<p>Hey everyone. I'm just wondering if anyone is planning on appealing their decision. I know it's mentioned on the yellow FAQ sheet contained alongside the rejection letter. If so, what are you planning on saying/doing? From the yellow sheet, USC states that "we are most interested in new and compelling information that was not a part of your original application." So, what do you think counts as "compelling"? Also, any parents, current students, applicants or anyone else is more than welcome to provide input..</p>
<p>I would also like to know what counts as “compelling”. </p>
<p>I suffered the death of a loved one, my grandmother that has lived with me most of my life, during the application process, and it was extremely difficult for me to trudge through the final weeks before the deadline.</p>
<p>Would this have any impact?</p>
<p>Last year there were several successful appeals by posters. My suggestion would be to use the search function to find the appeals threads from last year and PM a few of the successful applicants and ask them your questions. As they have been through the process, they would be ideal sources of current information.</p>
<p>I feel really happy I decided to go here and read the posts! I am a successful appealer from last year! </p>
<p>What I would consider “new and compelling” information is something that happened since you turned in the application that would impact your application such as winning a big contest, receiving a big award etc. Also, new and compelling information would be something that you did not mention on your application but could explain a low SAT score, low grades etc that may have hurt your admission chances. </p>
<p>If you have more questions about the appeals process, just let me know or pm me, I will reply.</p>
<p>Here’s the [USC</a> Appeal thread](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/1313148-usc-appeals-2012-a.html"]USC”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/1313148-usc-appeals-2012-a.html) from last year (2012).</p>
<p>I too am appealing my rejection. If anyone (parents, students, successful appealers from last year) have any advise to offer, that would be extremely helpful. </p>
<p>Good luck to everyone! And it’d be cool to keep this thread up-to-date as new information from this year’s appealers in College Confidential comes in! Cheers.</p>
<p>Like Nestor07, I would appreciate any advice from anyone who knows about the appealing process! Thank you so much!</p>
<p>My son is a freshman after a successful appeal last year. At that time I called the admissions office trying to find out how many appeals there were and what the success rate was. They told me that they didn’t release those numbers until ‘next year’ which is now. </p>
<p>Can anyone share those numbers here?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>'SC Dad</p>
<p>Hi, I am also planning on appealing
I really need help with the form- this whole process is making me so nervous! I really hope this works /:</p>
<p>@SCDad - I’m wondering the same thing. There is an interesting post on this topic, where user cu4usc2016 estimated a 17.7% appeal acceptance rate, and a total of 177 successful appeals:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/1396634-usc-admissions-appeal-statistics-2008-2012-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/1396634-usc-admissions-appeal-statistics-2008-2012-a.html</a></p>
<p>Last years Fall 2012 Freshman Admission Review showed 844 appeals in 2011 with 37 admitted (about 4.4% only):
<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/dept/admissions/EmailCampaign/undergrad/Fall12FreshmenAdmReview.pdf[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/dept/admissions/EmailCampaign/undergrad/Fall12FreshmenAdmReview.pdf</a></p>
<p>But this years Fall 2013 First Year Admission Review simply states “Typically, we receive 700-900 appeals and approximately 30-50 decisions are overturned in a given year.”
