<p>I know, personally, having to deal with what seems to be the rather arbitrary process at USC has left me with a sour impression of the school as a whole. I have decent stats by real life standards, average stats on CC (SATs over 2200; 3.7 uw gpa; great ECs; even better recs/essays), but I've yet to hear anything other than being part of the mass PA/NJ update to "in review with the admissions committee" that happened in early March. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that I applied to a unique major in Thornton, maybe it doesn't, but between the status updates, the complicated application process, and the lack of participation with IDOC, USC has dropped from my number one choice to a school that I may simply consider if I do ever get in. I can't help but compare it in my mind to another school, one I was able to fall in love with after the convoluted and eye opening process at USC: Wellesley. Here I found a free, easy to complete application, full participation with College board on financial aid, and a likely letter in February that gave me time to process my choice. I've almost set my mind 100% on attending this school (which in the end, is a much better fit for me than USC would have been...cue "everything happens for a reason" adage), but I can't help but think that I'm not the only one who has turned from USC in this process. Share?</p>
<p>likeawillow: Yes, my d is in the same boat as you in regards to USC, but she has already been down this road before...With UMich, she crossed it off the list before her decision even came due to their bizarre admissions season in the fall (and my d's stats were not even at the top of the NJ kids who were deferred with ridiculous stats).....I think that the process at large schools with many.many applicants tends to be more stressful; in addition, as we were discussing in my house last night, we don't really understand these schools with their "waves" of acceptances:</p>
<p>We totally understand the scholarship wave, but beyond that, all the waves do is cause anxiety...</p>
<p>We were not involved in the UFlorida process, but why were they able to have a single admission date while these other large schools have these waves???? USC is not a rolling admissions school, why do they have rolling acceptances? It defies logic.....</p>
<p>I'm the complete opposite of you. at the beginning of the application process, USC was my number one. then as i took a look at costs and reading the forum about the UCs, it fell to my number three. but i never took a look at USC's forum. once i did it quickly ran but up to my number one. the minute i get my acceptance package, i'll be on the net putting down my deposit.
yea sure there have been times when my hopes fell drastically i.e. when everyone in the SoCal area were reporting their receiving of the acceptance package and i didn't no matter how hard i willed it to come. but that makes me all the more determined to get into USC - perhaps i'm not the greatest applicant so what, if i get in, i'm getting the chance of a lifetime and i'm going to take full advantage of it. if i dont get in, USC will be hearing from me regarding their grad school in a few of years.</p>
<p>Yeah, for me USC has slowly climbed to the number one spot.</p>
<p>trip: No, you misunderstood...It is definitely still in the "top group" (my daugher won't commit to a top school until admittances are all on the table)....</p>
<p>But, I understand the frustration having been through it before.....Believe it or not, USC, even with the status issue, is still more logical to me than the UMich deal was......(or maybe I have just come to expect this....who knows...)</p>
<p>USC has 30,000+ kids to sort through. Sure they had ~3 months and it's there job to sort it out, but they made no promises. It says they'll mail on April 1, so despite our tendancy to hope for the "waves" to come through, it's unprecedented and we can't seem to lock a pattern when only 1 or 2 came out.</p>
<p>It has slowly beaten out UCLA as number one for me, that is even if I get in either schools.</p>
<p>I think USC is a great school and it is my daughter's number 1 choice due to many factors but Wellesley is also awesome! The fact that it is a small school will make it much more intimate (from application procedures to graduation).</p>
<p>First of all, really think about Wellesley. My son is a freshman in college and some of his friends from his large public high school in California headed to women's colleges on the East Coast including Wellesley. Most are highly tentative or regret their decision so much that they are looking at transferring. The bottom line is that it is hard to meet guys (if that is one aspect of college life that you're interested in) and interact with them naturally as part of "normal life." The cold weather makes it harder to get out and head over to another college where there might be a party or whatever to meet guys. Although this might not seem important now, the girls who headed to womens' colleges are comparing their experiences with their friends' experiences and feel their college social life does not compare well. </p>
<p>Just take the time to compare all your choices in April when all the answers come in. You will be surprised how your emotions will change from now until May 1.</p>
<p>I have another son applying to USC this year. He refuses to speak about number one choices after seeing his brother last year have a number one choice that didn't pan out. So, he is adopting a wait and see attitude. </p>
<p>And, we need to give USC a break. They are a big school with so many applications. The longer they take to decide, the more consideration they are giving to each and every application. After all the hours my son put into his application (he applied to the Film School - lots more work) I would expect them to have time to at least read it thoroughly.</p>
<p>First, Wellesley and USC are two very different types of schools. You should wait until you have all of your acceptances before making any final decisions. I know the wait is hard until you hear from USC.</p>
<p>I am guessing that the first wave was the top 1-2% of the applicant pool which invited prospective students to interview for the top scholarships. I am also guessing that the next wave is with legacy and/or NMF. And so on and so on. It seems reasonable, given that the Trojan Alumni network is strong, that legacy is a factor and NMF is also a factor to attract top students. </p>
<p>Wait until you have all of your acceptances before you decide.</p>
<p>@like<em>a</em>willow:
I do understand your anxiety and bitterness about the process. Some schools are against rolling decisions for exactly that reason. But we have to look at it from their side - tons of applications to deal with and yes sometimes the process may not be rational or logical and wrong decisions will surely be made. </p>
