What are my chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
1

White Male, from Northeast PA
40/225 Class Rank
1430 SAT (one sitting), 720 SAT Chemistry
UW GPA: 3.85, W GPA: 4.1
Only 1 AP Class, 5 Duel Enrollment at local university

EC: Good Community Service, Several Clubs, Founder and President of Chemistry Club, 1st Award at Pennsylvania state level science fair, and received PA Talent Search Award

Recs: very good (2 teacher, One from Director of Former Governors School at University of Pittsburgh, One from Director of PA state science fair)

Financial Aid: Bracket- about 100k. I was hoping my net price would be around 20-25k

What are my chances? and am I looking for too much aid?

2

In terms of getting “Chanced” for USC, I suggest reading an excellent thread on the topic from the beginning…

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/1558825-what-are-my-chances-read-this-first-p1.html

I also suggest reading through the following very helpful insider’s guide to USC admissions…

https://tfm.usc.edu/a-guide-to-uscs-college-admissions-process/

Good Luck…

3

Thank you! How competitive do you think I am for USC? I am not sure if being from other side of country will have any effect (and I never visited)

4

Your grades/stats/etc are all within the right range for admission. Chancing is hard though because it is more likely to come down to factors like how well you write and how you make your own case regarding “Why USC?” for you and also what you may bring to USC yourself. Being from PA could help you. Both of my daughters (from FL) are at USC now. With over 55K applicants last year and an acceptance rate of only 16% or so, you simply cannot predict how the admission staff will view any individual applicant. They turned down 90% of legacy applicants and 3K applicants with test scores in the 99th percentile. That is also an indication though that they are looking deeper. They are trying to create a well-rounded freshman class… so what you individually and uniquely offer may be the thing that sets you apart and gets you in. Good luck…

5

I have very similar stats as you and I’m also from PA! I’d say your stats are definitely in range, but it is very likely that if you do get in, you won’t not get enough aid.