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Last year, many students (and counselors) were shocked by USC admission decisions. Since it was the first year that USC was on the Common Application, they experienced a large increase in the number of applications they received. So what is going to happen this year? On a recent visit to USC, Katherine asked that very question. Watch the video below to learn more about the answer she received.
In addition to learning more about the research opportunities here at USC, I really wanted to learn more about the admissions process. I think this past admissions season was a shocking year for students who applied to USC. Last year was the first year that USC was on the Common Application and they receive 46,000 applications. That was up from 37,000 from the previous year. Their acceptance rate went from around 23% to 18% so USC became significantly more competitive. Their average SAT score from last year was a 2050 to 2250 and the average ACT was a 31 to 33. So I wanted to hear a little bit more about the selective process and what their thoughts are on what could happen next year. Basically it is anyone’s guess. Those numbers can continue to rise and those numbers could also fall back a little bit. It basically shows that the world of admissions can be unpredictable and while a jump in increase in applications of that size does not happen very often, it does show that you have to take your time and do your research. You need to make sure you have a balanced college list. You need to make sure you have a good number of reach schools, a good number of safety schools and a good number of obtainable schools in the middle so when you do have surprises like that, you are very well prepared and you still have a great college to attend in the fall.
