How do some students get into USC with a 3.5 or lower? what do these students do that get them a spot on this campus even if their gpa is below average?
Recruited athletes, Legacy/Large donors/Students with highly desirable talents etc…
A nice essay
An extraordinary overall package that shows their passion along with what they will contribute to the campus and world at large with what they are pursuing, expressed in a well written essay, and emphasized in every area of the application.
1550+ SAT or 35+ ACT.
USC has several top arts schools. Your definition of talent/excellence - GPA - is overly narrow. Someone who’s a world-class sculptor or dancer may not necessarily be a straight A student. In fact, there’s plenty of research out there about how valedictorians do well - but not extremely well - in life. Thus the cliche that school is where the former A students teach the mostly B students how to work for the C students.
Easily you can, Usc is notorious for “fudging” the #'s of admitted students, as a private uni. they have no overseer from government proving what they are saying is true. Well known this has gone on for at least 25 years, fooling prospective eell qualified students into thinking they were going to attend a uni. with the same. NOT! Also take into account relatives from janitors to the drs. of usc employee’s get a free ride, regardless of qualifying at the supposed high standard.
Basically usc puts on a good show , Hollywood style, when in actuallity it is at most a 2-3 tier uni.
Someone’s unhappy that they couldn’t get into USC.
This is me as of now. My hardships, though I hate excuses, are what hindered my grades. I know I could have done better and that’s what I’m hoping to do while in college. It takes one C to mess up your whole GPA and everything in the world to bring it up. Inflation in school is a thing as well. I do feel as if people deserve chances, just like implying GED vs diploma. I don’t feel like two applicants should be treated differently because of paper and that you can end up in the same direction taking two separate routes. With that being said, I might have not done well in classroom settings, but I can beat a standardized test IMO. The school is looking for diversity like someone stated above, so if you’re constantly accepting the stat students, you’ll never see the potential of the underprivileged who can do the exact same things that others do just using different mindsets.
I really don’t want to seem like a PRO-slacker because hardwork and doing well in instructed environments is outstanding. I don’t want to offend others who work hard for their 4.0s and similar & I applaud those who have them because it honestly takes dedication and extreme patience which is virtue. I, instead, want to create a voice for people like me who are misunderstood and battling the constant pressure of this traditional thinking when the world is changing everyday and our learning styles are being used now more than ever. Hope that answers your question without seeming absolutely biased.
Hey, so I have pretty low stats but great extracurriculars, my own business, and international awards. Couple people from my school got into USC with the same stats as myself and with less extracirrculars. But I also have applied for their international relations program. Is there internal relations program hard to get into? and do you guys think I can get into USC?
You can have an area that is not as strong on your application, but to get into USC, you are going to need something exceptional in many other aspects of your application. Not very good, or just interesting- because zillions of applicants bring that with high GPAs and test scores, but still don’t get in. So if you have a lower gpa, there needs to be excellence elsewhere in or across your app. In holistic admissions, chance me posts are pretty useless on the USC forum. The international relations major is a popular one, but in terms of getting in - again, holistic - too hard to say with any kind of authority.
Idk if people are still looking at this thread, but I got in with a 3.59 UW GPA, and a 1520 on the SAT(with no subject tests). I was a programmer for robotics, did two summer internships(unpaid, informal internships doing work for different professors, with no publications or tangible results), and created a social network(although I’ve pretty much abandon it, it has zero users). I also did some various volunteering(very little), ran track freshman year, and am an editor for newspaper. My essays were rushed, though my common app one was pretty unique i guess. I never won any awards or anything though.
Good luck, hope everything goes well!
I got accepted with embarrassing ACT scores and no SAT.
3 years later, I am graduating early with departmental honors and job offers.
I think it’s a good thing that USC admissions looks past restrictive numbers. I am a terrible test taker, but a better writer. I would hate to be judged on one of my weaknesses, when I have strengths to offer. It’s a good thing that USC accepts people who don’t fit the traditional mold of what “smart” is.