (subject/prompt & response): wrote about how I did not do too well in high school so I made it my goal to work hard at cc and transfer to USC. Talked about how I wanted to transfer to USC because they accepted sophomore transfers unlike UCs which will give me the extra year to network. Talked about the exceptional opportunities at USC (how it combines the pros of small liberal arts colleges and large private universities into one).

Supplemental Essays Description (subject/prompt & response): Talked about how I enjoyed calling the ā€œcar for saleā€ phone numbers while stuck in traffic and striking up a conversation with random strangers. This showed my sense of humor and ability to make boring situations into memorable moments.
Short Answers (describe yourself, favorite food, etc.): Hashtag to describe yourself: #UCLA #Noreregrets
Dream trip: Celebrate New Yearā€™s twice in one day by crossing time zones
Letters of Recommendation: one from my english teacher in cc
Unique-OPTIONAL (race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, military, disability, legacy/related to USC alumni, employee, etc., extraordinary situation, experience, talent, etc.): Wrote a separate note explaining the F that I had received in my first summer quarter at CC.
Finances-OPTIONAL (low income or high income? can you pay? etc.) High income
Location-OPTIONAL (where do you hail from/reside? State, country, etc.): Silicon Valley CA
Other (anything else?):
Schools Applied To: USC or bust baby

QUESTIONS:

  1. Were you surprised by the results? YES! A lot of the odds were not in my favor. My gpa was below the 3.7 average, I got an F, there was a small typo in my essay (put apart instead of a part), and I had a downward trend in gpa after I sent my spring grades.
  2. What do you think was your biggest strength/what got you in? 100% my essay and short answers. I said risky answers and included humor in my writing which truly made me a unique applicant. I tried everything in my power to show myself as someone who has a great sense of humor and loves to try new things.
  3. Did you have any help with the application? Yes. My sister and two of my momā€™s coworkers who are exceptional writers.
  4. Are you going to attend? Why or why not? Absolutely!
  5. Is USC your first choice? Yes
  6. Did you submit/did the materials (transcripts, etc.) arrive on, before, or the deadline? Yes

Comments:
I did not expect to get in as everything in my application seemed to lack when compared to other applicants that I see on college confidential. This goes to show the power that a good essay and short answer can make. Do not slack on them as USC truly takes those into account. Try to stand out, make yourself likable, do not be afraid to say risky answers as one of the main points of the essay is to get to know your personality. BE YOURSELF and stray from the ordinary

75

ACCEPTED - Computer Science

College Transferring From/Type: University of California Merced
Entering As: Sophomore
GPA: 3.97 fall, 3.625 spring
Units Completed/Degree: 59
Units in Progress: N/A
GE Completed/How did USC evaluate your college coursework?: High-level mathematics, physics, and comp. sci. as prerequisites, along with language arts for general ed. Also earned credit for Advanced Placement in High School.
Experiences (Extracurricular, job/work, volunteer, awards, etc.): None of any particular significance.
Common App Essays Description (subject/prompt & response): Attention Deficit Disorder, my hobby as a software developer, etc. Also talked about how UC Merced did not have the courses I wanted (AI/Machine Learning)
Letters of Recommendation: N/A
Unique-OPTIONAL (race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, military, disability, legacy/related to USC alumni, employee, etc., extraordinary situation, experience, talent, etc.): Attention Deficit Disorder.
Location-OPTIONAL (where do you hail from/reside? State, country, etc.): Huntington Beach, CA
Other (anything else?): No.
Schools Applied To: UCSC (Rejected), USC (accepted)

QUESTIONS:

  1. Were you surprised by the results?
    Yes, very. After the rejection from UCSC, I was not confident in my chances. Note that it is apparently much more difficult to transfer between UC campuses.
  1. What do you think was your biggest strength/what got you in? Probably my GPA + number of units I was taking. Also, major-related courses were all A's.
  2. Did you have any help with the application? No.
  3. Are you going to attend? Why or why not? Of course.
  4. Is USC your first choice? Out of the schools I applied to, yes.
  5. Did you submit/did the materials (transcripts, etc.) arrive on, before, or the deadline? Yes, including Spring Grade Request.
76

[GREEN/BOLD]: Accepted - Andrew and Erna Viterbi School of Engineering, Aerospace B.S.

STATS:

College Transferring From/Type: Boston University
Entering As: Sophomore
GPA: 3.7 Cumulative
Units Completed/Degree: 31 completed plus 24 AP credits
Units in Progress: N/A
ACT: 34