<p>To be honest, I don’t know enough to be stupid on that one. I suppose you could talk to the admissions officer assigned to your area ([Counselor</a> Profiles - USC Undergraduate Admission](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/prepare/counselor_profiles.html]Counselor”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/prepare/counselor_profiles.html)) and see what he/she has to say. Also your guidance counselor of course and do some due diligence. I assume it’s going to be a tradeoff either way. But yes, keep in mind the larger point that these days there are far more <em>qualified</em> students than there are slots, so the question then becomes who wants to go there and who will be a good fit for the university. Unfortunately for you guys these days, it’s not like it was in the 1970s and 1980s when schools had to go begging for students. Not your fault but obviously you want to know that going in.</p>