<p>Since USC has now switched to the Common App, will the essays and personal statement prompts remain the same? I know that USC will have their own supplement to the Common App but is it likely to contain the same prompts? I was determined to start very early on writing my statements for USC however now I must wait until August 1st when the application opens. </p>
<p>I was reading the Daily Trojan and the Dean of Admissions of the USC Admissions Office of Admissions Timothy Brunold said that the supplement "will be very similar to what [they] are already asking students </p>
<p>How likely is it that the supplement will be the same? Because I already know that on the older application the prompts were just about the same each year. </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>No one will know the answer to this until they release it (to my knowledge they haven’t specifically addressed the question). Maybe the move to the Common App was just to get more applications (Columbia’s applicant pool surged when they moved to the Common App). Maybe the move is part of a larger goal to revamp their application to address what they want to know and find out about students.</p>
<p>That said, I feel they’ll still try to go along the same lines: a long essay on persistence or similarly desirable academic traits; questions to map out how the applicant might fit in the general USC culture and environment (e.g. how they can contribute), the quirky short answers that give a lighthearted snapshot of who the applicant is.</p>
<p>The questions might change, but the things they’re looking for will be the same.</p>