<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/dept/admissions/EmailCampaign/undergrad/Fall12FirstYearAdmReview.pdf[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/dept/admissions/EmailCampaign/undergrad/Fall12FirstYearAdmReview.pdf</a></p>
<p>I think that maybe they don’t want to release last years numbers because the appeals that were successful were a much higher percentage than in previous years.</p>
<p>In fact, if you look at the original acceptance rate for last year before all of the spring admit bumps and successful appeals, USC had accepted only 8,358 Fall Admits of 45,917 applicants which is 18.2% (see [News</a> Releases](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/uscnews/newsroom/news_release.php?id=2678]News”>http://www.usc.edu/uscnews/newsroom/news_release.php?id=2678)), but the final numbers showed USC accepted 9,187 Fall Admits out of 46,104 which is 19.9% (see <a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/private/1213/USCFreshmanProfile2012.pdf[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/private/1213/USCFreshmanProfile2012.pdf</a>).</p>
<p>That’s a big difference - 829 more fall admits. So I think USC miscalculated how many enrollments they would get last year from their initial admits, so to compensate, they bumped almost all of the original spring admits to fall and also added quite a few appeals to make up for a low enrollment rate. I believe this is because last year, they were originally trying to raise the academic level of admits, in the hopes of becoming another West Coast Ivy like Stanford. Then, when those folks they admitted got into Stanford, Yale, Harvard, even UCLA, etc., and didn’t enroll at USC, they had to cover their tracks and accept just about anyone who appealed. But maybe I’m wrong. Who knows?</p>
<p>The reason I post all of this information in this thread is because I think USC tried to correct that mistake this year. You can see that this year, they accepted 19.6% of applicants from an estimated 45,000 applicants, which equates to 8,820 Fall admits - about 500 more than last year. (see [New</a> student acceptance rate more selective<em>|</em>Daily Trojan](<a href=“http://dailytrojan.com/2013/03/26/new-student-acceptance-rate-more-selective/]New”>New student acceptance rate more selective - Daily Trojan) and also [And</a> They?re Off! · Undergraduate Admission Blog](<a href=“http://admissionblog.usc.edu/2013/03/26/and-theyre-off/]And”>http://admissionblog.usc.edu/2013/03/26/and-theyre-off/))</p>
<p>And in the letter referenced above, <a href=“http://www.usc.edu/dept/admissions/EmailCampaign/undergrad/Fall12FirstYearAdmReview.pdf[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/dept/admissions/EmailCampaign/undergrad/Fall12FirstYearAdmReview.pdf</a>, it shows 47,000 applicants, and at a 19.6% acceptance rate, that would be 9,212 Fall admits - higher than all of last years numbers.</p>
<p>So I think this year, it will be much harder for appeals to USC to be successful than it was last year.</p>
<p>To all those students who started this thread, this is all a guess on my part, so don’t let it deter you from filing an appeal this year. But for the many of you that sent me a PM asking for last years successful appeal strategy, I don’t think I am the best person to give that advice since too many appeals were successful last year. You may be better off asking someone who successfully appealed in 2011.</p>
<p>But if you want the format, here it is:</p>
<p>Introduction I learned on Date that I was denied freshman admission to USC campus for Fall 2013. I respectfully request the Freshman Appeals Committee to reevaluate my application based on the new information provided in this letter.</p>
<p>Paragraphs 1-3 New information and the circumstances surrounding the situation; be sure to describe: 1) how the exceptional talent/extracurriculars qualify you for admissions to USC campus; or 2) how the hardship prevented you from achieving academically.</p>
<p>Conclusion Reinforcing why you will be a great addition at USC campus, what you will bring with you to contribute to the campus, and why you will succeed in college (based on your experience from the new information you just described).</p>
<p>Focus on:</p>
<p>Academics:
i.e., Did you get higher SAT or ACT scores after you submitted your USC app? Did you forget to say that you are in the National Honor Society or another well known academic group? Are you ranked in school (i.e., top 10 out of 2,000 students) and forget to put that in your app? Did you take any college courses at a community college since you filed your app? Was your transcript accurate? Did you take more AP classes than most of your fellow classmates? Anything that can help them see you are better academically than they saw on your original application.</p>
<p>Leadership:
Colleges want leaders, and it is important to mention all leadership activities that you have had, no matter how trivial they may seem to you. Did you mention ALL of your leadership activities? For example, you volunteered ANYWHERE and your job was to take out the trash. Therefore, maybe you were the MAINTENANCE MANAGER? Or you were the water boy for the football team - the Team Hydration Specialist or the Dihydrogen Monoxide Engineer. Or maybe you ran drills for the volleyball team - could you have been the Team Captain Assistant or Exercise Facilitator? Don’t overlook the trivial - every little bit helps.</p>
<p>Special Skills:
