I took the ACT with writing and got a 31 (pretty decent in my book) because I took the SAT and only got a 1280 (1310 superscored). I also took the SAT subject tests because some of my schools required them or strongly recommended them, but I didn’t do too well (540 on lit and 600 on math). I sent them to the schools who required them obviously, but I also sent them to every school I applied to because I figured it would look good that I took them at all even if I didn’t get a highish score. Was that a mistake? At the time of applying I thought that showing the schools that I took the tests at all would be better but now I’m having second thoughts. Obviously I can’t do anything at this point but I just wanted to know what you guys thought about it.
@sassycassie5896 I personally took math 1 and bio M and I didn’t do as well as I wanted on them so I chose not to send them to colleges that didn’t require them because I thought my application would look better without them. However, this is just what I did and I’m not saying that what I did was the best thing to do or not. Plus you’re right, decisions come out later this week so there’s no use in over analyzing it now.
2 more days.
For FA applicants seeing “Application in Review”… that is the standard, even for current students, but that is not the important FA webpage for you. Below that, you need to click on the link for “Required Info & Forms”. After clicking on that, it will take you to a new page showing you tabs for “Required Documents” and “Received Documents”. “Required Documents” will detail if anything is outstanding and needed by them to finalize your FA offering, if admitted.
Anyone know what time on Thursday?
With the day almost here i feel my blood running cold. The more I think about it the more I realize that I really want to get into USC. I hope to the stars that I can be celebrating with everyone here!
Just received an email noting that the SDA Open House will be changed to a virtual Open House on April 11, thanking us for our continued interest in USC SDA. Still hoping that email means something. I mean, they asked my daughter for her shirt size in the RSVP, lol
@WonderfulJourney asking for a shirt size, sounds EXTREMELY PROMISING, to me! lol Best wishes!!!
Is the SDA the only one who gives out promising hints such as the open house invite? Or is it SCA in general?
@WWWard
@CindyLeuWho Historically, that SDA Open House invitation is the only hint that I have seen actually verified before. Hopefully that trend continues. Otherwise, it seems fairly cruel to invite you to a special event on campus, that requires making travel plans, and also receive a shirt, etc., if it’s not a sign of admission. I cannot think of a definitive hint via SCA.
Last year, they announced that the decisions would be posted online at 5pm PST / 8pm EST, but they actually started showing up at 3pm PST / 6pm EST. But unfortunately, it was not all simultaneous. They instead showed up over many hours. It was frustrating for those constantly checking to say the least. Hopefully, this year, it is more efficient and they will update within a tighter time window. As best I can tell, USC has yet to name a time of day for the 26th. My guess remains 2pm PST / 5pm EST because it was the first time I heard as a rumor. Plus, that is also only one hour away from the actual start time last cycle and would likely beat out the Ivies slightly.
@CADREAMIN any updated conjectures? Earlier you guessed that it would be morning on the 26th. ahhhhhh I am so nervous
They will email when your decision has been posted… if you do not want to keep refreshing your portal all day.
Hey guys! I’m a student on the East Coast from a town where not many people travel far for college. I was wondering how USC compares in admissions to WashU and Northwestern as far as what they are looking for in applicants/what kind of students they take etc… All of their acceptance rates are really low and I feel like they don’t serve as a good comparison. For reference, I was waitlisted at WashU and rejected at Northwestern.
@kate0593 It is not really possible to predict. My two daughters were also from the East Coast. Each got in to USC while also being rejected by Northwestern. But you cannot really use admission rates or school results for comparison.
My younger daughter got in to Princeton (5% admission rate), but that did not stop 7 of the 15 schools she applied to (each with higher admission rates than 5%) from rejecting her, including one with an admission rate of 24%.
These days, admissions is far too subjective to decipher and determine what any elite college or university is seeking during any one cycle. There are simply too many factors to consider, and each school picks and chooses what is important to them. There is also subjectivity differences at the same school from year to year as admission reps change over time too and program goals or motivations can change.
The program you are applying to itself can also make a huge difference, especially at a place like USC. While last year’s admission rate at USC was 11%, some programs had admission rates as low as 1-2%. Some had admission rates closer to 20%.
Good luck. You will know for sure soon enough…
@WWWard thank you so much for your insight!
@kate0593 you’re welcome.
lol, like there is a single person that is not going to be refreshing their portal all day. 
Good one @WWWard ? 
Because it’s a whole new bag of beans with a portal only update, they may be making a bigger splash of the home page or changing it up, but in general, if admitted, you open up to this on your portal:
Admission
Admission Decision
Enrollment Commitment Deposit
Withdraw Your Application
Submit Documents
Financial Aid
Apply for Financial Aid
Financial Aid Summary & Tasks (FAST) page
On-Campus Admitted Student Programs
Explore USC
Preview USC
Admitted Student Day
Campus tours
Off-Campus Admitted Student Programs
Apply for Housing
Sorry guys, the SDA invite is for anyone that wants to go, including tshirt sizes, and food allergy questions. Some folks may have signed up for “Receive notifications” somewhere anyway, here’s the link: https://uscsda.formstack.com/forms/2020sdaopenhouse