Hi! Time for another “What are my chances?” post. I’ll try to keep this short:
First Gen College Student - In State
Majors: Marshall School of Business - Business Admin (First Choice) / Dornsife - English (Second Choice)
GPA: Pretty low (because of all of my activities and an external circumstance in the case of my junior year, not very proud of it but I try to address it without it sounding like an excuse in my additional info section)
Rigor: Took a lot of honors classes (English, Chem, History). Only took AP Lang considering the fact that English was my focus in school.
PSAT (I’m taking the SAT in October but odds are it’ll probably be canceled so I put in some PSAT stuff):
570 EBR&W (Converts to around low 700 high 600 on SAT) (I only speak about my English section in my app)
School Marching Band
General Manager in Marching Band
Social Events Manager in Marching Band
UCLA Combined Band in 2017 and 2018
Lead Tournament Organizer and Referee of a 10,000 Person Nationwide Event
Head Content Moderator of a page with 15,000 active users
Community Manager (2,000 people in said community)
Media/Press at Los Angeles Comic Con
Writer at a reasonably sized pop-culture publication (paid)
Club Founder of my esports club
Content Intern at a mid-small size esports team
USC Smash Club Member (I put that in more to show I'm familiar with the campus [also join the club! It's open to everyone and it's fun :)])
This post wasn’t short lol. If you have any questions feel free to ask but I’m hearing maybe I have a chance or then I have no chance. It’s all over the place so I wanna talk about it here :^)
In terms of getting “Chanced” for USC, or to any of the nation’s top forty or so elite colleges and universities, it is virtually impossible for others to predict what may or may not occur in your specific case. In terms of USC specifically… with an admit rate now below 16%, and with 4K+ applicants with 4.0 unweighted GPAs and test scores in the 99th percentile among those not gaining admission, your success will instead likely depend on too many potential factors for anyone to correctly evaluate… making predicting admission nearly impossible.
But this also shows that they admit many without perfect grades or test scores. They are after all seeking to craft a well-rounded and diverse freshman class comprised of those who actually have a strong affinity for or connection to USC. They do aim to admit those who they project will thrive well at USC and bring something unique to the campus environment.
So your individual admission decision 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.
And that “Why USC?” explanation is likely the most important single component of your application. You do need to provide a well-thought out and well-researched answer as to why attending USC is truly significant and important to you specifically. And moreover, USC does want to gain a sense as to what you will be uniquely contributing to the greater USC community if admitted.
Before applying, I suggest reading through the very helpful insider’s guide to USC admissions…