I didn't apply, but I can give some suggestions. I saw that the acceptance rate for USC is close to Cal and UCLA so they may have similar standards ( this is not an exact correlation but at least USC isn't as selective as HYP) There is never a guarantee but if you are the valedictorian, 2200+ SAT, good and solid ECs then I'd say you're in. It depends on the context of your school but if you are academically the best at your school, it is a low match. Out of my class of 60, almost everyone is accepted if they are in the top 20% GPA and have 2200 SAT. These schools are slightly more number oriented than the more selective schools where everyone who applies is the valedictorian, 2400 SAT, 4.0 GPA, cured cancer type of student.
Collegestress16~
USC is VERY competitive to get into. Just look at the stats from the recent admits.
I agree that the only for sure way in is to be related to a person very high up in the administration or make a huge donation (as in millions of dollars). Legacies with stellar stats are being rejected every day.
^^ It really isn't useful to compare the admission rates between UC*A and USC. Westwood is about half the cost of USC for Cali residents, so that skews the applicant pool one way. Then USC goes out of its way to admit and give scholarships to talented, smart people from all over the country, whereas the public schools are strictly limited on how many out of staters can be admitted, and any who get in pay full price.
Collegestress16~
USC is VERY competitive to get into. Just look at the stats from the recent admits.
I agree that the only for sure way in is to be related to a person very high up in the administration or make a huge donation (as in millions of dollars). Legacies with stellar stats are being rejected every day.
USC is competitive, but I was saying that HYP are even more so with about a third the acceptance rate. Most top students who apply to HYMPS think of USC, UCLA, and CAL as safeties. As I said before, and what you said your self, these second tier schools are more numbers oriented. I doubt USC rejects many ( if at all) 2400 SAT, 4.0 UW GPA, Valedictorian, Varsity sport playing, legacies. However, many top schools which are much much more competitive do reject these students.
I just want to clarify one thing for everyone: Not THAT many students make a 2400 on the SAT or 36 on the ACT. Look at the following chart from the College Board. It lists college bound seniors, and of course schools will superscore- but many ask for scores in one sitting. Still, the number of kids who do make a 2400 is not as large as you think. I believe that many students exaggerate their scores when telling others what they made on a particular test.
As so many have stated already, the students WITH great scores, letters of rec, challenging curricula, great ECs showing leadership, ones that fit a particular niche in a department, student body, etc. are the ones who will be more likely to gain admittance at any school. This is especially true since only a few hundred actually have those "perfect" scores. : )
Also, if students choose their schools to match their interests and passions And choose based on a reach that is somewhat feasible, they wouldn't need to apply to 10-20 schools!
If 20,000 or 30,000 (I am sure the total number for all of the schools is much greater) students apply to an Ivy League school or Stanford for example, only a few hundred have a perfect score- and it's generally many of the same students applying to those schools. Obviously they are not the only ones who can be admitted. : ) So to get into USC, if those same few hundred, or even one or two thousand (superscores= 2400) are going to the Ivy Leagues, then your test scores don't have to be perfect! As a matter of fact it's absolutely impossible for many of the Ivy League kids to have those perfect scores if the collegeboard stats are true.
Of course your stats don't have to be perfect, but it helps.
To the OP, just do the best you can. Don't conform yourself to a specific type of person you think USC will accept. challenge yourself, experience new adventures, broaden your horizons, and enjoy everything thing you do. If USC doesn't accept you after giving your best, just know that there are hundreds of other schools that will gladly welcome you. Don't try to be the perfect applicant, instead use your high school years as a learning experience with memories that will last forever.
SC is in the groups of universities that are called Tier I. It is considered highly selective even though the average SAT scores are not at the same level as HYP. However, about 18% of the freshmen are in the arts where vision, talent, imagination and creativity are considered more important than an SAT/ACT score.
While the overall admit rate for the enrolled 2008-2009 class was 21.9% certain programs at SC in music, cinematic arts, theatre and a few others have a single digit admit rate.
SC does not have the huge endowment of some of the older universities, but it is rising in the rankings and continues to become more and more selective. Increasing numbers of faculty members are receiving major awards and honors. New buildings are featuring state of the art technologies and alumni continue generous support.
The university can be proud of their record of service to the surrounding community, large numbers of Pell Grant students, loyal Trojan family and ethnic diversity of the student body.
