Thank you! I think his chances are slim, but he did his best with his application and portfolio. That is great that she was able to attend and then transfer into SCA…I didn’t realize that was a possibility! Good to know for sure. The major he wants is Animation and they only accept like 16 students a year into the program. Super competitive! And Princeton…wow!!! That is amazing! She must have worked very hard in HS 
Is she still in college or has she already graduated?
We are mostly parents here, so yea, we view things from the students’ perspective. But I also think most colleges are looking for pretty much the same kinds of students (excluding extremely specialized ones, as @arbitrary99 pointed out)
@arbitrary99 is correct. Most students have certain level of flexibility and can pretty easily adjust to slightly different environments like Harvard v Yale or Bowdoin v Williams. If they want to, and most well-adjusted 18 yo’s want to. Besides, the most important thing is that they are happy and, for most people, this means they are able to find their people. So, for an average kid who goes to a school that has, say 3k or more students, it’s reasonable to think that he’ll find his people.
Think of it this way: if your kid has done well in his public high school where no one is gate-keeping for “fit”, then he has already proven his ability to adjust within the fairly narrow range of differences between say Duke v USC or Cornell v UMich.
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I’m also from Tampa! That’s cool to know that someone from where I am from has had such a great experience with USC, since we aren’t exactly the closest!
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If you look back at the last 24 hours of posts, that same question was posed and generally answered.
I agree USC is seeking to admit students who have the best fit (with the school and especially the particular major). However, I have seen over and over that the same student will be admitted to multiple elite Universities. For example, my son’s best friend last year was admitted to every school he applied to (with the exception of Tulane where he was deferred), including Stanford, USC, Vanderbilt, and Duke (with full or half rides at all of them except Stanford, where he ultimately decided to attend). So I do believe to a certain extent many of these elite schools are looking for the same qualities in an applicant. And that the applicant could be a great fit for multiple schools.
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You’re welcome. Yes… animation is super competitive. She remains as a graduating senior, finishing in two months.
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Interesting. My daughter’s “Big Sis” within her sorority actually turned out to be from Riverview, so also really close by.
Luckily, there are non-stop flights available, so it can be just 4.5 to 5 hours from TIA to LAX. Even one-stop scenarios are usually only 6-7 hours usually. So, it’s not too bad.
Which high school? Both of my daughters went to Wharton in New Tampa.
We were just asked for more financial information. One of it was 2020 tax forms but that is not available yet. Does anyone know if that will affect us if we can’t get it to them ASAP?
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Some applicants do have such an experience, and your friend’s son was very fortunate. Most are not that lucky however in terms of how the bulk of their admission decisions turn out. It can really depend on demographics, geography and a host of other factors. Many such determining factors are outside of an applicants control. For example, these days, simply being Asian or Asian-American or a white female can be a significant disadvantage. That is simply due to the huge # of well-qualified applicants from each of those demographic groups. Years ago, that was true for while males, but now it is a rather even playing field for them. It changes over time. Colleges and universities are looking to admit a diverse group overall, so whenever there are too many well-qualified candidates from a specific group, it becomes even more competitive. Reversely, being an URM or FirstGen, etc can of course be a significant advantage.
Back in 2014, my older daughter applied to 17 and was rejected by 12. My younger daughter fared better, going 8-7. But while she got into schools like USC, Princeton, Rice and Emory… she was still rejected by Stanford, Yale, Brown, Duke, Vanderbilt, Northwestern and UVa. How she applied to each likely made a difference. Both had wanted to attend USC the most, and their applications to USC likely conveyed that well.
Every year, there are also postings of astonished applicants who claim that they got into places like Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, etc but did not get into USC… and they want to know why. There could be a # of reasons, but a key one could simply be how they applied to USC. Despite being clearly qualified, did they do enough to make it clear to USC as to how their admission might be mutually beneficial? Like Stanford, USC now rejects 4K+ applicants each cycle with 4.0 unweighted GPAs and test scores in the 99th percentile. And I am quite sure that each of them are likely shocked and dismayed to be rejected anywhere. But it clearly happens… and in growing #s yearly.
The best way to counter that possibility is to really focus on the application before hitting send. Have others read through it. If they do not walk away feeling that you have presented a strong affinity and connection to a specific college and university, then the actual AO readers at that specific school are also likely to feel unmotivated about admitting you. That’s my opinion… for what its worth. Make your application sing and be memorable somehow. Provide some passion and sizzle. Let your individual personality shine through. Try your best to make the AOs feel compelled to not pass you by.
My general point is that USC is seeking that strong affinity toward USC among its applicants. USC is not alone in this, but they do seem to be especially focused on finding applicants who they believe will fit in well and actually thrive at USC. They are also thinking long term… hoping to find the right type of future alum to add to the Trojan Family indefinitely.
I agree with you that most will find their place and ultimately fit in wherever they end up. I truly hope for such… as college should be a magical time.
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Yes… it will delay your FA decision if admitted. If they have asked for something, you will need to provide it before they finalize the FA offering, if forthcoming. Good luck.
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Agreed. Tulane is even more particular than USC about showing demonstrated interest (hence why my son’s friend got in every school I listed above except Tulane, which he was clearly qualified for acceptance). For some schools such as these (and apparently USC), showing the love is key.
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But this won’t hold up admission correct?
Correct. Completely separate paths at this point. It just gets frustrating to wait on FA decisions once admitted. I would just file and copy them as soon as feasible. Good luck.
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Hi everyone, I know for UCB people were able to predict their admission status by clicking withdraw and seeing what message was there. Do we think USC may have a similar indication of admissions?
If so… I have never heard of such related to USC. But withdrawing if you really want to attend to find out is dangerous and would likely lead to them withdrawing an offer of admission.
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I would not try this with a private school, especially a private school that rate demonstrate of interest highly. I meant although it’s unlikely but what if they track clicks and think you show intention of withdraw and decide to take back their offer? lol
You are probably ok to try that few hours before they release the decision since it’d be too late for them to do anything, but I wouldn’t risk it now.
I wish we could send 2020 taxes but this week they asked for 2019 taxes (which is wired bc that’s what they have). Our family income went down drastically in 2020 bc of Covid so know I already have to appeal financial aid with 2020 tax info and want to get it to them ASAP.
I haven’t clicked on withdraw, I scroll to the bottom of my admission page and it says “If you are no longer interested in pursuing admission to USC, please click here to withdraw your application.” So I haven’t actually clicked on withdraw
What’s the message supposed to be if you click that selection?
Im not too sure that’s what I was wondering as well. Does everyone have the same message at the bottom?