<p>@popluarmom: I’m sorry to hear your son was rejected yesterday. Though his stats are perfect, if there is one thing I actually took with me from High School it is this: the better writer always wins. How was his essay? What did he write about? It’s very possible that his friend is a phenomenal writer and his essay helped carry him. When you look at only stats, all the students begin to look exactly the same…</p>
<p>As far as being need blind, I completely believe that they are. I come from a family that is neither wealthy nor poor, with full knowledge that I would be expected to pay more than half of my tuition and I was accepted. I was also accepted with the financial aid office knowing that my family is in massive debt. Why would USC take their chances on someone like me if they weren’t need blind?</p>
<p>Finally, I say take the transfer program option. I am a transfer student who was not offered this program (I didn’t apply anywhere out of High School) and transferring is the best thing I’ve ever done. I went from being a trouble-making, okay student to a top student in college. I got my GE’s out of the way for only a couple thousand dollars in community college, I made big mistakes and was able to recover from them in a non-university environment, and I was put on a more level playing field when it came time to transfer to USC. As a transfer, SAT’s, class rank, EC’s and all that most people here have been working on since exiting the birth control don’t matter. If you do well in college, get to know your professors and spend the next year or two working on the best essay known to man, you will have a good shot at transferring in. :)</p>
<p>USC is definitely need blind. i wasn’t a stellar applicant by any means and they gave me 40k a year in grants for all 4 years. my EFC was less than $1000.</p>
<p>furthermore there are other factors to consider, such as the competitiveness of the school/major you’re applying to within USC. someone with higher stats might get rejected from viterbi while their friend with lesser stats will get accepted to CLAS.</p>
<p>popularmom, I can really sympathize because the same thing happened to my son #1 several years ago. My husband and I are both alum of a LAC and had helped out a lot with some alum events, and were slapped in the face when S#1 received the rejection when we thought he was certain deserving of admission. We could not believe it when they sent him a form rejection letter that used the wrong name! But you know who wasn’t so upset as we were? Son #1, who was admitted to several other really nice places and chose the perfect spot. He is now thriving, and whenever my alma mater calls up to ask us to donate saying how much they’ve improved in their USNWR rankings, are more competitive than ever etc (and I guess it is true) I just tell them I’m sorry, but my tuition bills for S#1 (and soon, S#2) leave us no money to spare for them.</p>
<p>But anyway, for all those admitted to USC or whatever other college, congratulations on your success, and good luck wherever you choose to attend!</p>
<p>The link below was originally posted by MA2011, in post #148, and will tell you when your (hopefully acceptance) large envelope will arrive Priority Mail. Enter the zip code as 90089 and the weight as 1 lb.:</p>
<p>Huge packet in the mail here in south central Florida! I’m so excited, I was definitely a long shot!</p>
<p>Also, for further reference, I’m Annenberg, I applied on the day the application was due and my USC Connect status is just as it was before they sent out acceptances. I’ve been stalking this thread for days and days now, so I’m trying to answer any questions I think will be asked! :)</p>