Decision: Accepted
**Date applied: ** January 1st
Date decision postmarked/received: March 24th
Which school/major at USC: School of Architecture
Scholarships: N/A
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 30 cumulative, 31 superscored (33 Eng, 30 Math, 30 Reading, 28 Science)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.53
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Not available
AP (place score in parentheses): Not available
IB (place score in parentheses): Not available
Senior Year Course Load: 3 Honors classes (English, Physics, Chinese) + Advanced Architecture, Calculus, Cold War History Seminar, Honors Biology TA, Metal Fabrications Trade Class
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Varsity Soccer, Varsity Lacrosse (Captain), Club Lacrosse, BBYO (Jewish Youth Leadership Organization),
Job/Work Experience: PLUM Architects
Volunteer/Community Service: SF-Marin Food Bank (30+ hours), GLIDE Food Kitchen (8+ hours), tutored under-resourced kids from local middle schools at my high school (25+ hours),
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details):: 9s or 10s, specifically talked about USC architecture staff and alumni and related specialized courses to my interest in environmental architecture and sustainability
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: 10, 9, 7. I had two teachers that I had great relationships with and had for 2+ years, last teacher didn’t know me too well and worked in English department.
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: 8. Didn’t know a lot about architecture applicants but we got along well. She also included a portion of my boss’s recommendation in her rec so that probably boosted hers.
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details):: N/A
Interview: N/A
Other
Applied for Financial Aid? No
State (if domestic applicant): California
School Type: Private non-profit
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $100,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Designed and hand built school in village in Senegal,
Reflection
Strengths: Portfolio was very strong, essays were as well.
Weaknesses: GPA was a little too low. Took very difficult classes all through high school and never thought colleges looked at UW GPA so much.
Why you think you were accepted: Strong interest and ability in Architecture, a relatively hard major to develop a portfolio for in high school
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Cal Poly SLO, U Michigan, Wash U, Cornell, Berkeley.
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: If you know what you want to do in high school, spend as much time doing that thing as you can to develop a resume or portfolio. If you don’t know, try to get straight As and show you have good study habits.