<p>But you should keep your opinion of USC open until you hear from them in the next few weeks. USC was not top on my list, but after getting admit in the last wave (late Feb) I have sent a lot of emails and a couple of calls to their Fin aid to clarify if they got my Fin Aid docs. Everyone of them has promptly replied the emails in a very courteous manner and provided an accurate answer within a few hours. I was amazed at how they could handle such a load of emails and calls and not loose patience. Even the top guys there reply to emails. Actually the way they have responded has made USC climb higher in my list.</p>
<p>So keep your fingers crossed and goodluck!!</p>
<p>USC application process was cake compared to the essays and financial aid app that PENN wanted ....</p>
<p>Sounds like our kids are applying to the same schools :)-. We found Wellesley to be simple and straightforward but they do not post much on the web -- also it is easier to process 3000 apps as compared to 30000. Michigan has been disappointing with mixed messages & no communication since Dec to defered kids. Similar experience with BU. In comparison, USC has not been so bad IMHO.</p>
<p>The best experience was with UIUC -- they specified 2 dates Dec 15th and Feb 15th and down to the minute 3PM. They stuck to the dates and everyone had their decision on time. Also, they had the best website, updates on the site and proactive blogs from adcoms. If the admissions process is anything to go by, UIUC has to be the best managed university in the US.</p>
<p>D did not expect to hear from USC so soon. D did not apply to Wellesley EA, but RD. However, USC showed DD the love first, so lately DD has been signing "TrojanGirl" when she's leaving me a postnote. :D. She is still waiting for a lot of schools with no interim update like USC. USC should not be penalized for giving students/parents updated information. A lot schools do not even let you know anything until final acceptance.</p>
<p>CUPKSDAD - UIUC seems good but i know SEVERAL people who were outright rejected because the didnt complete their application. They were not informed about that at all and the only thing missing from their app was something stupid like SAT or TOEFL scores which can be sent over orally in a matter of seconds and a few days by collegeboard.
Every student has the right to be informed about the status of their application and also be given sometime to send missing material. I dont mind waiting two whole months longer and going through an entire nerve-wracking process if it ensures im given fair consideration as a student.</p>
<p>I agree with Columbia. USC could just as well have done nothing at all, and simply emailed the acceptances or denials, or even just instructed applicants to check for decisions online. Instead they do it this way with status updates, and mail the acceptance packages in nice folders and all sorts of info. Think about it. 30000 applications is a lot to deal with.
I've also found that USC is very accomodating and flexible during the application process. Their website specifically informs applicants to let them know if there are any glitches, application online problems, breakdowns, or anything else..and that they will do their best to make everything go smoothly. Plus, when making phone calls about this or that concern, I've always found the staff to be helpful and friendly.</p>
<p>Yeah, USC is awesome. None of my other colleges give me anything to go by. It's really made me want to go there more.</p>
<p>I think if they had an admissions blog they could save themselves lots of confused phone calls. Chapman does that, and it was so nice to know that there were real people (who even had a sense of humor!) letting us know that they were working really hard to get decisions out. When people would ask about a status message or something, they'd post the answer on there for everyone to see. Here is the link: [url=<a href="http://chappenings.blogspot.com/%5DChappenings%5B/url">http://chappenings.blogspot.com/]Chappenings[/url</a>] . I realize that USC's volume is so huge, but adding a personal touch like this could really help to settle everyone's nerves!</p>
<p>I agree with timely that a blog would add a personal touch to see that there are real people working hard at the other end. MIT admissions has blogs and it's full of humor and reality checks clarifying what is going on.</p>
<p>For example all the discussions here about the status changes and what it means could be clarified with blogs. Considering USC is awesome in handling emails and phone calls (haven't found any other school close to it) they could open up their process and explain what is going on behind the scenes on a daily basis.</p>
<p>Wow, maybe there aren't as many people on here who are as disillusioned as I've become as I thought ;) That's definitely a positive, though, USC is going to be blessed with a new class that is truly thrilled to be a part of the Trojan family.</p>
<p>To those who've commented that perhaps I should consider the size of SC before judging their process and making a decision, I can only say that size, in the end, did become one of the most important criterion on my list. As many posters have pointed out, Wellesley has only 3,000 apps to process, certainly not the 30,000 of 'SC. That small, self selected applicant pool, and the personalized attention that follows, though, ended up being exactly what appeals to me. When I really sat down and thought about myself, my college list, and the opportunities I wanted to have, I realized I should have focused on small liberal arts colleges all along. I'm not saying this is the correct choice for everyone, but it is the correct choice for me. I think it's interesting that in part it was the admissions process itself that opened up my eyes.</p>
<p>And thank you to reydel for bringing up very important arguments for anyone considering a women's college. I would be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy being around guys, and luckily, I've never had a problem with them wanting to be around me, either. I'm going to college first and foremost for academics, though. I'm just not the sort of girl who would ever trade opportunities for a better dating scene (but more power to the girls you mentioned who transfered; they went for the option that was best for them and there's not a thing in the world wrong with that.)</p>
<p>Now, let's step away away from what was meant to be merely an example of my own disillusionment...and what became a defense of my choices... and back to the topic at hand: your own feelings on the USC system. I have to say, I'm very impressed with all of you who seemed to know all along what applying to a large university meant and are now simply rolling with those punches. You know yourselves, and the environment you thrive in, very well. I'm glad I was able to find that for myself, too.</p>