ATTENTION!
I don’t know how many people will see this post, and maybe it’s a bit late, but there seems to be so many people who are asking to get “chanced” for USC (and other universities). There’s even a whole Sub-Reddit page dedicated to the “ChanceMe” phenomenon.
I would strongly advise applicants to refrain from asking to be chanced. If ever we needed any proof, this USC ‘22 application cycle has shown us how less and less the predictability of college admissions is becoming. If you’ve taken the time to listen to many universities’ official admissions podcasts, blogposts and webpages, you will find that schools are stressing more and more “the holistic applications review”. The usual translation of that are numbers don’t matter as much as they used to anymore. But there’s even more to that now.
Factors such as URM status, legacy students (or in USCs case SCions), first generation college students and In/Out-of-State residency (for private colleges) are no longer assurances. That means you CANNOT be accurately chanced by anyone. That doesn’t mean if someone tells you you’re a good candidate they’re wrong. It just means nobody can honestly tell you “don’t worry, you should get in”.
The problem with this is it creates a sense of false hope, and can potentially aggravate a person’s anxiety and if the don’t make the cut: disappointment/frustration. From this forum we’ve heard of applicants like @WWWard 's D who have gotten into Princeton but not UVA!! As more and more people begin to apply to multiple schools in a single admissions cycle, things get dicey. If you “chanced” someone with X stats for USC and another person with the same X stats, with this current climate it’s very possible that only one would make the final cut.
I’m not saying it’s morally wrong to “chance” people, but I figure it’s very often misleading. Applicants need to realise that even with the best facts and figures, they need to tailor their voices to soothe the readers and make them believe they’re a perfect fit! After all, at the end of the day, it’s more often the ‘fit’ and what you can contribute to the school that determines acceptance.
When I went for Explore USC, I saw the actual person who first read my application! Then I sat next to anther guy during the lunch and asked him what it was like reading the multiple apps from his portion of the 65k+ USC hopefuls. They only have roughly 15-20 mins to go through an application and make judgement. He also said that he sees tons of stellar stats in all the ones he reads. So the stats are more of a primary filter than a deciding factor. And very many of those stellar figures are turned down.
So for those holding out on your decision packages, take it easy, be hopeful, but don’t hang on the words of any “chancer” out there. If you don’t get in, I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but it never means you’re not good enough. It just means that either USC isn’t the school for you just yet, or, if your application was honest, it just isn’t the match for you. Good luck to all those out there!
