<p>I’ve been showing these posts to my mom, whose first response was “Really? I didn’t know USC rejected anyone who could afford to go!” She was kind of joking, because I’ve been trying to educate her about how USC’s reputation has changed since she was looking at colleges in the early 1980s, but she still remembers USC as a place for “rich dumb kids,” where you were basically guaranteed admission if you could afford it and/or if you could claim membership in the “Trojan Family.” </p>
<p>My parents are Stanford alums, and they got a letter from the Stanford admissions office when I applied, basically telling them not to count on legacy status getting me in (it didn’t!) Maybe it’s time for USC to start doing the same thing, to ease the shock for alums who still remember the olden days of easier admissions.</p>