@ilikewiki , that’s just incorrect. Out of State at UCLA is incredibly difficult because they have a very limited number they can admit. And USC takes kids from all over the country.
@lisalisae I know the feeling. Our S has a similar resume and he’s had a run of tough news: deferred by Princeton (waiting to hear this week), not accepted by Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, or USC. Like your S he was accepted at Oberlin (accepted at the College and waitlisted at the Conservatory) and he was also accepted at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. Is your S going to sing in college? Was he accepted at the Oberlin Conservatory or the College?
@ilikewiki I had the same thing with my son… he applied journalism and had a stunning profile. His dad is a former USC … I am almost certain that USC didn’t read the application well. There were only two students who interned with the Times for a full pay that are applying this year. My son work directly with Instagram, and has over 16 published articles. Just like your son, my son applied to Merit and was rejected, then rejected for the major.
In the rejection letter, they offered my something called Trojan Transfer Plan where he can meet with a counselor one on one in June. Also, in that same email there is instruction for appeal deadline 4/5 and answer will be issued 5 days later. Although they state that they hardly overturn a rejection. One of my friend’s daughter was accepted at the major, had a better grades than my daughter, but has 0 work for journalism, never done a thing that is related to writing, and hates writing. She applied there so that she can later transfer to Engineer. This news was so hard to digest…
I really want to appeal, my son is insisting not to, and says that if the university never cared about all the accomplishments he has in Journalism so far, then it is the university’s loss.
Unlike other Ivy schools, USC really don’t offer to interview students, which puts kids like my son at an extreme disadvantage. Many of her friends got in with much less grades, less leadership involvement, and less community service.
We are very thankful we have other excellent options… this one hurts because it was our legacy school. My husband hold two masters and one PHD in Electrical and Biomedical Engineering from USC. He got there with full scholarship… we love USC and believe it is an amazing school … however, admission system need a complete make over.
@Nonomom , there is zero point in appealing. It’s going to make your son look bad and you will not succeed. It’s holistic admissions for a reason. Do not waste your time.
@Lindagaf what does holistic admissions mean?
As a parent of a TTP student, I wanted to add in some details that we learned during the TTP year. It is a stressful year because it is not a guarantee. In fact there is no set date on when admissions decisions are sent for sophomore year. Some get a decision “late March” and others get a Spring Grade requests and don’t find out until late May/June. There is no guaranteed housing for TTP students, so basically you must scramble for housing. For girls, they miss Spring Sorority Rush so they can’t really join a house until Spring of Sophomore year (if that is important to your student). The good news is you can go anywhere that has a articulation agreement with USC, which is just about any CC or 4 year university. You must keep a 3.6 GPA for US classes and a 3.3 GPA for the European campuses in London, Rome, Paris, and Switzerland. You take at least 30 hours of transferrable classes for USC which include the Math and English requirement and at least 2 General Ed classes. If you are transferring to Engineering you need to take requirements to start your classes as a sophomore, which can be difficult if you are on the European campuses as they don’t always have the general ed classes for the biological and physical sciences. As others have said, if you want to save money for the first year and do a CC or want to study abroad early, this can be an ideal program. However, since it is not a guarantee and the student must reapply as a transfer student, it can cause great stress.
Some TTP students started abroad and then came home the spring semester to finish at a CC. So you can mix it up if you want.
@Nonomom I think you should appeal. It is very rare for a high school student to have so much achievement in Journalism. You should not miss this opportunity. USC is top ranked for Journalism. Good Luck!!
@Nonomom I also think you should appeal. Good luck and pls keep us posted.
@Nonomom , the whole process is holistic. That’s why it’s so difficult to get in. That means they do not just look at grades and test scores. They consider those things, and without at least decent grades and test scores, you won’t get in. The important stuff is everything else: essays, recommendations, act invites, work experience, volunteering, whatever it might be. The grades and test scores get you to the gate. All the other stuff gets you THROUGH the gate.
@f2000sa , again, there is no chance an appeal will be successful and it’s going to reflect poorly on the student. They made their decisions carefully. They knew what they were doing and it wasn’t a mistake.
@Nonomom @ilikewiki I was stunned by your sons’ rejections. There’s something wrong with our system and we witness this every year. I’m sure both of your sons would land in their top choices of schools but at the mean time, I think both of you should appeal.
@selgae It is a highly respected program nationally and does well placing alumni in to good careers.
