Do I have a chance at a full ride?

Colleges & Universities University of Southern California
1

<p>Just wondering whether I have a chance to get full scholarship if I choose to go to USC.</p>

<p>Korean male attending competitive public high school that sends at about 20 kids to ivy caliber schools each year.</p>

<p>Course rigor</p>

<p>Will have finished all these at a local community college by the time I graduate:</p>

<p>Art History
Physics + lab
Astronomy + lab
Microecon
Macroecon
Microbio
Anthropology
Philosophy
Sociology</p>

<p>Senior Schedule:
AP Comp Sci
AP English Lit
AP Euro
AP Stats
Honors US Gov

  • 6 community college classes (from the list above) – 3 each semester</p>

<p>Standardized tests</p>

<p>SAT IIs:
Math II: 760
World H: 760
Korean: 780</p>

<p>ACT composite: 34
Math: 36
English: 32
Science: 35
Reading: 31
Essay: 7</p>

<p>SAT - 2160
Math: 780
Writing: 700 (essay 8)
CR: 680</p>

<p>Planning to retake ACT and SAT on December. I am aiming for 35/36 on ACT and/or 2300+ on SAT.</p>

<p>AP tests</p>

<p>World: 5
Calc AB – 5
Biology – 5
US History - 4
Enviro Sci - 4
English Lang (self study) – 3
This year APs: Stats, Comp Sci, English Lit, Euro, and Calc BC (self study)</p>

<p>Academic gpa</p>

<p>Weighted: 4.55 (without PE grades)
Unweighted: 3.85 (without PE grades)
upward trend in grades
Rank: top 8% of graduating class. Is my rank too low? I could have been in top 3% if it wasn’t for my PE grades.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars</p>

<ul>
<li>Popping/Hip hop dance for 4 years. Performed at kollaboration 2007. (pretty good at this, I dedicate a lot of my time to dancing)</li>
<li>Work at my dad’s computer shop. (My dad operates the shop by himself so I have to help out. ~20 hours a week for about two years now)</li>
<li>Peer tutor in school (I use my lunch time to tutor kids in math/science)</li>
<li>Mu Alpha Theta president (national math club organization, will hold my position)</li>
<li>Korean Club VP junior year. President this year.</li>
<li>Teaching and helping “mentally” disabled kids at a local elementary school. (I can do this only during summer/winter/spring breaks since those are the only times where my school time doesn’t coincide with the elementary school times)</li>
<li>Tennis (private lessons but not competitive and not that good either) - 3 years</li>
<li>Piano (pretty good) - passed level 9 CM test</li>
<li>I am involved in various other environmental activities (like beach clean ups, planting tress, etc.) during the weekends.</li>
</ul>

<p>Misc</p>

<p>Recs will be stellar</p>

<p>strong essays - my counselor say it was superb</p>

<p>First generation to go to college</p>

<p>very tough courseload</p>

<p>prospective business major</p>

2

<p>well… I think you’re definitely getting in, not sure about full ride though</p>

3

<p>Your description sounds similar to the students who were accepted in last year’s class. Do you have any major awards which you did not mention?</p>

4

<p>You have a good chance stats-wise at being invited to interview for a full ride. The kids I have met who got the Trustee Scholarship are very personable and present themselves well in addition having excellent stats (like yours). I think the essays matter.</p>

5

<p>Have you decided on a major yet? This will play into the decisions about scholarships as each School reviews applicants and the top choices are invited to interview for the awards. If you are undecided, your app will be reviewed by CLAS, I believe. </p>

<p>Your grades and scores seem good for admission. For the major scholarships, students often have completed compelling research, received national competitive awards, and/or written very focused essays that show a great degree of independent work and passion devoted to their area(s) of interest, in addition to having the very top stats. </p>

<p>Work on your essay to make sure it really reveals your passion and best of luck!</p>

6

<p>I think kids that receive a full ride have very competitive stats, ie they actual get accepted to Harvard/Yale/Penn/Columbia etc…
First generation is a plus.</p>

7

<p>Similar stats to me, but I kind of lack a big “hook”.</p>

8

<p>Thanks people. When does USC start interviewing for scholarships?</p>

<p>madbean, I am applying to Marshall and will most likely major in business administration. I don’t have any notable awards except maybe national merit commended and ap scholar with distinction, but they don’t matter that much right?</p>

<p>hawaiiboy15, hehe I don’t have any hook either I think.</p>

9

<p>if i was the same way, with very similar stats ( with class president and captain of two teams), but hispanic, would i have a good chance of getting a full ride? yay nay?</p>

10

<p>u seem like a perfect example of a korean parent’s dream child…except i bet theyre mad that 3.85 UW isnt a 4.0 haha</p>

11

<p>haha thats flattering but relatively many Koreans I know have 4.0 UW + 2350 SATs so my parents seem to think I am just average</p>

12

<p>I don’t know how to do this search, but there was a listing of descriptions from some of the kids who were accepted last year. You can look for the kids who got the Trustee’s scholarship and see what their profiles look like. My guess is you need to have something exceptional to get a full ride Trustee scholarship such as winning the Intel or Siemens science fair competitions or other highly regarded contests/accomplishments which make you shine.</p>

13

<p>mdcissp, that is not true…they give out 100 full rides and there are not 100 ppl that win these big awards and such…u just need to have a very solid application and generally have one passion that really shines and u excel at.</p>

14

<p>Here’s the link to the stats of those here on CC who got in last year.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/454785-stats-only-usc-official-decisions-fall-2008-a.html?highlight=stats[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/454785-stats-only-usc-official-decisions-fall-2008-a.html?highlight=stats&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Most of those who were accepted before (around) February were invited back for interviews for the top two scholarships: Trustee and Presidential.</p>

15

<p>To tennisboy1005: Since there were around 36,000 applicants last year, we are looking at around a 3%-4% rate for the Trustee scholarship. Surely, many of the 36,000 or so original applicants had high test scores and high grades. This is why it seems reasonable that USC is looking for outstanding award winning talent beyond the test scores and high grades.</p>

16

<p>GPA, since you want to major in Business, it will enhance your chances if you can show the adcom your passion for business. Have you interned and taken on extra responsibilities? Have you taken business oriented leadership in your school clubs? Have you organized or raised money for local charities? Have you started your own business–been successful on eBay for an extended time, designed and sold t-shirts, offered to do the income tax returns for those in need? And have you sustained your involvement in these activities for years? The point is–can you show that you have gone beyond what most teens do? Those awards, successes, and experiences show a school you are driven to go further to pursue your goals.</p>

<p>Also, have you taken time to study the Marshall School website? Are you familiar with the initiatives in that school to become a global business powerhouse? If you can show how your own interests, language abilities, travel experience, family and heritage would help you lead a global business in the future, with real examples of what you are currently doing to get there and hope to accomplish in the future, it could be very helpful. Look at your application from USC’s eyes and if you are the sort of future leader they are looking for—and you can present yourself well–they will notice!</p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

17

<p>Madbean’s post is exactly on point. I would only reiterate that essays seem to count for a lot, so make sure to sell yourself. Passion is a way overused word, but in this context it really helps to show it.</p>

18

<p>Madbean is right on target with that detailed reply.</p>