<p>@AppealsGuy - there is nothing wrong with your application. USC takes 20% of its applicants’ Mine takes only 8% (including the waitlist). Same with many colleges. They could throw out those applications and pick a new class that would be just as strong. There JUST IS NOT enough room at the table. </p>
<p>So there is no second guessing. Nothing you can do differently. What USC looks for changes depending on what their campus needs are and who is in the applicant pool.</p>
<p>Move one. Do your best. Find a place where you have a shot because frankly, these days, even top students are getitng lots of rejections from schools they once thought were safe. The Common App has exploded the number of applications coming in the door.</p>
<p>Here’s the deal - The college that likes you the way you are and wants you more than the other applicants in the pile will choose you. Sometimes it just depends on the luck of the draw and which readers got your file. Apply to a broad number of schools including those that just admit based on your quantitative statistics.</p>
<p>And don’t mention IQ - students that do are easy to reject because it’s a useless measure of how well a student will perform academically and fit into the student culture.</p>