Hi guys,
I recently got rejected as a junior Annenberg Communication transfer to USC, and I’ve decided to appeal my decision. USC has been my dream school for quite a while, and I don’t want to give up. Although chances that an appeal will be overturned may be slim, I’ll continue to fight on.
After looking at my recent and past applications, my biggest weakness was my GPA (3.63). I was hoping to draft a strong, passionate appeal that would help overcome it. Since this is my final attempt, I would really appreciate any advice that would help me in my appeal.
For those who have been successful in your appeals, what did you guys touch on (e.g. weaknesses? passion, etc?), how have you structured your appeal and what approach did you take? (e.g. were your appeals more story like or direct?)
I know there are countless appeal threads out there already, but I haven’t found one that details any advice and successes that people can discuss and take a look at to help them in their appeals. I hope that this thread would not only help me but also those who are as passionate about the school as I am.
What is the new or significant information that you will be basing your appeal on? An appeal isn’t just a reevaluation of the application that they already rejected.
I’m appealing my rejection for Annenberg - PR as well. You should be mentioning NEW and COMPELLING information. It should be things that aren’t mentioned in your application and it should be crucial detail. They’re very thorough when deciding their admits so if you’re just going to mention that you’re really sad about your rejection to your dream school then it’s not going to be good enough.
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I recently got accepted as an appeal student at USC for the class of 2024. I, just like you, knew what the negative part of my application was-- my GPA. In my appeal I let them know straight off the bat that USC has been my dream for some time now and promised to convince them that it should be my reality.
Next I went into detail about why my gpa was lower than average (I moved internationally in my sophomore year and that affected me throughout the entirety of my high school career). there were other things that made my application look weaker than it actually was, but I won’t go in depth. just make sure that you have sensible explanations for whatever your reasons for appealing are.
At the end, clarify yet again that USC is your dream and you would most certainly go if accepted.
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@gabriellean - How long was the process from the time you submitted your appeal until the time you received admission? Thank you!
Regular admissions has an appeal process and expected date which is usually around May 10th. Transfers don’t so it is more random.
I’ve been denied admission after my appeal. I have new info that wasn’t on my app. Where/which email address do I send it to?
@transfer2024 I submitted my appeal on the 8th of April and received a decision on the 8th of May, so it was a one month wait process
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@mamawang I don’t know if it’s different for transfer appeals, but for freshmen there’s a section on the home page of your application portal that says “click here to appeal your decision” or something to that effect. upload it there, don’t email. only email if that button isn’t available, and in such a case, you can email your admissions officer
@gabriellean - thank you, are you are transfering as a Junior?
@transfer2024 no problem, and no I appealed as a freshman applicant. I don’t know how different the processes are (if they even are different, which I doubt) but I’m just sharing my experience to try and help 
Totally different processes. Freshman cycle has a process and find out a month later. Transfers do not have a formal process and can find out 2-3 months later. In the last 10 years, there was one year where a couple transfer appeals were successful, the rest of the years zero were successful. Try if you feel strongly to do so, but go in with realistic expectations so you don’t miss other opportunities.
@CADREAMIN - I am pursuing my admission at a UC per your earlier advice, but as previously mentoned - I did appeal USC on May 26th. Even though my portal shows my appeal was submidded successfully, I am taking the advice of another student on this thread and have emailed my appeal to my USC admissions counselor at my CC so just to be sure it gets passed to the Appeals Committee. My counselor not responded to my email acknowleding receipt of my appeal and truth be told he has not been super helpful in the whole transfer process. **Here’s where I need your advice: should I also e-mail my admission counselor from my high school years to “be safe” or do I just be patient and wait without a response from him? Thank you for your help!
Instructions have always said to send it to your advisor so that is a must. Just because you upload something to your portal doesn’t mean anyone is looking at it there. It really won’t hurt to send it to another counselor, that’s actually a pretty good idea. Frankly, some counselors just ignore transfer appeals because it is such a low priority (to them) or they have been told none are going to be overturned this year. So the harsh reality is, they don’t owe anyone a response on them and if they aren’t accepting you anyway, they don’t care. They state there is no process for them, so there are plenty of times the student will not get a response at all and just move on. Sending to the other counselor is certainly ok, and can’t hurt. But just understand you may not hear anything - they are not obligated to respond. It would be nice if they do, but they may feel things are done.
Great on the UC, you certainly can’t stand still waiting for USC. It could be months and still be a no, or you may not hear at all. So keep moving forward and hope for the best and make it the best!
Hey there, just wanted to reach out and say that I am a transfer applicant that was rejected and went through the appeal process. My appeal was successful and I got into USC. I am in shock but so so happy. I took the two weeks after receiving my rejection to think about my situation. I found the new information and dived deep and explained how hard I worked for this and how I was very ready for a more rigorous program. I told them I intended to work hard and remain consistent and I also explained very very briefly why I hadn’t done well to begin with. I also told them it would be a mistake to overlook me because one day I would be very successful and that I was certain I could bring great honor to their school of accepted. I was polite, quick, and to the point. I was passionate and direct in my appeal letter. I followed the directions and included a cover letter with a my name DOB and name of school. I also kept it to one page though I used 11-point font and embarrassingly small margins. I signed it with my name at the end and I addressed it to the person who wrote my admission decision with my rejection. I literally start crying thinking about how I got in. This a dream come true. And I will mention I did get into a few other great schools and was willing to raise my grades there and work really hard and just try to attend grad school at USC later on. So please don’t ever give up or think it’s too late!!!
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@Sammiezee - thank you for sharing your experience for those of us that have also appealed. Do you mind sharing the timeline of when you submitted your appeal and when you received a response? I submitted an appeal on May 26th and I am still waiting!! Thank you for your help!
I don’t mind sharing anything at all that may help. I know how agonizing not knowing can be. I received my admission decision Friday May 22nd. I was given two weeks to respond and sent in my appeal Friday June 5th. I received the decision for my appeal at 5pm California time (in on the east coast) exactly three weeks later. I received two emails, one that said my appeal was successful and one to check my new status update on the USC portal.
@Sammiezee - thank you for giving me hope! This Wednesday, July 1st will be 5 weeks. I am hoping to hear in the next few weeks! Congratulation on your admission! Best of Luck!
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My USC CC Admission Counselor is always very short with their responses: one sentence responses and always to the point - does everyone else experience that also?
To those transfers that appealed - has anyone (other than those that posted) heard anything?