And here is a link to all majors and minors at USC… http://catalogue.usc.edu/content.php?catoid=8&navoid=2401
“NO chance an appeal will be successful” is incorrect. USC clearly stated there were successful appeals, though the numbers are low. I don’t understand why it will reflect poorly on the student. They are basically asking please have a second look to see if you have missed anything. If it’s the same decision then it’s the same decision, nothing better nothing worse.
@mamavo is your son caucasian?
It is virtually impossible, after the decisions have been reached, for others to look at a posting related to a rejection and argue that clearly USC, or any elite and highly competitive school, made a mistake in passing on such a well-qualified applicant. Could they have been admitted? Of course. Should they have been? That is something that only an individual with access to all applications can speak to. Were they deemed to be a proper and mutually advantageous fit for each other in the eyes of the admissions staff? … one clearly deemed to be superior - to the detriment of another applicant who they considered to be a better fit…? Well, obviously not.
With an admit rate now at 11%, and with 4K+ applicants with 4.0 unweighted GPAs and test scores in the 99th percentile among the 89% or nearly 60K, not gaining admission, your success instead likely depended on too many potential factors for anyone else to correctly evaluate… making predicting admission or condemning the rejection after the fact nearly impossible.
If you look at last year’s freshman profile… https://about.usc.edu/files/2018/09/USC-Freshman-Profile-2018-2019.pdf … you will note that not everyone admitted had stellar stats… so they do look at many different factors. It likely came down to a composite and holistic analysis of stats coupled with writing ability / essays, ECs, potential leadership roles, potential other unique qualifiers (URM, First Gen, geography, demographics, etc.) and… maybe most importantly… your Why USC? explanation/reasoning.
That is where those 7300 or so admitted likely turned the corner for themselves. USC wants to understand why attending USC and a school within it is critical to you and your future success as a college student. How would attending USC be different for you specifically versus attending any other elite college or university? And… if they admit you… what does USC gain in turn? How will you compliment and augment the greater USC community? Far too many stellar applicants may have simply endeavored to present the best case for themselves as an applicant without really addressing the Why USC? component or identified what USC gains in return. To me… that is what truly sets an applicant apart. Not all schools take that approach, but USC certainly does so.
You may also want to read through the following very helpful insider’s guide to USC admissions…
https://tfm.usc.edu/a-guide-to-uscs-college-admissions-process/
It provides a glimpse into how Admissions staffers view the process and what they are looking for generally.
If you already applied and are confident that you put your best case forward and also provided your best explanation/reasoning related to why USC is the best fit for you and vice versa, then that is all that you could have done. Rejections sting… but it is not an evaluation of you individually. USC simply felt more comfortable selecting another candidate in your place. If you wish to try again… good luck in the appeal process or in attempting to transfer into USC later.
If you are a future applicant… make sure that you application covers all of the basics above before applying and good luck…
I’m so sorry to hear from parents that their children haven’t been admitted despite of incredible stats. I completely agree. I wonder how these stats couldn’t allow them to get in. The admission process is not so clear to me and is a total waste for some extent. I hope high school students spend more time on what they love to do instead of getting another A or one more point in ACT/SAT. My D has been extremely fortunate. She got admitted to 9 schools including USC and similar, and waitlisted to 2 schools. However, honestly I have no idea what made her stand out. Stat-wise she is just an average excellent student… not exceed many students not succeeded to get in. Hope everyone settles on one of their favorites.
Does anyone know if there was a facebook group created for admitted students? Or groupme?
We have a rising sophomore who’s also a Presidential Merit Scholar at USC. I believe you will never know the exact quality that USC saw in their accepted candidates that made the difference. They want kids who will continue grow and make a difference in the world, in their communities and with others. Have confidence they did the due diligence with every applicant, every candidate was worthy of being there. Having a USC student and being a parent is truly special. And for those who it didn’t work out for, you have something equally as special and amazing ahead of you. Embrace that and move on with pride. My incoming freshman daughter was offered TTP, she already moved on and is excited for her new experience and proud of her choice.
@catlover44 Did your student successfully transfer in for Sophomore year? My S was invited to apply for TTP as well but it seems difficult to find any information on it. I did join the FB group and they seem to know quite a bit too since they have gone through process already.
@200115 yeah! log into your USC portal and there is a link to the fb group on the right side (it should be a big rectangular USC image). you need to enter your name and id number to enter
Because of this thread, I decided not to check the portal right away and wait for the mail (I live in a Day 2 zone) and I was sure I was going to be rejected, but I started crying when the mailman handed me the admission packet for my dream school. I definitely had my mailbox moment and it was amazing. Thank you to everyone on this thread!