@ocean2000 I’d heard at some point that they try to emphasize diversity but I don’t know how true that is. Given how much their SCA scholarships seem to emphasize diversity though I have to think there’s some truth to this.
Anyone else nervous after this whole USC scandal thing? I feel way less confident after all the new information that just came out!
Honestly I don’t know what to think anymore. I’m an international student with a varied background. I’m the valedictorian in my year. I have the equivalent of 5 A* for A-levels (British exams). 7 distinctions for IGCSE. I know it may be confusing to understand my international exams but my grades could have allowed me to apply anywhere in the world. I had beyond the grades to get into the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford. I’m the head of many clubs that I’ve started; been president of the year; frequently worked in charity; been independent since I was 15 living halfway across the world from my parents so that I could achieve a good education; I’m a national ranked sportsman; my grade is 98.4%. On top of all these factors I know people say grades aren’t everything, but my essays were very good and I put a lot of work into my application but I’m honestly worried that I’ll be rejected, not based on my individual worth but rather because I wasn’t considered ‘diverse’ enough.
With an overall USC admit rate projected to be only 10% this cycle… and thus with a projected 63K of a total of 70K in total applicants getting rejected… it will not be a simple matter to pin-point the reason why. It is virtually impossible for others to predict what may or may not occur in your specific case. In recent cycles, 4K+ applicants with 4.0 unweighted GPAs and test scores in the 99th percentile were among those not gaining admission. Your success… as will be the case with all applicants… will instead likely depend on too many potential factors for anyone to correctly evaluate… making predicting admission nearly impossible. You may want to look at last year’s freshman profile to see how you would have been positioned last cycle…
https://about.usc.edu/files/2018/09/USC-Freshman-Profile-2018-2019.pdf
You will note that not everyone admitted had stellar stats… so they do look at many different factors. It will likely come down to a composite and holistic analysis of your stats coupled with writing ability / essays, ECs, potential leadership roles, potential other unique qualifiers (URM, First Gen, geography, demographics, etc.), your Why USC? explanation/reasoning, etc.
You may also want to read through the following very helpful insider’s guide to USC admissions…
https://tfm.usc.edu/a-guide-to-uscs-college-admissions-process/
It provides a glimpse into how Admissions staffers view the process and what they are looking for generally.
In the case of SCA applicants… the admit rate is even lower… ranging from 2-6% most likely – depending on the major being sought. SCA is routinely among the very hardest programs within USC to gain access to… and their evaluation process adds in a serious consideration of your writing and/or visual samples as a means of judging your creativity and unique voice as an artist.
With all of these factors at play… and the subjectivity that such an evaluation process brings to the mix… it will be hard to single out just one cause for a rejection. The adverse is more likely… that there are just so few available spots and far too many qualified applicants competing for them. No one should take such a rejection personally. It is not an indictment of anyone’s qualifications or skill set. It is just a numbers game that others somehow managed to navigate better. And for those admitted, it is also not fair to merely point to one single cause… like diversity, for example.
And it may also not be the end of the discussion for some in terms of SCA specifically. Some may get into USC but as Undeclared and then internally transfer into SCA later. My daughter did just that in 2017. Bryan Singer had an even more difficult path. He was turned down to USC when he applied the first time. He externally transferred in to USC later but was then still rejected by SCA. And then he finally internally transferred into SCA on his third try. So persistence can pay off. Of course, Steven Spielberg was rejected all three times that he tried… so clearly an USC or USC + SCA rejection is not the end of the story either. Spielberg clearly did not allow such to derail his legendary career in film and television.
Good luck…
Does anyone know what time of day USC generally updates portals?
@drumminggeek87 Last March and in prior years… 12am Pacific. But in January, they switched the portal updates to noon. Hopefully they will simply post a specific time and not compel all applicants who have not received an acceptance package in the mail to start refreshing constantly from 12am on the 24th forward.
@WWWard Thanks for the info! And yes, hopefully they’ll give us a set time! Because I’m definitely the type who would stay up really late refreshing and I’d like to get sleep if I can lol
You’re welcome, @drumminggeek87 And the admission portal has gotten very overloaded in the past… with some people taking a very long time to actually get logged-in. That sort of process is a bit unfair… especially on the east coast beginning at 3am. So hopefully they both announce a set time and are also better prepared for tens of thousands of simultaneous log-in attempts. But if it is really true that as many as 70K applied, there may be no escaping delays…
Do they wait for all students to receive acceptance packages before they post online decisions? If no, when is online date vs mail date?
Post #1667 here:
And throughout that thread many times about every 2 pages or so, if you work backwards from the last page you will find all kinds of good stuff in there.
@applicantXIX As a Recap for the applicants waiting:
USC has announced that nearly 67K applied this cycle and that the admit rate will be circa 11%. That equates to around 7,370 being admitted overall. Since 1,000 or so were admitted in January during the scholarship phase, another 6,370 or so will be admitted this week.
The mail-out of admissions packages, sent via USPS Priority Mail, has been confirmed by USC as occurring on March 21st, with portal updates for all applicants on March 23rd at 5pm Pacific.
You can project your likely delivery window via the following link… https://www.usps.com/priority-mail/map/ Simply use 90007 as the originating zip code. Be forewarned however that USPS is far from 100% reliable, and they do too often miss those delivery windows. The portal updates on the 23rd will be the definitive answer.
Rejection letters arrive via regular mail later… usually received after the portals update - unless you live close enough to USC.
While you can of course try Informed Delivery via USPS, as it has worked for some, USC does not enable tracking and historically very few of those actually getting the admission packets were able to gain that same-day advanced notice. The vast majority who have had Informed Delivery, including my own family, were not able to see this particular type of package en route. But there is always a chance.
Best of luck to all those waiting for good news beginning with the packages roll-out on March 21st…
@CADREAMIN @WWWard Thank you both for the informative recap! You both are a wealth of information.
@applicantXIX you’re welcome
How many SCA applicants typically get an interview request?
Looks like at least one person on Reddit is saying they’ve received a notification from USPS about a package coming from USC’s address…
I checked Reddit and there are no CURRENT posts saying anyone received a USPS notification about a package from USC–they are all from 1+ months ago!
so, i live in an apartment complex and i checked my informed delivery today. it says there is currently nothing on the way for me (which i guess is a relief since usually informed delivery informs people of rejection letters incoming rather than packages).
this entire process is kind of scary. i’m expecting rejection, which of course is a hit to the heart since it is my dream school, but i just want to be realistic for the future.
all decisions will be released on my brother’s birthday so that’s even scarier haha. i really do wish good luck to everyone. fight on.
Good luck @niconiconii!
anybody received package?
It’s only 8:30 in California - soon though, usually earliest post has been an hour or more from now.