Decision: Accepted
**Date applied: **November 21, 2016
**Date decision postmarked/received: **March 24, 2017
**Which school/major at USC: **Business Administration at Marshall for Fall 2017. (Admitted under second choice major, Viterbi was first)
Scholarships: Have not received F.A. letter yet.
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1320 (690 Math, 630 Reading/Writing)
ACT (breakdown): Not taken
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Not submitted
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.69
Weighted GPA: 4.11
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 58/670
AP (place score in parentheses): Human Geog (4), Euro Hist (3), US Hist (3)
IB (place score in parentheses): None
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP French, AP Calc AB, Eng 12, Civics/Econ
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): French Club (president/treasurer), French Honor Society, California Scholarship Federation, Rho Kappa
Job/Work Experience: Childcare worker (3 years), TJ Maxx (1 year)
Volunteer/Community Service: Through CSF
Summer Activities: None, I worked a lot though!
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9 at least, wrote about my experience in being a member of LGBT, rare family situation, leadership in French Club, and how I’m passionate about learning about other cultures.
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): #1 - 10, French teacher loves me and I’ve known her for four years, #2 - 8.5 - Physics teacher, likes me but I got a B, could be better. #3 - APUSH teacher - 7.5 good letter but I’d imagine not very personalized since I wasn’t very close with her.
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 9 - Counselor and I have a good relationship and she wrote about my hardships and how I have persevered.
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details): None.
Interview: No interview.
Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes.
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic/Latino
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $20,000-$40,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, first generation, LGBT, raised by single mother
Reflection
Strengths: Extracurricular, recommendations, essays
Weaknesses: SAT, GPA (it was average honestly, CC seems to view 4.5 and below as “weak”, but it’s average.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I believe my recommendations really got me in. The admissions process is definitely holistic and everyone has a shot in my opinion.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: UCI (rejected), UCLA (rejected), Cal Poly SLO (accepted), CSUF (accepted), SJSU (accepted), U of A (accepted), Purdue (accepted), UCB (waiting), U Mich (waiting), NYU (waiting)
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I honestly think it’s better to write your essays on someone c o m p l e t e l y unrelated to school. Let them see that side of you. They know you are a good student, it’s shown through your test scores and GPA! It’s not all about numbers, I’m so happy to have been given this opportunity.