Do you have any special skills that you forgot to mention? Like, playing an instrument? Would you be willing to be a part of the USC band, and this is something you did not mention? That is something they might like to see. Or maybe you did tutoring and forgot to mention that. Maybe you helped your mom or dad in their business, or with their jobs, or helped teach them how to use a computer. Any special skills you forgot to mention could be helpful in your appeal.</p>
<p>Hardships:
This is a difficult subject. First, you have to get really personal and expose things that you might not want others to know. (i.e., you have a parent or sibling that is bi-polar.) Or maybe in 10th or 11th grade, a close relative died. Second, most schools will not put much weight on hardships, since many of the applicants they admitted also had hardships. So you need to put a spin on it and show HOW the hardship prevented you from (1) achieving better grades, and/or (2) being involved in more extra-curricular activities. For example, “I had planned on continuing my participation in the Robotics Club in 2011, but the timing of my grandmothers death prevented me from doing so, since I was out of state attending her funeral at the time of club signups. Upon my return, the team was full and not accepting any additional members.” Or, “I spent a lot of time helping to care for my bipolar brother, as my parents both work and I was responsible for him in their absence. This prohibited me from spending the amount of time on my studies that I needed to achieve the grades that I know I am capable of.” Or, “I was forced to work after school due to my family’s poor financial situation, which took away valuable studying time and the ability for me to join additional clubs/activities at my school.” You get the idea - show HOW the hardship affected you.</p>
<p>Other:
You may want to write how the program at USC is well suited for you as compared to programs at other colleges. But you’ll need to explain why USC is the ONLY school that can satisfy your requirements, and that’ll be hard to do. Some things you DO NOT want to put in your letter (these will be viewed negatively) - (1) My friend John got accepted to your school, and I am much smarter than him. I can’t understand why you would accept him and not me? My grades are better and I was in more extra-curricular activities! What gives? (2) I have loved USC ever since I was a little boy/girl and if you don’t accept me, then I might as well not even go to college. My life is OVER! AHHHHHH! etc. You get the idea. No threats, no comparisons to others. Just make yourself look better, and not angry.</p>
<p>Important:
In the opening paragraph, let them know that you would be okay with being a Spring admit. No one likes to start in Spring, but my son did and it worked out really well for him. They are more inclined to accept you if you are flexible. But of course, you really must mean it. If you don’t want to be a Spring admit, don’t write that.</p>
<p>Finally:
I know how you feel. We felt it last year. The appeal decisions take a LONG time, and we had to submit a SIR to another college before we heard back from USC. We had to visit 3 other campuses they we really didn’ t like and go their their open houses, etc. Lots of time, travel money, and all the while, the uncertainty of not knowing if the appeal would result in success at USC. Lucky for us, USC worked out. But you have to prepare for the potential that your appeal will not be successful, and try to pick the best college of your backup schools. USC is a very hard school, and you might just be better off going somewhere else anyway. Not that you want to hear that, but it’s true.</p>
<p>I wish you all luck - to all those who sent me a PM - this is my response rather than write each of you individually.</p>
<p>Let me know how things work out.</p>
<p>USCDad2016 – I appreciate all the insights you’ve given us, as well as the bluntness of your posts. I also liked to see your statistical analysis based on the information you collected and your own inferences. This is all excellent, first-hand advice, and I will let you know how the appeal goes for me. Thank you, and cheers.</p>
<p>USCDAD2016 - like your username by the way!</p>
<p>I think you are right on the money. All of us parents that agonized over the appeal last year pointed to the yield as the main problem. The fact that the school didn’t put the actual figures in the FAQ just confirms the obvious. I also agree with you about what they were trying to do ‘academically’. President Nikias’ said in his initial comments about the admitted class -</p>
<p>This freshman class houses nearly three times as many Caltech-caliber students as Caltech, </p>
<p>Source [USC</a> News](<a href=“USC News - University of Southern California News”>USC News - University of Southern California News)</p>
<p>We also could point to the horrible murders of the two grad students on April 11, 2012 right when admits were making their decisions -</p>
<p>Source [2</a> USC Students Murdered During Attempted Carjacking Near Campus « CBS Los Angeles](<a href=“http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/04/11/2-usc-students-murdered-during-attempted-carjacking-near-campus/]2”>2 USC Students Murdered During Attempted Carjacking Near Campus - CBS Los Angeles)</p>
<p>We have to give the admissions office a little break because of the switch to the common app. It will take them a couple of years or more to figure out the process with the increase in applications - maybe the increase in the number they accepted this year as a percentage of overall applications is the fist start.</p>
<p>One obvious thing they could do to help is to institute an early admission option. That could take some pressure off.</p>
