<p>Has anyone received an email from USC about an optional interview held in his/her area? Are you planning to go with the interview? Will it impact your admission if you choose not to go?</p>
<p>We live within a few hours of USC. My daughter received the e-mail about the optional interview opportunity last year. She scheduled one and enjoyed it. She was a bit nervous, but the experience was interesting for her. USC was her first choice and she was a very strong applicant. They do ask questions about why you’re interested in USC. They talked about differences between large university experiences & opportunities vs. small universitiy, etc. They say it doesn’t impact admission if you do not schedule one… but I can see how it could help. I do think they want to make offers of admission to students who show real interest, so we erred on the side of ‘why not ?’ 
She is a freshman there this year and loving it!</p>
<p>I don’t think it will impact your admission if you choose not to go, but I think it only can work in your favor to interview, especially if you’re outgoing. I had a great interview last year and I like to think it played a part in my admission. Like the poster above said, they do tend to ask some intense/possibly intimidating questions about your passion for USC, but I think that makes for a better interview. Example: The first question I was asked in my interview “How many AP courses have you taken?” Now while that can be a question that results in a great amount of pride for many, I thought of a friend of mine who applied and had only taken two. I imagine he would have felt a bit intimidated or depleted by the opening question.</p>
<p>If you really want to go to USC I would highly recommend going to the interview. When my daughter went a few years back, she went in not being sure if USC would be a first choice, but came out excited and uplifted. We did go over potential questions in the car, so that she would be ready for things that came up. Overall though she was her natural normal self, answered the questions with honesty and excitement and I think it helped her a lot. (She ended up with a Presidential Scholarship). I am not sure if it impacts your chances, but I think it is a huge benefit to the applicant to see the face of USC (and let them see yours).</p>
<p>My D interviewed yesterday and felt it a worthwhile and informative experience. It lasted 25 minutes and there were a few “off the cuff”’ questions. I think my daughter came away with an understanding of the interview process and the importance of being able to present herself and passions to someone who has no previous knowledge about her-big lesson, and helpful for future interviews. The USC Admissions officer was friendly and interested and put my D at ease. D is excited about USC and I think the interview personalized the college application process, giving her the opportunity to picture herself as a future student in her chosen major and all the opporunities USC has to offer.</p>
<p>Exciting! When my daughter interviewed a couple of years ago she had a similar experience and really enjoyed talking with the VERY nice admissions officer. When she arrived on campus for her scholarship interview a few months later, the admission officer remembered her and their conversation.</p>
<p>It sounds like a GREAT start to the application season for your daughter!</p>
<p>Good luck!!!</p>
<p>Note to applicants still hoping to sign up for interviews: The off-campus interviews are probably all filled up by now, but it can’t hurt to try to find a spot. Interview info: <a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/apply/adm_interview.html[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/apply/adm_interview.html</a> There should be a tab to reserve an interview on your USConnect. Good luck!</p>
<p>To add more excitement, I also want to update the new applicants with what happened admissons-wise for midwestDad2’s son. (The original poster on this thread.)</p>
<p>A very well-qualified applicant and a NMF, he was already assured a 1/2 tuition scholarship at USC if he was accepted. In January he was admitted and invited to interview for the full-tuition Trustee Scholarship and was awarded that prestigious scholarship in March. He was also admitted to and received wonderful scholarship offers from several other fine schools but ultimately selected USC. </p>
<p>Who knows what will happen with the applicants starting to post this year??? :)</p>
<p>My son had his interview on campus this summer. I see his confidence level rise, each time he goes through this process, and that’s reason enough right there, as far as I’m concerned. The main reason I’m even commenting on this thread is to relate to everyone how impressed we were with the friendly, helpful faculty and staff alike-- on two separate occasions. USC has an incredibly welcoming environment and, from what we’ve heard, that’s only the beginning!</p>
<p>^Congratulations to you, your family, and your son- alamemom- NOT!!!</p>
<p>I did a phone interview with someone within the department to which I was applying, and I enjoyed it. I thought it went really well, and my mom (who was eavesdropping on my end of the conversation) did as well. It was definitely one of my better intrviews, very natural and just all-around smooth. I feel like it may have helped me be admitted, especially because I was really able to show my passion for the major to which I applied. For me, it’s easier to talk about what I love in an interview than it is to write it down in a very specific essay format.</p>
<p>I definitely thought it was worth it, and I’d encourage others to interview.</p>
<p>By the way, I do remember one of the questions he asked me: What are your top three schools? (I applied to 10, so it was a logical question.) I was truthfully able to name USC as one of my top three, and then he asked me to rank them, and I ranked USC 2 (as it was at the time, though by March/April, it was my first choice). So even if you say that they’re your second choice, you can still get in. 
But if USC isn’t one of your top choice schools, that might be a more difficult question to answer.</p>
<p>are on campus interviews still open for USC’s Dornsife college? plus whats the usc id number and where do you get one from? thanx :D</p>