I’m applying to Dornsife, Cognitive Science! I had my interview on Halloween
I’m applying to Dornsife as a prospective neuroscience major! I was not able to secure an interview in my area, but the website says there was no appreciable difference in admissions between those who interviewed and those who didn’t. Just to confirm, not having an interview won’t negative impact my application, right?
Interviews are optional. My D interviewed for Engineering on campus in Aug and was told that the interviwer’s notes would be attached to her application as it moved through the system. The interview is a way for prospective students to express interest (which is a recurring theme with USC) but I don’t believe it’s heavily weighted or that you are at a disadvantage for not having interviewed.
Hey guys! I haven’t been on here since I was applying to schools myself last year, but I just wanted to let you guys know that although this is a VERY stressful time with senior year and applications, trust the process (ik harder said than done) and you guys will truly end up at a school that you love! I am currently an honors student (received a merit scholarship last January) and absolutely love USC, and I haven’t found anything I don’t like and the semester is almost done. The reason why I wanted to write to you guys is to let you know that although it seems like all that matters are stats the amount of APs you have taken, USC truly uses a holistic approach. I would know, I only took two APs in high school and got a 29 on my ACT, but I was passionate about the work I did and showed that through my essays and during my interview and was still able to get the scholarship which allowed me to meet amazing people at the McCarthy Honors dorm this year. I want you guys to please feel free to message or tag me in any comments and I would love to give you guys all the advice I have from personally going through this just a year ago. Good luck, and fight on!
Hey guys, hope you’re all doing well. I was just wondering what would look better to send in , a superscored 1420 SAT or a single 30 act. (Since they don’t superscore act) I was thinking that my 1420 SAT would look better but i’m not entirely sure
Hi, I was wondering if anyone knew if it is a requirement to choose the USC Cinematic Arts program as a first-choice major if I wished to apply for it? Or could I put it as second choice (given I would still turn in all the supplementary materials by Dec 1)?
@bluepear2000 While you could in theory clearly choose to do so, there is likely a zero percent chance of succeeding in getting into SCA with such a strategy. USC SCA is the #1 film school. They are not going to admit you unless you are fully committed… i.e. selecting an SCA major as your 1st choice or potentially as both your 1st and 2nd choices. In my opinion, SCA is not going to admit someone who sees them as a back-up. And that is also true of other USC Schools. Overall, SCA admit rates, depending on the major, are in the range of 2-11%. With such, they are not going to be anyone’s second choice.
Yes that totally makes sense, obviously they are an incredibly tough school to get accepted into. I am just wondering logistically, since I’m currently in-between the Iovine and Young Academy program and the Media Arts at SCA program. I know IYA explicitly states that they only consider first-choice applicants. I was wondering if the same procedure was applied at SCA. Also, are we sure that these departments are permitted to see in what “place” we put their respective majors? I would think maybe that would conflict with their admissions procedure, since they don’t track interest in any way
They absolutely see what place a major is put in. That has nothing to do with tracking interest which is more related to visiting the school, tours, voluntary interviews, etc. And if you don’t think they track interest, you should know it can play a role, regardless of what is stated. SCA, IYA, Engineering - yes, no question, you have to put that major as your #1 choice, being a second choice is irrelevant to those schools with the lowest acceptance rates at USC. My guess is that you would more likely be admitted undecided rather than to that second choice major, assuming you don’t get in #1 choice. (Of course assuming you get admitted.) Good luck!
Okay cool! Awesome, that all makes total sense. I guess I’m going to have to make a tough decision now then between the two 
@bluepear2000 And getting admitted undeclared (denied by both your major choices), is not necessarily the end of the world. It is possible to internally transfer later with slightly better odds versus applying as a freshman… provided that you do well once at USC. My daughter was admitted as such this year and has already successfully applied to and internally transferred to SCA as CMS. In her case though, SCA represented both her 1st and 2nd choice majors, so she was clearly committed to SCA. Good luck making your decision…
I just finished my usc/slideroom application for the school of cinematic arts- film production!! here’s hoping
Yo, just submitted my application to SCA for film production and media arts + practice. Now it’s the waiting game…
Sent in my app two days ago!! Excited for the opportunity, but definitely not the waiting. Just a side note, does anyone know if it’s at all worthwhile to email the admissions office resumes or other samples that go more in depth on your extracurriculars. While I of course have the activities section of the common app, I just feel like I was unable to really expatiate on some things. Is it even worth it to email the admissions office this info?
Everyone feels like they could have used more space where listing the ECs on common app, but they really don’t need 55,000 people sending in extra information. Your application should have said it all and likely did. Being able to sell yourself concisely is part of the process. Unless you won the Nobel Peace Prize or something significant AFTER submitting your app, you shouldn’t be sending in extra materials, unless it is supplements they request. Anything done or its significance to you up to this point should be within your app in some form. The rest is blah blah blah to them. Good luck and ya, the waiting is brutal. And more than 96% that apply by Dec 1st will get notified in late Jan/early Feb that they have to wait till March because they didn’t get a scholarship. So it is good to be hopeful, but realistic, and not make the wait to crazy on yourself.
Also, their email they send when they confirm receipt of your application says the process involves “spirited debate.” How intense is this exactly? Kind of freaked me out a bit.
I’m applying to USC! Probably psych, though I want to major in nutrition and USC doesn’t have that major. Any suggestions of similar majors? I’m also interested in business but I know that USC business is pretty tough to get into. Also I just found out that the deadline for scholarships is December 1st… and I haven’t written my supplements yet. I’m screwed lol
@happywaffles The supplements shouldn’t take much time, especially if you’ve already written something similar for another school because many of the questions work like that. The Why USC will probably take a bit more time but definitely something than can be done in a few days.
@happywaffles I’m in the same boat as you yikes! But hopefully we can use some of our other essays and get them done on time!
Yeah I seriously wish this school had an EA or ED program. I’m mostly applying by Dec 1 to express interest. I seriously dont expect any merit money, and know the wait is gonna be brutal.