Hey I was wondering if anyone has heard back who turned their decisions in during February? I am new to this whole process! If not does USC usually get back to their transfers before June 1st
@zettasyntax I listed CSBA as my second choice, but I ended up getting accepted to my first choice. I originally had just the normal CS as my second choice because I was under the impression that CSBA was only available to incoming freshmen. There was a transfer hangout with Viterbi admissions though that said it was available for transfers, which is when I put it on my application.
@qwality2953 Congrats!! May I ask you who your counselor is?
I’m trying to understand more about the admissions process. I can’t remember where I read this, but I recall another user stating that counselors with less seniority have to forward applications to a committee for review and then vouch for the applicant if they feel that they are desirable. @zettasyntax Can you comment on this? I’d really appreciate your expertise!
@hitherto I’m from Oregon so my counselor is Jesse Rueter. I met him once at a Discover USC event when I was in high school, and sent him an email or two during high school and the transfer process, but that’s about it as far as my contact with him goes.
@tinarose Thank you. I got into UCI Paul Merage School of Business. Did you apply to Haas school of business? I will find out about Haas this friday and USC god knows when haha.
@hitherto Hey, I’m not actually too knowledgeable about this, but here’s what I’ve heard as well:
Apparently, each counselor just handles all of your information (looks up your courses at any CC(s) you may have attended, determines the rigor, make sure everything is on file, etc) and assigns it a score. Then it is passed off to another counselor who also assigns it a score - if they both give you a high score, yay, you’re probably in. If not, it’s then supposed to go to a committee where your counselor has to state your case (and if your counselor doesn’t especially care for you, I guess it’s really in their hands). I’m unsure to the exact power that the counselors have in determing admittance, but mine stated that he could switch me from being a spring to a fall admit, but that he was NOT going to do that, so I should drop the topic. He’s a young counselor too. I’d estimate that he’s only about 24/25. So I’m not sure if this is really accurate, but just what I’ve read as well. Wish I had information I could say I was confident in. Maybe if any of you decide to do work study in the admissions office, we can have concrete info one day 
Ooh, also, my counselor from the year I got an SGR then rejection seemed to personally handle my getting an SGR because he only asked to see my grade in math and when I called the admissions office, the person I spoke with stated that they had never seen an SGR that just asked to see one grade, so maybe going by that, they at least decide if you get SGR-d or not?
Is not receiving an SGR a bad indication?
I’ve applied to the Health Promotion and Disease major under the Keck School of Medicine. I haven’t heard anything from USC except for verification of financial aid documents pretty early on. I got the email about the Topping Scholarship but don’t think that means anything. Does applying for this scholarship possibly show keen interest?
Also, does anyone have any info regarding this particular major and the timeline of acceptance? Much appreciated!
@zettasyntax Thank you, that was really helpful. I mean, the whole process is so arcane, but I think what you said is the most accurate info I’ve heard so far. Those who have been accepted on this thread have all had Senior Assistant Directors as their counselors. My counselor seems pretty new and doesn’t have a photo on his profile page. My husband’s counselor last year was also fairly new and he received his acceptance through the portal on 5/31. Interesting stuff.
I had reached out to my local counselor via email back in January and never received a response. I called him again around the end of March and he wasn’t in the office. I mostly contacted the main admissions office with questions because my specific counselor never responded.
would you guys say its important to speak with your local counselor? Do you think it would be too late for me to call again with questions or would now be a good time?
It’s important to speak to your counselor if you have good questions or need to inform them of course schedule changes. You should double check if you still have the same counselor. My counselor was switched the day after I submitted my application, I believe on 2/2.
@wtb2525 yayy Congrats! A lot of my friends are attending UCI right now. I only applied to USC but Berkeley is great too!! USC is my dream school since it’s the perfect fit! I did gamble really hard by putting all the eggs in one basket but it turned out okay
Does anyone know about the Topping scholarship? Is it a good sign? I was emailed to apply for it a few days ago.
@hitherto how did you know that you counselor switched??
Is not having spoken with your counselor a bad move? I never had any questions I felt the need to ask them since I asked a ton during multiple google hang outs.
@John6311 I checked http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/findyourcounselor.html the day before I submitted my application. A day or so later I checked again, and my school was reassigned to a different counselor
@tommy97 Not receiving a SGR is not a bad or good indication. In previous threads, people have still gotten acceptances even though they did not receive a SGR. Also, some people who have gotten SGR’s have ultimately been rejected as well. Some people also just receive their SGR’s later than others. I have a friend who’s applying for one of the business majors, and he has yet to receive a SGR as well. Maybe they have yet to send one to you! Don’t worry!
@collegegirlUSC I think people who demonstrate a financial need are usually the ones who receive the topping scholarship offer email. It shouldn’t indicate good or bad. I received the exact same offer when I was a high school senior, applied and was rejected.
@hitherto thank you! My counselor has not changed, but he also hasn’t gotten back to be since I submitted my application. But I did send an email yesterday thanking him again for assisting me.
@qwality2953 what are your stats and what school do you go to?
Well, my counselor never responded to my email back from January but I just emailed him again so we’ll see how that goes.
@dhailey I am currently at Portland Community College in Oregon. I have a 3.96 gpa (probably a 3.95 when only looking at transferable courses). After the spring term, I will have 115 quarter credits, of which about 100 or so are transferable. I’m not really involved at school so my ECs are pretty much all from high school.