The Myth: The rest of the application does not matter if I have a high gpa and test score.

The Verdict: Nope.

‘It’s exactly about the numbers’ seems to unfortunately be something I hear a serious bit when folks mention college admission. It makes me unfortunate because that is totally false when speaing frankly about the admission procedure at USC. pupils, counselors and parents have a tendency to get really anxious about GPAs and test scores.

GPAs and test scores are important, however they aren’t the just deciding factor in a student’s admission choice. A student signing up to USC will never be automatically admitted nor denied based entirely on GPA and test scores.

We are to know student the very best we possibly can through the admission procedure. GPAs and test ratings help us figure out how well you are doing academically, but we also want to make it to know you beyond that. We want to discover about the method that you spend your own time outside associated with class room. We are interested in learning your personality and the life experiences you might have had up until this point. We desire to learn why you are interested in going to university at USC. We should study from your teachers or counselors their perspective on who you really are as student and human being. We can’t get all that information from just a GPA and a test score.

For this reason we don’t have a cutoff for GPAs and test scores. We want to ensure you have the academic planning to become successful at USC, but that can be determined in a lot of ways. We assess your transcript although we calculate your GPA. What type of classes could be the learning student taking? Is the student challenging herself into the context of exactly what is available at her school? How exactly does this relate genuinely to her standard testing? There isn’t a secret gpa and test rating combination to determine all this.

Admission to USC is competitive. They are many, many qualified students who are applying to USC. We don’t have spots for all of them within our incoming class. We utilize qualitative components such as task summaries, essays, and letters of guidelines to make distinctions among our numerous candidates that are excellent.

We could just take the highest GPAs and test scores and admit those students if we wanted. Whenever we did that, we would admit a very different course compared to one we simply enrolled. I additionally would n’t have a working job must be computer could do that. Our admission process is a human being one, and we are trying to bring a class that is well-rounded USC. We aim to do this using your application that is entire to as much as we can in regards to you.

A high GPA and test rating isn’t ticket that is golden admission at USC. We go beyond the true numbers, and now we wish you do too in the application.

Hello from the other side….

Interviews…another part associated with university application process. We’re currently finishing up our interviews that are on-campus the end of November (Thanksgiving excluded.) You may additionally see us interviews that are conducting metropolitan areas near you throughout the United States. At this time along the way, it is possible you’ve already experienced a few university interviews, and I’m certain at the end you left with either emotions of success, frustration, excitement or a number of other adjectives that may describe the uncertainty that is an interview. Hopefully I’m able to give you a insight that is little that which we are thinking during those 30 minutes.

Our interviews generally last around 25 minutes and we as admission counselors, spend afternoons, from 1:30 pm until 4:30 pm, interviewing around five students. So, what’s actually going through our minds once we sit back over the table from you? Well, that largely varies according to you…

Are you visibly nervous? Perspiring? About to break up in tears? Then i am most likely hoping that I can get you to calm down if the answer is yes. I will generally start off with questions that have clear cut answers: Tell me what classes you are taking this semester…What book are you reading in English appropriate now? Students do not have to consider these questions, they already have the answers. Hopefully, it will help the person settle down, and we could have a relaxed conversation. If this been there as well, don’t worry, you’re not the only person. Most of that shmoop writing service time period students feel comfortable pretty quickly after they realize the nature that is true of interview. The ideas that are main attempt to extract from students are the following: 1) does this person know why they truly are deciding on USC? Is there something particular they’ve seen here that is of interest to them? 2) Can this student think critically? Can they respond to a question that requires though or may possibly not have an obvious answer? 3) Are they confident in their abilities and generally are they sure they could succeed at USC? College is difficult and we want those who want to be here.

The vast majority of my interviews go smoothly with really few bumps in the road. There are of course moments when I repeat myself because I can’t remember if i have asked question with this interview, or the one right before it. So in advance, please forgive me you the same question twice if I ask. My goal during an interview is to find a solid conversation going so it feel less like an interview, and more like one person trying to get to know another. So just come with a mind that is open greet us with excitement (hopefully genuine), and everything will get smoothly.