USC’s Terrible, No Good, Very Silly College Application
The University of Southern California has arguably the most annoying application among all American universities. But let me offer a few compliments first. USC admits a much higher ratio of transfer students than their elite private university peers. They offer generous merit scholarships to help make their education more affordable. They have an above-average rate of first-generation college students on campus, although still low at 22%. The former director of UT-Austin admissions and my boss when I worked there is USC’s current Director of Admissions. She litigated the Fisher v UT-Austin case in front of the Supreme court about race in college admissions.
However, USC’s excesses outweigh their bright spots. They’re a leader in surprise essay requirements that aren’t published on their website. Clicking the link “USC writing supplement” redirects you to the Common App login page. Since each major has its own supplements, it’s difficult to anticipate the topics until you change your major option on the USC tab inside the Common App. For some but not all majors, the essay topics are listed only on each college or school website and not on the Office of Admissions page, complicating researching the requirements.
USC was in the crosshairs of the Varsity Blues admissions scandal investigations. The masses have to write silly responses to questions like “what’s your theme song” while Olivia Jade’s parents buy their unqualified daughter a space at the university. Most students are surprised to find additional essays beyond the three short answer requirements and their dozen “list questions that ask silly questions like “what’s your favorite snack.” Applications to the Young Academy must submit a one-minute video and a creative portfolio followed by an interview weekend. Their information page suggests that not attending the interview weekend will jeopardize your admissions chances.
As a society, why do we apply less demanding application requirements to future human rights lawyers and physicians than USC does for Bachelor’s of Science candidates to Lifespan Health or the Music Industry?
USC’s Dornsife school gives students the challenging task of writing in 250 words about a hypothetical ten-minute speech if they “had the attention of a million people,” disregarding that a ten-minute speech amounts to 1,500 words or more. Why not just ask what your TED Talk would be? The World Bachelor in Business Program is the most frustrating application as it requires four additional essays and a video introduction. Some but not all admitted Marshall students last year received a branded pair of AirPod headphones.
USC undergraduate Grace Shan in the Daily Trojan wrote a critical opinion piece.
“In their mission statement, USC claims to prioritize students’ education and seek to ‘[develop] human beings and society as a whole through the cultivation and enrichment of the human mind and spirit.’ AirPods do not contribute to the enrichment of the human mind, but perhaps this is yet another thing so complicated that administration must leave students in the dark about. After all, making current students feel welcomed or providing adequate financial aid is nothing compared to a higher yield, right?”
Around the same time as the airpod packages, USC settled a $1.1 billion lawsuit for sexual abuse against more than 500 female students by health center gynecologist George Tyndall during his three-decade career. USC knew about the allegations for years, yet they only terminated his employment in 2017 when the allegations started becoming public. They also recently increased their tuition rate by 3.5 percent; customized AirPods don’t come cheap. Had USC not continued to employ a rapist that shattered the lives of hundreds of families, the cost of the class-action lawsuit settlements could have covered four years’ worth of tuition for over 4,500 USC undergraduate students. They could have also purchased AirPods for every person living in central Los Angeles.
In previous content, I have shared that, for every application requirement or essay a university implements, it will deter low-income, first-generation, and other marginalized populations from applying. USC presents an image of being friendly towards first-generation college students. Yet if USC sincerely cared about diversity and access, they would eliminate most or all of their major-specific supplement essays and video requirements.
It’s perfectly fine that they want to enroll a vibrant community of learners with varied and diverse interests. They don’t need utterly silly essay topics to achieve this goal. Requiring so many supplements and other items also increases their admissions staff and professors who help with the review process.
They should have one or at most two essays beyond the Common Application that ask simply, “why do you want to study your proposed major at UT?” and “discuss an activity or interest that is meaningful to you.” That would match the requirements for applying to their Top 20 law school that has a single essay to “discuss your background and interests beyond the application basics.”
Simple! Why are undergraduate application requirements so demanding and absurd when no other graduate, medical or American law schools have the same excesses? USC undergraduate admissions leads the pack in making teenagers jump through endless hoops.
