I don’t think that’s true, I’ve been lurking this thread despite my son not getting in (he got Trojan Transfer plan) but his objective credentials were top of the line and the denial was likely tied to his NMF status. He had perfect 36 ACT, 1480 SAT (as a sophomore, didn’t retake because of covid and his perfect ACT), 11 APs, 3.98 UW (just a B+ in virtual, largely self-taught BC calc), 4.65 W, athlete, musician, raised $10k with a charity concert, 3 weeks of habitat for humanity-like volunteer work and based on his other admissions and scholarships (including higher ranked schools than USC) and feedback from teachers he likely had strong letters. I can only assume the main reason he didn’t get in was because they want to turn his NMF half-ride into full-pay next year.
I’m especially salty because as a USC grad I feel more connected to USC than the admissions counselors who are entrusted with picking the 8000 kids who get spots. After USC’s rape settlement it seems clear that they need full-pay students attending.
Sorry to hear the denial for your son. I am sure he has great options based on his amazing credentials. The admissions process is more like a black box at many schools. I already gave up trying to understand the logic behind. The good thing is eventually it works out somewhere if not at the specific school.
The expensive settlement will likely put USC in a tighter financial situation. People may expect USC to hike tuitions and fees in the coming years.
He has great options but still wanted to go to USC over the great schools he got into. Financially, it will be a financial win for the family but we were willing to foot the $50k bill (after NMF presidential scholarship) for USC.
I certainly have come to understand the black box of admissions but I still argue that the greater premise of allowing admissions counselors to reject devoted legacy kids with perfect credentials is flawed. I’m not arguing that if my son had crummy stats and extracurriculars that he should have been able to be accepted because my wife and I attended USC.
On the other hand, he “checked all the boxes”, was clearly qualified and came from a family who contributed to USC in many meaningful ways (not only monetarily since my wife and I brought research funding to USC as grad students, had been in local alumni association and hosted SCend offs for local admitted high school seniors). Absolutely everything predicted that my son would have thrived and contributed to USC. An admissions counselor with less attachment to USC who might bounce from school to school shouldn’t be given the kind of power to reject someone like my son with the excuse of “holistic admissions”, when he holistically fit who USC should be trying to bring to the university.
@Didjaco Did he appeal or just done with it? I totally get the “they don’t want me, I don’t want them” feeling, but is it worth it, or to much angst to try again?
He didn’t, I didn’t want him to get another rejection and the fact that he got Trojan Transfer meant they thought about his application enough to know they didn’t want him if it meant giving him a presidential scholarship. If anything, his USC essays made it clear that if he was accepted that he was going there and I guess his AO thought he wasn’t one of the top 8000 or that he didn’t fit what USC is looking for.
I didn’t mention in the post but we’re a military family and my wife is partly African (her sister has sickle cell disease and her mother has multiple myeloma) so he even had “hooks”, but apparently not enough for a presidential scholarship. He applied BME and was going to minor in violin (was ready to audition after he was accepted- auditions for minors start in April) and I still can’t believe that he didn’t get in. I realize Viturbi is more competitive than Dornsdife but he was certainly qualified for Viturbi and again, I feel that the admission officers have too much power in this process and that someone like my son should have been admitted and whatever his admissions officer’s excuse to reject him is dubious.
Might someone know off hand the freshman move in / orientation / First class date etc. for freshman starting in the fall. Is is the same for all classes?
Strange… you mean the big red You & USC brochure… we must be missing that page! We have not received anything with dates as of yet? - unless I have lost my mind? which is possible by now!
Yes McCarthy honors always moves in a few days before the standard dorm move in. They should send something after housing is confirmed across the board.
Hello, DC has the following 3 choices. Here is appx Cost of Attendance breakdown(including Room/Accommadation+Food etc):
1.Stony Brook BSMD (10K scholarship/yr) : In-State: $400K, OOS: $500K
2.Univ of Southern CA (USC) Premed UG half Tuition: $200K (UG only)
3.UT Dallas Premed UG Full Ride: $0 cost (UG only)
Stony Brook 4+4 BS to MD matriculation reqs are simple: 3.4 min GPA, and 75 percentile of MCAT score needs to be achieved at min.
Questions:
1.Which is the better option of the three choices above?
2.How difficult is a traditional path going from USC premed to MD (some other medical college) having bird in hand (Stony Brook BSMD)?
3.How is USC’s BS to MD (some other medical colleges) success rate for the premed students over there?
4.What are the chances of matriculating from USC premed UG to High tier MD school Vs Med tier MD school Vs low tier MD school?
Thank you.
hello! i have a question about the loft style suite at McCarthy. I don’t know how many of you are familiar with it or plan to live in it but is it really as small as they say? also does it have closet room or a room for clothing drawers?
They are brutally small. I would never put 4 girls in it that’s for sure. The box next to your desk under your bed is your everything storage. That’s it. You def get what you pay for, there’s a reason it’s half the price, cause its half the room. But I’m sure some manage to still have fun somehow (and spend time outside of the room).
It depends… Stony Brook is the best option if you know DC wants to be a MD and you can afford at least half of the cost. Stony Brook is trading you a high cost for a bird in the hand. USC is the best option if DC might change their mind because it’s the best academically and has a lot of majors. UT D is the best if DC is able to be admitted after UG.
We’ve done a lot of research, and have decided USC is a solid pre med school, but not amazing. Very few schools are amazing. For pre med you want shadowing, volunteering, high GPA, and rec letter. USC provides all of those.
Success rate is fine. It’s more about the student than the university. Prestige has little or no impact in med school admissions.
Matriculation into almost any US MD program is an excellent outcome. USC will not give you a bump into elite MD programs. USC does have a lot of top applicants who get into elite programs though. Again, it’s more about the student than the university.
Celebrating USC’s Graduating Classes of 2020 and 2021…
April 13, 2021 Update: The state of California has determined that guests who live out of state may attend commencement ceremonies provided they are fully vaccinated; graduates are limited to two guests due to social distancing requirements.
