<p>ayneenjay, i think the main reason they would reject a nm finalist is because they had below a 3.5 UW GPA. USC is really big on GPA from what I have seen and the worst thing in the eyes of a college is to see someone who is obviously really smart from their scores getting a lowish GPA because it makes it seem like they don’t apply themselves or are just lazy. i really wouldn’t worry. if you put effort into your application, it will show and you have amazing scores to fall back on</p>