<p>Good luck to all the students this year who are considering an appeal. Even if you don’t have anything new to say you can’t ‘win’ your appeal if you don’t try. You have nothing to lose so go for it!</p>
<p>@SCDAD2016 - I like your user name, too!</p>
<p>Good link to USC News - I never saw that quote before. It’s very telling. I also agree the shootings and the switch to the common app had some part in the large number of appeals accepted last year. Too many applicants really didn’t want to go to USC. Then USC thought they were getting so many more high caliber applicants, and rejected those they normally would have accepted. Time will tell if they make the same mistake this year, but with higher initial acceptance numbers, I doubt it.</p>
<p>But kids should still try to appeal if USC is their dream school, like you said - there’s really nothing to lose. So many new threads have started asking how to appeal, so I’ve posted here to bump to those that might not have seen it.</p>
<p>BUMP</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I’m not sure cu4usc2016’s analysis is correct. I don’t think we have enough information to determine the number of successful appeals because the necessary numbers have not been reported with enough precision. </p>
<p>Cu4usc2016 used the spreadsheet from the New York Times, which showed 46030 applications, 8381 Fall admits, and 36472 denies. Cu4 gets the 177 estimate by subtracting the 36472 denies from the total number of applications (46030), resulting in 9558 total admits. He or she then subtracted the 8381 Fall admits from the 9558 total admits, resulting in 1177 “unaccounted for” applications, which are likely Spring Admits. USC has stated that there are about 1000 students admitted as Spring Admits. (I’m not sure if this was announced specifically for 2012). Cu4 accepts the 1000 as a hard number, and infers from this that the extra 177 “unaccounted for” applicants must have been successful appeals. </p>
<p>But if the appeal numbers are included in the figures in the New York Times spreadsheet that Cu4 relies on, then some of the successful appeals would have been included in the Fall admission figures. Thus, if the assumptions that Cu4 makes are reliable, then the number of successful appeals was likely HIGHER. </p>
<p>But Cu4 relies on at least two assumptions that I believe are unsupported: (1) that the successful appeal numbers were already included in the NY Times’ spreadsheet’s figures AND (2) that there were exactly 1000 spring admits before accounting for appeals. I don’t think there is enough information out there to know whether these assumptions are true or not. </p>
<p>Further, there are enough uncertainties in the numbers reported that I don’t think we draw any conclusions from the fact that there is 177 difference between the stated number of Spring admits (“about 1000”) and the number of “unaccounted for” applicants on the NY Times spreadsheet (1177). </p>
<p>An example of one uncertainty in the numbers is the fact that the reported number of total applications changed over time. In the initial news release, USC reported 45,917 total applications; the NY Times spreadsheet reports 46,030 total applications; and the USC freshman profile reports 46,104 total applications. We don’t know why these numbers changed, although the freshman profile numbers are likely the most accurate. </p>
<p>I agree with USCDad2016’s other points, specifically that there was a 800+ difference between the initial number of Fall admits that USC reported and the final number reported in the 2012 Freshman Profile. I agree that many of those were probably Spring Admits bumped to Fall. I also agree that there had to be an exceptionally large number of appeals granted, and that is probably why USC did not report the 2012 appeals numbers. But I don’t think we have enough information to estimate the number of successful appeals last year, for either Fall or Spring. </p>
<p>I share the general pessimism about the likelihood that there will be a large number of successful appeals this year. The number of Fall admits in the FIRST ROUND this year is almost exactly the same as the FINAL number of Fall admits last year. As USCDad2016 says, I think this makes it likely that there will be relatively few appeals granted AND relatively few Spring admits bumped to Fall, compared to last year. </p>
<p>There’s another thing that makes me think that USC will be less likely to grant appeals or bump Spring admits to Fall this year. USC has stated that the target number for this year’s Freshman class is 2700. Last year’s Fall freshman class had over 3000 students. Assuming that the target number was 2700 last year too, USC apparently overcorrected last year, bumping too many people to Fall or granting too many Fall appeals.</p>
<p>Sigh. I wish they would just release the actual numbers and save us all the trouble of trying to figure them out!</p>
<p>Hey everyone! I decided to appeal my decision, and sent in my letter last week. Been looking over tons of threads from previous years. I’m looking forward to seeing how everything plays out; there doesn’t seem to be as much activity on here as there has been in previous years. I guess we’ll see! Good luck to all either way :)</p>
<p>hey guys I know its due on apr. 12 but what time?</p>
<p>ALSO, there should be two pages in total right? one for the cover sheet and one for the essay (appeal).</p>
<p>I’d say we most likely have until midnight tomorrow. BUT, I would play it safe & get it in tonight. Also, yeah 2 pages total :)</p>
<p>on the usconnect site, it says it’s due by the 11th</p>
<p>Does anyone know if the USC appeal letter is recieved by April 12, 2013 or postmarked? Or can you fax it? Please help!</p>