I cannot stress enough what @WWWard stated above.
Demonstrated interest is not merely showing up on campus or doing interviews.
To paraphrase the Cheap Trick song, they want you to want them. That entails more than a simple internet search as to the offerings of the school. They want to know with some specificity why you believe USC is your best conduit to your goals.
@JohnGaltIII Excellent 1978 throwback. Cheap Trick at Budokan is still among the best live albums ever 
Freshman profile was released for class of 2023 for those who want to look at stats. Admit rate was less than 12%. 25/75 was SAT 1420-1540 and ACT 32-35. Enrolled 25/75 was SAT 1370-1520 and ACT 31-34. Yield was 41.9%
11.4% admit for 2019-2020 overall, obviously schools like Viterbi are lower than that. Here’s the new profile:
http://admission.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/Freshman-Profile-2019.pdf
116 Deans went out, we didn’t hear about many of those on here, so it is good to see what the number was. 361 half tuition is what it has been for years and years, that is Pres and NMF.
Other interesting numbers from the freshman profile:
3,168 enrolled 7,558 admitted 66,198 applicants
Yield - 41.9%
They decreased the number of admitted students after the previous year had a big jump in yield and the class was too big. I think this is more in line with their target size for fall enrollees.
@VryCnfsd Yes exceptional funding up to 8 units can be used for summer school.
Thanks @astute12. She has accepted that she may not have time to take all of the classes she wants to take while there, but the possibility of 2 extra classes over a summer helps. Financially, USC is a stretch for us so even at half price we are not sure summer classes will can happen.
Also, consider the east coast schools too if you know you want to work in the New York/Boston etc markets. The USC “brand” isn’t as strong out there as it is on the west coast. An older generation of employers may still remember when USC wasn’t nearly as strong academically as it is now. As examples, consider Vanderbilt and UVa as comparable experiences (weather excepted) but with a stronger alumni base and east coast reputation. Of course those schools don’t have the west coast reputation that USC does. I have little doubt though that USC’s east coast reputation will catch up to its stature as more and more alumni work there. For graduate school it won’t matter as they will certainly know.
@Safalm2019 @een222 Hello! I just applied to USC through the common app this weekend. I don’t have the highest GPA but I think my essays were strong. I listed a good amount of extracurricular activities related to my field of study + also demonstrated what I would contribute to USC if admitted…
I’ve signed up for a campus tour and taking your advice on contacting my program’s counselor.
What else do you guys recommend? Esp to compensate for a low GPA lol
Why is this feed so quite compared to last year?
They changed the entire website structure of College Confidential and it is harder to find threads and navigate throughout. The new design made it more awkward to use than it use to be. They are pushing more spoon fed ideas and articles than encouraging user advice. Use plummeted all around.
Yes, weirdly quiet. But some regulars are still around!
Last year the “Class of 2023” thread didn’t even start until early December. I think people are just in the mad rush to complete applications by some Nov. 1st deadlines (not just for some programs at USC but other schools that offer EA/ED). This group got an early start this year. I’m sure I’ll have lot of questions at some point.
I did find it interesting that after the application was submitted my student got an email requiring they “affirm” their application and acknowledging a possible audit. Is that new post Varsity Blues or have they always done that???
@cruzanlady Are you saying that after applying to USC, an email way generated asking them to affirm their application and acknowledging a possible audit? Neither of my daughters ever received such an email from any college or university that they applied to… so that would seem to represent something very new.
@WWWard --yes, a few days after the application was submitted an email link was received which takes the student to a form to “affirm” that the application information is true and advising the student that all applications are subject to audit which may include calling the school to verify items in the application.
@WWWard @CADREAMIN others, can you talk about USC class sizes and impacted majors versus the UCs. I have heard horror stories at places like UCLA that its tough to get classes and the ones you do have are overcrowded with 100’s of students and that as an individual student you are basically on your own to navigate through the masses and programs?
@cruzanlady Very interesting.
@socaldad2002 I have heard similar things about the UCs (and about most public universities to be fair), but mainly through similar posts here on CC and general hearsay from people who have attended such public universities. A number of people have pointed out the apparent reality that graduating from a UC can take longer… 4.5 to 5 years… or maybe having to attend over one or more summers… simply due to extra GE requirements and some of the class availability issues that you have described. But I cannot speak to any of that from personal experience.
At USC, it is quite common for students to graduate on time even with double majors or multiple minors, etc. Students meet with academic advisers during orientation and then again each subsequent semester to aid in the planning process and to keep everyone on track and on target time-wise. Neither of my daughters ever complained about class sizes or extreme difficulty in gaining access to the classes that they wanted to take. Some classes are only offered in certain semesters, so some forethought and planning may be necessary… and you may need to wait until your junior or senior years to fully take advantage of everything that you want to, but it has at least all worked out for my kids to date. But this is also likely just one of the key differences when comparing public vs private universities. It is not necessarily unique to USC. But even though USC is one of the largest private universities, it does seem to feel much smaller and more intimate I believe once you are in it and actually attending.
@socaldad2002 my student’s first semester freshman classes are as follows: general requirement class 150 ppl; a second general requirement class 160 ppl. Business Major class 75 ppl. Required freshman writing class 12 ppl. Elective class 19 ppl. During his initial academic adviser session at orientation a sheet was prepared that outlined all the courses already credited because of AP class credit and all of what was needed for intended major and placed them into the next 7 semesters.
Just confirming: my dd also received the follow-up email from USC asking for “affirmation” of her application. I’m actually glad they are doing this as it demonstrates an effort to ensure the integrity of their admissions. Our family was very turned off by the whole “Varsity Blues” debacle, and it dampened our enthusiasm for USC a bit, but also made us a lot more cynical about the whole process at any college in general.
If I have a question about Marshall, should I email the Marshall undergraduate officers or my regional AO? Would it matter?
@miichael I suggest Marshall admissions.
Phone: (213) 740-8885
Email: busadm@marshall.usc.edu