<p>If you essays seemed really generic and cookie-cutter (ie: you used the same ssay for several colleges) the admissions board can see that. USC wants people who actually want to go to USC and not people who apply for the hell of it. Also, if they were generic to the point that no one could see who YOU were through your writing, that makes things hard, too. It’s why you see writing/humanities students with lower scores get in over science/math students – it’s all about how you can manipulate language to display your personality.</p>