<p>USC REJECTED ME!</p>
<p>[ b]Stats:[ /b][ list]
SAT: 2140; CR: 680 W: 780 M: 680
ACT: n/a
SAT IIs: Math IIC: 690
GPA: 3.9
Rank: 32/466
Other stats:
Essays: very good
Teacher Recs: 1- better than i expected
Counselor Rec:
Hook (if any): national merit finalist, Varsity Girl's Golf Team 4 years, Captain for 2 years
State or Country: CA
School Type: public
Ethnicity: Korean
Gender: female
Other Factors/Hook?: 7 AP Classes, Ryman Arts-graduated as an elected candidate for full scholarship program for advanced drawing/painting classes in a rigorous studio environment held at USC</p>
<p>What i'm wondering is, should i appeal?
AND.. has any other national merit finalists who applied to USC been rejected?</p>
<p>The admission rate went down to 21% so a lot of people were disappointed.</p>
<p>NMF is not a guarantee of acceptance to private schools. Possibly, your application read as if you assumed that you would be offered admission to USC. Maybe a teacher recommendation was not entirely positive. I just read your prior posts and noted that you listed USC as your first choice school for the NMF scholarship. This is a very tough year for college admissions. Although you were admitted to UCLA, you did not get into Berkeley according to your earlier posts. This leads me to believe that one or more aspects of your application was weak. Did you apply to any other schools besides USC, UCLA & Berkeley? Did anyone proofread your application with respect to “tone” or your “writer’s voice”? Did your application illustrate why you were a good match for USC?</p>
<p>not to be picky… but your Math IIC is really low. Plus ditto to the people above me. This year was really competitive</p>
<p>On the other hand, maybe they assumed she’d be accepted to an Ivy?</p>
<p>Not based on her posted info.; although an assumption may have been made that the OP would be accepted by several UCs. This, however, really has no bearing in this case as the OP listed USC as her first choice school with NMC and clearly is not a shoe-in for any top 15 university (with one exception in my opinion). Regarding post #7 below: No difference as your standardized test scores were strong for USC, and your class rank placed you in the top 7% of a large graduating class. My best guess is that it was some aspect of your application–essays, tone, or teacher recs–that adversely affected your application for admission to USC. If you really want USC, then contact the admissions office to determine if they will permit you to appeal their decision. This is worth a letter or phone call, but as you were not even waitlisted, the result might be the same unless there was a miscommunication on behalf of USC admissions. P.S. With an interest in economics & communications, Northwestern University may have been a match for you.</p>
<p>I got into UCLA Pre-Business Economics in the College of Letters & Science
and UCSD Muir College for Communications, UCSB College of Letters and Science for Pre-Business Economics, UCI The Paul Merage School of Business for Business Administration</p>
<p>Other stats: 4 AP English Language, 4 AP Biology
and SAT2s are optional, and only looked at for scholarship consideration.. would that have really affected my admission.</p>
<p>I was thinking that maybe they place NMFs in a separate pile as the other applicants? Because if they accept a NMF and they list USC as their first choice university, then they are required to give a Presidential National Merit Scholarship (half tuition).. could that be?</p>
<p>So what I’m really wondering, is if any other NMFs have been rejected.. please post stats.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>i think that’s the main reason. i think you’d have been good enough to get in if they didn’t feel obligated to give you half-tuition. your stats are pretty good but kinda low for NMF. you may have been better off if you weren’t NMF as far as USC admission goes.</p>
<p>Sam Lee is correct. Many NMFs are rejected for admission to private schools. Many public universities turn down NMFs for their top honors programs in favor of better suited applicants who are not NMFs (I have direct experience with this, but don’t want to name the publics involved.) Something in your application made the admissions committee decide that they would not invest substantial scholarship money in you & your education. The good news is that UCLA is a great school in a better area of town than is USC. As an aside, I am frequently astonished at the generosity of schools to students with less than stellar numbers, but with other sought after attributes. If a university really wants you, they know how to communicate this to the student. Also, even though you are a NMF, your 1460/1600 does not even place you in USC’s top 25% of accepted applicants.</p>
<p>Icy – it’s actually 1360/1660 (not 1460).</p>
<p>well, not be be annoying, but it’s 1360/1600. These days, 1360/1600 would be just <em>below</em> USC’s midpoint. The prior year it was 1370, and I’ll bet when the data are released for this incoming class, it will be 1380 or 1390. I agree tha the half-scholarship is probably the deciding factor. Half scholarship for 1360 SAT is incongruous – there is NO WAY they will give up tuition money for a student who will drag <em>down</em> their midpoint SAT scoring so imporant to the USNWR rankings. It is also incongruous that a NMF would score 1360 on the SAT… I would expect above 1450 for a person who tested so well the prior year.</p>
<p>Based on your class size, I am assuming you attend a better than average publich high school. Not being top 5% at a public school is significant, at least as far as their commitment to fund half your tuition at a top 30.</p>
<p>Quixotic Pursuit – sorry, lost my manners there for a second –</p>
<p>Congratulations on UCLA! It is a nicer campus, historically more respected academically, currently still a more complete educational experience (less trade-schoolish), and Pauly Pavillion is a much safer place to root than the Coliseum!</p>
<p>Enjoy UCLA and root for the team this coming weekend.</p>
<p>quixotic,</p>
<p>UCLA is an awesome school, and you look like a hardworking, high-achieving student (and athlete). It looks like UCLA just gained a really positive addition to their freshman class, and some other school just lost on that opportunity. Good luck!</p>
<p>Maybe it’s a little bit of Tufts Syndrome.</p>
<p>i think it’s probably the SAT score…it sucks but it seems like even 20-30 points is making a difference</p>