Will USC care if I didn't take AP or Honors courses?

<p>I'm in a terrible situation. Due to some personal issues in my life (I have depression), I got really behind in school. Now I'm trying to catch up so I can graduate on time. Since Honors and AP require even more work that I'm doing now, I've been taking regular courses so I can be in senior year by the fall. I was going to apply to NYU for early decision but apparently they care a lot about AP courses. I was wondering if USC is the same way? I really don't want this to be the reason why colleges won't accept me.I plan on majoring in Journalism, I do love Los Angeles and I want to work in entertainment journalism so USC would be perfect school for me.</p>

<p>If you didn’t take APs even though your school offers them, I think it will make you a not-as-strong applicant compared to others who have taken many of them.</p>

<p>Yes, USC does weigh AP and Honors courses heavily. Students who take multiple advanced courses and do well in them demonstrate that they are capable of surviving in challenging, competitive institutions like USC and NYU. There’s a reason why adcoms want applicants to take AP and Honors courses, especially if there are a good amount offered at their high school. And in the case that there aren’t many courses offered at their high school, adcoms want applicants to go the extra mile and take classes at community colleges during the summer.</p>

<p>It’s unfortunate that your depression keeps you from performing in school, however chances are that if you can’t keep up with a high school AP or Honors course then Journalism classes at USC and NYU will be near-impossible. My suggestion would be to graduate at your pace in high school, and then enter your local community college. Take journalism courses there and once again, go at a realistic pace. Then, if you make the grades in community college, there will still be a chance for you to transfer somewhere down the line.</p>

<p>I agree with marmar16. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^</p>