Will my old (2003!) grades hurt me?

Colleges & Universities University of Southern California
1

<p>OK, this might get long, so bear with me:
I’m an international student from Switzerland. After primary school, you have to decide at which school you want to continue your education: either secondary school, which lasts 3 years, or the Gymnasium (6 years), which is a prerequisite for university; only with the diploma one gets upon graduation from the Gymnasium (the “Matura”) is one allowed to study at a university.</p>

<p>So, I went to one those Gymnasiums, even one that was considered an “elite school”, at least by the staff (which is a bunch of BS, if you ask me). The first three years, I was a very good student: I got top grades and was the best of my class. In the fourth year, however, things changed: my grades dropped considerably. Nothing had happened: nobody in my family had died, I hadn’t been in a car accident, nor had anything else happened. I was simply fed up with school. In fact, my whole class was fed up, pretty much everybody’s grades dropped (no, that’s not an excuse). It did get a little better in 5th grade, though, but my grades still weren’t stellar. However, I pulled myself together in 6th grade, and I got good grades again.</p>

<p>At the end of 6th grade, you have to pass this huge test, the “Matura exams”. The diploma comprises the grades of this test, as well as the grades you got in previous years (calculated after some complicated formula). Well, I pretty much aced the exams, had great grades and graduated 2nd of my class. That was 2005.</p>

<p>Now, the best grade in our grading system is 6, the worst is (obviously) 1. And although I graduated 2nd, all my grades are either 5 or 5.5. You have to keep in mind, though, that the Gymnasium is a lot harder than high school, and while a 6 is possible, it is very hard to achieve. Nobody in my whole class had a 6, and we weren’t exactly morons.
But I’m still worried that the USC adcoms will equate a 6 with an A in high school and think “this guy doesn’t have a single A, we’re not gonna admit him”. Also, could my 4th grade grades hurt me? I mean, that was like 4 years ago… But I heard that most colleges consider all grades.</p>

<p>Right now, I’m in a private school (I pay for it myself, though) that teaches audio engineering. I’ll graduate this December, and my grades have been great, so far. I’m top of my class.</p>

<p>So, what do you guys think? Could those old grades hurt me?</p>

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<p>Wow- it’s so much different here in the states that I’ll be surprised to see if anyone here on cc will know about this (consider that a challenge, fellow cc’ers!)</p>

<p>Did you take the SAT, ACT, or SAT II’s? That would at least be something that we would understand. </p>

<p>Have other students from your school applied to or gone to USC? If so, I’m sure the adcoms at USC understand your grading system.</p>

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<p>Yeah, I took the SAT and got 2220, which is not bad (I guess). I don’t think that anybody from my old school has ever applied to USC, but the grades are the same in every Swiss school, and I’m pretty sure that USC has some Swiss applicants.
You know, I was thinking about asking my admission officer about this. But then again, I don’t want to annoy them with my (unfounded?) fears.</p>

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<p>Don’t hesitate to ask you admission counselor anything- you WANT them to know you! Just be very specific in your questions. The only thing you don’t want to bug them about is asking if you will get in.</p>

<p>2220 IS a good score. That will really help you.</p>

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<p>You’re probably right. But on the other hand, it don’t want to draw any more attention to the matter :wink: You know what I mean? What do you think?
Anyway, thank you, cc411. You’ve been answering quite a few questions of mine; I’m really grateful for that.</p>

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<p>2220 is realllly good. Better than mine at least… :slight_smile: Out of curiosity, are extracurriculars considered for transfers, just like incoming freshmen?</p>

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<p>Hm, good question… I don’t know. I won’t apply as a transfer, though. In fact, I HAVE to apply as Freshman. That’s at least what my admission officer at USC told me.
So, you think I shouldn’t retake the SAT? I know, it sounds silly, but ever since I started reading on CC, I’ve been worried about my scores and marks. I mean, there are people here who worry about a 2300… And as an international, I can’t relate to that… It’s all so new for me :)</p>

<p>Maybe I should stop worrying.</p>

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<p>Did you take SAT subject tests?</p>

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<p>No, I didn’t, since USC doesn’t require them. But now I’m thinking about taking some. I just don’t know if it’s worth it, especially because I want to work on my portfolio as well.
Maybe it would be a good idea to ask my admission officer about this…</p>

<p>EDIT: Did you take subject tests?</p>

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<p>I did, but didn’t do very well on them:</p>

<p>SAT: 2180</p>

<p>SAT IIs: 630 (lit), 680 (ushistory), 720 (math II)</p>

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<p>Well, they’re not that bad… IIRC, you got a scholarship, right?
I guess taking SAT IIs wouldn’t make much of a difference then.</p>