USC is my first choice and I was wondering if I have a good chance of getting in!
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2290 cumulative
ACT (breakdown): Did not take
SAT II: Math II - 800, Bio - 760, US Hist - 720
PSAT: 240 (kind of unexpected)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.61
Weighted GPA (if available): 4.13
Rank/percentile (if available): N/A (top 25% i think)
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Euro (4), AP Calc AB (5), BC (5,5), English Lang (5), APUSH (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Stats, AP Lit, AP Macro, AP Comp Sci A, AP Physics, Reg Government
Major Awards: National Merit Semifinalist (put USC as intended), Prestigious school service award, Most improved singer of choir, Most inspirational player of JV Tennis
Subjective:
Extracurriculars:
Robotics (Vex team leader- also do FRC), Chamber Choir (Bass Section Leader - we are very prestigious and sing internationally and win every year at nationals), Acapella Club (Founder, Bass Section Leader), Science and Engi Club (President, grow Interest in STEM through fun activities), iPad Squad (President, tech help of the school), Programming Club (board), Tennis (only 9-10, Co-Captain- 9)
Job/Work Experience:
Engineering Internship at Santa Clara University with Head of Civil Engi department - unpaid- test the structural integrity of straw bale walls - 5 hrs a day 5 days a week over summer with a few other undergrads - I was hired since I am really good with wood materials since I have my own wood shop in my backyard (wrote about this in essay)
Volunteer/Community service: Library Children’s/Teen Volunteer - 400 all 4 yrs
Essays:
My essays were actually fantastic. I talked about my social anxiety freshman year and how I overcame it through choir, i talked A LOT about USC in the why USC one since I know so much about the school, wrote about civil engineering in engi supplement and Youtube was my fav site - talked about engineering + musical stuff I like to watch
All my essays were pretty entertaining to read and very well crafted.
Teacher Recommendation: 10/10 - Both teachers really love me
Counselor Rec: idk I think that it’s pretty good
Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Viterbi Engineering - Undeclared (told them during interview I was interested in Mech, Electrical, Civil, and Comp Eng)
Minor (planned): Musical Theater
State (if domestic applicant): California Bay Area
School Type: Competitive Catholic school - 423 students in my grade
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: Male
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Lots of leadership, Wide range of interests, Interview went very well (I’m quite the extrovert)
Anti-Hooks: Indian, GPA, low Physics Honors grades and Calc BC grades (B-)
Strengths: Essays, ECs, Leadership, Good speaker during Interview, Minoring in Musical Theater (different for an Engineering major), LOTS of demonstrated interest
Weaknesses: Low GPA compared to other applicants (but these applicants are very stereotypical comp sci kids), Steady decline in grades due to harder classes - Almost all As freshman and soph year, Pretty much all Bs and B-s Junior year, Have a good amount of As now this senior year.
Thanks a lot! Overall, my school is VERY hard which is shown through my disparity between standardized tests and GPA but others in my school still have very, very high GPAs and are still applying to Viterbi.
So, What are my chances!!!
