USC Admissions Information Session Notes

Department Websites

• Best way to learn about a major at USC.
• Include class lists, faculty profiles, and student profiles.

Student Ambassadors

• Most schools and colleges have student ambassadors with public contact information.
• Interacting with current students is a great way to learn about a school (e.g., Dornsife).
• Dornsife publishes undergraduate research results every March, starting in the student's first semester.

Small Class Sizes & Faculty Engagement

• Benefit: Making connections for opportunities.
• Classes are taught by faculty, nearly all engaged in research.
• Students can ask faculty about research opportunities.
• Faculty can connect students to others in their field.
• Classmates may know of opportunities.
• It can be as simple as asking one person one question.

International Perspective

• Learning extends beyond the classroom.
• About 20% of undergraduate students are international.
• Nearly 40% of graduate/professional students are international.
• Undergraduate student body represents over 130 countries.
• Hundreds of languages spoken at USC, adding to campus culture.

Campus Visits and Cultural Organizations

• Visiting during the school year is recommended.
• Cultural organizations host events.
• Students with diverse backgrounds enrich the USC experience.

Study Abroad Opportunities

• Encouragement to become global citizens.
• Hundreds of programs in over 90 countries.
• Programs can be tailored (general education, major-specific, university housing, host family).
• Language of instruction varies (English or other languages).
• Website: education abroad.
• Education abroad office has a list of programs and hosts interest fairs.
• Some programs (e.g., engineering) have built-in study abroad options.

Maymester

• Unique opportunity to study abroad.
• Traditional fall and spring semesters.
• Spring term ends early, allowing students to take a class in May at no extra cost.
• Studying abroad in May is less intimidating than a full semester.

Los Angeles and Campus Life

• USC is located in Los Angeles.
• Off-campus: Diverse restaurants and food options.
• Downtown: Arenas (Lakers, Sparks, Kings), museums, LA Convention Center.
• Hollywood (20 minutes away).
• Pacific Ocean (40 minutes away), accessible via direct train to Santa Monica.
• Big Bear (skiing, snowboarding) is 90 minutes to 2 hours away.
• Los Angeles has everything one could want in a city.

Transportation

• Los Angeles can be difficult to navigate.
• Students are eligible for a subsidized TAP card (Metro card).
• Multiple bus stops around campus.
• Three train lines near campus.

Campus Organizations

• Synonymous with the city.
• Cultural organizations, performance groups, Greek organizations, professional societies, clubs.
• Creating a new club requires just a handful of students.
• Students make personal connections through clubs.
• Lots of events happening.

Athletics

• Tickets to athletic events (excluding football) are included in tuition.
• Additional fee for football, but no limit on student attendance.

Overall Campus Vibe

• Traditional college campus in a great city.
• Best of both worlds: traditional atmosphere and access to Los Angeles.

Trojan Alumni Network

• Over 450,000 alumni globally, in every industry.
• Alumni are proud and want to connect with current students.
• Students have obtained summer internships by contacting alumni on LinkedIn.

Application Process Overview

• Three main points:
  • USC's application process is nuanced.
  • Decisions are not based solely on numbers.
  • No formula guarantees acceptance based on GPA or SAT scores.

Holistic Approach

• Everything submitted is considered.
• No single element is weighted more heavily.

Context Matters

• Territory management style.
• Admission counselors are assigned territories.

Important Dates

• Early Decision/Early Action: November 1
  • Automatically considered for merit scholarships (up to full tuition).
• Late January: Early Action recipients notified.
  • No rejections at this stage;
  • students may be reconsidered for Regular Decision.
• Mid-February: Scholarship finalists notified.
• April 1: Regular Decision and scholarship notifications.
  • All students will find out if they have been accepted to USC.
• May 1: National candidates reply date.

Application Platform

• Common Application is used.
• Includes general questions for all schools and USC-specific questions.

Academic Record

• Transcripts are essential.
• Looking for strong academic performance from 9th grade onwards.
• Senior grades may be requested.
• Grades matter, but the focus is on the types of courses taken.
• Territory managers assess course rigor within the context of the school.
• School \space A offers 20 AP courses, School \space B offers 10.

Test Scores

• USC is test-optional (status may change).
• Last year's class was split evenly between those who submitted scores and those who didn't.
• Consult with counselors or mentors to decide if submitting scores is right for you.

Qualitative Components

• Activity Summary allows you to list about 10-15 activities.
• No preferred activity; just want to see how you are engaged.

The Essay

• Write about yourself to have your story heard.
• Looking for good grammar, sentence structure, and writing quality.

Quick Takes

• About 20 quick, fun questions to learn more about you.

Departmental Supplements

• Required by some majors (e.g., Viterbi, Dornsife).

School Information

• One letter of recommendation required from a teacher or school counselor.
• Secondary school report is required.

International Applicants

• Must submit a financial statement to show they can afford one year of tuition.

Student Demographics

• 41\% of the students are from California.
• 18\% of the students are international.
• 22\% of the students are first-generation college students.

Financial Aid

• USC is need-blind in admissions (except for international applicants).
• Ability to pay is not considered in admissions.
• Apply to FAFSA and CSS profile by deadlines.
  • Early decision: November 1
  • Early action: December 15
  • Regular decision: February 1

Net Price Calculator

• Use QR code to estimate the cost of attendance.

Marshall School of Business

• Piloting a binding and restrictive Early Decision program.
  • Only for certain majors in that school.

Legacy Status

• USC is no longer considering legacy status due to California Department of Education mandate.
• This is because the university receives over 250,000,000 in Cal Grants.
• Only about 15\% of students identify as legacy.

International Baccalaureate

• No minimum score.

Application Appeals

• Students can submit appeals.
• About 2,500 appeals were received, and 500 were admitted, mostly to the spring class.

Application Review

• Every word of the application is read, typically two to three times.

GPA

• GPA is calculated differently from school to school.

Letters of Recommendation

• One required, but students can submit more.
• Preferably from school counselor or teacher, but could be from a coach or boss.